A nine year old paddling on the West Branch … longest solo paddle of the year…

We spent the morning on the water.  This is not a regular occurence, I am pretty sure you could NOT say that I am a boat person, which is something that means a lot in these oceanside communities.  I grew up in neighboring Dartmouth, and never set foot on a boat until I was at a party when I was 16, unless you count the whale watch or the ferry to Nova Scotia…which you can’t.  BUT, I did marry into a family that collects old sailboats like books. Sailboats, rowboats, canoes, kayaks… you name it, it sits waiting the summertime in a backyard in Wareham.  It does give me a glimmering look into a fascinating subculture of ‘boat people’ and fabulously, allows me access to the water in a whole new way.

And so, THIS morning, I got to be present for a fantastic row, kayak, canoe excursion on the West Branch of the Westport River.  It was crazy beautiful, and we lit out from the Adamsville Landing heading for ‘magic island’ or ‘mushroom island’, depending on which child you ask.  Reachable only by boat, this island may or may not be named, its hard to pinpoint on a map.  I think it might even be conservation property.  I’m hoping, in fact, that it is already preserved.  It is unsigned, with a picnic table, mossy trails, and a lovely beach that disappears in a high tide.

The Westport Land Conservation Trust has the important job of snapping up properties like this, that lend considerable character and pleasure to the town and its visitors.  I’m hoping this belongs to them, but I don’t want to look into it too closely, lest someone tell me not to take my children there.  The boys love to run barefoot on its mossy paths, to imagine stories about its denizens, its likelyhood as a elfin paradise or a pictish stronghold.

We had a lovely lunch of hummous and pita, leftover bbq chicken and boiled eggs.  The kids and their dad went swimming, the 81 year old took an excursionary paddle around the island in his newly acquired canoe… and the landlubber mother stared out at the osprey in their state of bliss.

There was a great article on the ‘local’ osprey revitalization recently in the paper,

http://www.eastbayri.com/news/osprey-baby-boom-on-the-westport-river/   

The article has got some wonderful photos, and information on the happily nesting osprey.  They are such a beautiful bird to see in flight. The light on their plumage is fabulous.  On a side note, I babysat for the volunteers in this article when their son was an infant.  I imagine he must be a family man by now, somewhere in his thirties… ah, age.

Let the nesting continue!  I love this town.