Sudbury River Quietly Sleeps

 

Yesterday's bright sunshine possibly interacted with an icicle in creating a 'little dipper' effect to the right of my boat's bow on the Sudbury River in Concord, MA.  It truly was a sparkling day.

The nearby boat livery, the South Bridge Boathouse, looked fast asleep...

The railroad bridge carrying the tracks of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) also stood silent as it has been for the last 5 weekends due to COVID related cutbacks in service...

In fact, effective March 2, the MBTA will cease running all trains (weekend and weekday) on this section of the line until May 1.  Shuttle buses will be used to transport people between Littleton/495 and Alewife.  During the shutdown period a new system for controlling trains, Positive Train Control (PTC), will be installed.  Being aware of this upcoming cessation of service and being a life-long railfan, I paid closer attention to the passing trains while out hiking last week.  So before these trains disappear for the remainder of the winter I photographed two which were running right on schedule:

Inbound Train 1404 began its descent of the grade leading to the Assabet and Sudbury rivers...

...

Outbound Train 1405 climbed the same grade as it left the Assabet behind...

...and headed further westward...

Hopefully, the snow will be long gone when service resumes in May.

Meanwhile, back on the river, the inscription at Egg Rock was fully in view...

...thanks to most of our recent precipitation being in the form of snow.

Bluebirds and robins were the theme yesterday, particularly on the lower Assabet.  

One of many bluebirds seen flitting about...

...and this robin seemed to be walking on water...

Trash, like paddling opportunities this month, was few and far between...

Before getting out on the river I'd read an uplifting article in Sunday's Boston Globe: "Federal Government Drops Legal Battle Over Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's Reservation Status."  In the unattributed article (at least on my Kindle version) Congressman Bill Keating is quoted as follows: "The claim that the Tribe of the First Light, the Tribe of the First Thanksgiving was not an original Native American Tribe has always been disingenuous.  And the Trump administration's attempt to remove their land from trust last March - in the midst of a pandemic - was heartless."

   

As I understand it the basis for denying the Tribe's legitimacy in the first place was a U.S. Supreme Court ruling which claimed that because the Wampanoag Tribe wasn't specifically recognized by the federal government in 1934 they didn't qualify...even though the Wampanoag Tribe had been in existence long before the Mayflower made landfall!