Decals, Bricks, and Another Turtle

The passenger car at Bedford Depot Park has new decals, a visible sign of progress in its slow restoration.

Bedford Depot Park / Milepost X

This is the third snapping turtle I've seen this month, more than I've seen in any single year. Maybe the wet spring was good for them or maybe they're doing well generally. This one is draped with small water plants she must have picked up in leaving her pond.

West of Hancock Avenue

The masons rebuilding the passenger platform at the Lexington Depot are the most meticulous bricklayers I've ever seen. They've been putting down bricks for a week now and are about two-thirds done. The platform was excavated and then received layers of gravel, crushed stone, and sand. The sand is spread and leveled just a couple of rows at a time so that it's never walked on before the bricks are laid. The bricks are set one at a time, pounded down and squared with a mallet. The masons sweep stone dust into the gaps after every few rows to keep the finished bricks from shifting. The results are remarkably neat.

Today: 13 miles. This year: 530.5 miles.