Pawtuckaway Lake Association

We had an early expedition success on November 4 with the Weed Warriors attack on the Common weed base in location # 2.  That is to the right of Log Cabin Island. The team consisted of Gayle Kenney, Karen Batchelder, Jeff Gurrier, Gary St. Onge, Therese Thompson, Peggy and Steve Sorreff.  And yes, by tradition and by skill Peggy managed to pull the longest one--six feet.

Armed with the experience of November 4th’s foray into the land of rhizomes, Gary and I decided to sally forth to where it all began--the Phragmites Island between the Twin Islands.  That was the first of our summer weed encounters and was also an initial success.  So at 11 AM or 1100 hours on November 5 Gary and I loaded my vehicle with a Phragmites puller, pitch fork, shovel, small garden tools, bags and gloves. We motored to Therese Thompson’s generously assessed home on Barderry Lane. She loaned us her kayak fleet.

The transit to the spot was uneventful but we noticed how easy it was to get stuck in the shallow water, aka mud.  Once ashore we saw the web of small Phragmite plants and some of the adjacent big rocks which we encountered in the first summer expedition. The soil was very rocky and many small to moderate sized pebbles impeded our progress. 

We elected to start on the southern perimeter of the colony.  Quickly we discovered how interconnected the system of surface weeds and huge ‘amazing’ network of rhizomes there were.  We would follow one rhizome and there would be another beneath it.   We tracked one and it bifurcated.  We did find some points--yippppppeee.  After nearly two hours of hot pursuit we realized that there were more of them than us. We left an exposed tangle of rhizome and small trenches like WWI.  We got about 15% of the job done.

On that ‘island’ we also observed a semi-fireplace or rock duck-blind and numerous shotgun casings. But there were some rewards.  On the Twin Island we found five golf balls.  Gary and I retrieved four as the fifth was too far out on the mud. Then we headed our kayaks for home. But that proved much more difficult than expected.  The water was shallow so we paddled through or rested on top of mud.   I was stuck. Gary mud-paddled his way to open water. Seeing my immoveable situation, he returned to rescue me.   He helped pulled me free of my mud tomb.  However, in the process he capsized.  He then headed for the quickest shore. 

I headed for Therese’s  dock area.  There as I attempted to get out of the kayak once again I was deep in unforgiving mud.  I fell backward into the water trying to extricate the right boot. We finally regrouped--wet, cold and full of mud. And motored home. We learned it will take hours of work to follow the rhizome (not like Bush’s follow the child).  Kayaking to the island may not be possible as the lake is dropping fast.  Perhaps a brisk walk with weighters might work.

Right now the score is Gary/Steve 15 and Phragmites 250. Therese-Gary and I owe you one kayak wash.