If you were excited to read on Wednesday that you could take your boat out and help clean up the Neuse River, then disappointed to read that recent rains had raised water levels to a dangerous level and scuttled the on-river portion of the clean-up — deep breath from writing a sentence that's too long — you can be excited again. While the on-river Neuse clean-up is off, the White Oak Stewards say they would be more than happy to have you tag along on their event Saturday.
The smooth purple coneflower? Read on.
"Please come and join us on Southwest Creek," writes Elmer Eddy (great name for a paddler, no?), with the White Oak Stewards. "We will leave the Food Lion Parking Lot on U.S. 17 south of Jacksonville at 9 a.m.. This is opposite the Main Gate to The Marine Corps Air Base. We plan to be off the water by 3."
There's a twist to this clean-up.
"This is a clean-up of not only trash and litter in conjunction with The Great American Clean Up," writes Eddy. "We will also be escorting masses of Alligatorweed that we have already have floating down with the current to salt water. Some of it gets hung up on snags and we nudge it off with our paddles to get it free floating again."
The coastal forecast: 72 degrees and sunny.
Splat: Up for something a little more ... combative? Our paintball corespondent Gary Stevenson tells us there's an "8-hour scenario game" this weekend at Black River Paintball's "FARM" location. It's $35 to play (another $10 if you need equipment), which seems like a pretty good deal for a day's worth of recreation.
So what exactly is an 8-hour scenario game in paintball? We'll let the folks Black River explain.
Flower: Finally, for you fans of spring may we recommend Sunday's weekly spring wildflower hike sponsored by the Eno River Association. This week's hike should be especially good; it's at the Penny's Bend Nature Preserve along a downstream stretch of the Eno. The 84-acre tract is small, but unique, as the ERA explains: "Unlike surrounding acidic or sour soils which have a low pH, Penny's Bend soils are basic, or sweet, with a high pH. Sweet soil is ideal for certain kinds of plants typically found in other regions of the United States, particularly in the prairies of the Midwest."
Intriguing, no?
The hike starts at 2 p.m. You can find directions on the ERA site.
