Wasn’t yesterday a great day? Happy Birthday, again, to the happy paddler with the Bud-Lite.

Now folks I’d like to consider the Manatee.

image/ cocoabeachhotels.com

Down south they have a lot of Manatees, they spend all day happily munching, munching, munching on the water weeds in the coastal areas, rivers and canals. Have you any idea how fast river grass and weeds can grow?

This is a channel that I have passed through, I passed thur today..with effort.

In New England we don’t have Manatees, but we do have severe winters where the rivers, ponds, and shallow coastal areas freeze over. Often the deeper and swifter rivers freeze as well as the harbors. For a tidal river such as the North River, this means that surface ice forms around the grasses and holds it tight. When the tide rises the grass is pulled out of the mud, even upriver the 6 inch or less tidal rise is enough to uproot the plant.

At this time of the year the distance I can travel on the upper river, in Pembroke and Hanover, is greatly reduced by the clogging of the river channel by the mass of grasses and weeds. The ice in winter is God’s own yard service clearing the channels. Otherwise, in time, most of the North River would be marsh.

The river in September.

Compare to other times of the year, March.

April

May

Old New England farmers would sit on their porch watching the seasons work on their land. I head out on the water, March to December, and see profound changes on the water, the banks and the wildlife.

Saw some nice color on the river yesterday, the Fall is coming (but lets not bring up Obama).

Happy Paddling (not a sexual reference).