These things in Van Cortland Park completely mystified me. They seemed to have no structural purpose, had been there for years, and didn’t seem to be intentional art. I told my pal, Lipbone Redding, a Bronx resident and my trail guide for the day, that all I had to do to find out what this was all about was to post the photo on Flickr.

drewbic says: Before constructing the new Grand Central Terminal , the New York Central Railroad set up thirteen pillars made of different stone alongside the Putnam Division tracks. After comparative evaluation, one particular type of stone was chosen for use in Grand Central.

weird, eh?

The Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. We started out on this but also intersected with the John Muir trail and the John Kieran Nature Trail, and briefly over the border in Westchester, the well maintained North/South County Trailways.

All along the trail you can find very closely placed railroad ties, maybe placed there as a plank road.

There were many geese in the park. I’m not sure if they are just visiting or permanent residents.

It looks like we are in the wilderness but the sound of one highway or another was always in the background.

Van Cortland Lake an artificial lake. The location of an old saw mill.

Can anyone name the species? This one was about 14 inches long, a guess. There were about 9 of them, all a bit smaller than this guy, sunning themselves when I approached.

drewbic    says: those look like your standard Painted Turtle to me…

Van Cortlandt Lake, which is man-made, is the largest freshwater lake in the Bronx. This beautiful feature was formed in the 1690s when Jacobus Van Cortlandt dammed Tibbetts Brook to power two mills.
www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/vt_van_cortlandt_park/v…
nyfalls.com/wildlife/Wildlife-reptiles-turtles.html

Luna Park says:

snowdrops (galanthus nivalis), says brother gardener.