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November 4, 1999 - The rise and fall of the sun's splendorGA • The Suffolk Times • November 4, 1999 The rise and fall of the sun's splendor I'm writing this just 100 feet from the mighty Atlantic Ocean. Just a short time ago Barbara and I watched the sun rise from the bedroom window of our camper. It was 7:15 a.m. when that red ball of life worked its way through a thin line of clouds that had settled on the horizon. We had watched earlier as the dawn was spreading its pinkish light in Focus the east. It reminded us ON both of another NATURE sunrise we had watched in by Paul Hawaii. We had Stoutenburgh spent the night in a tent halfway up the mountain in an- ticipation of making the last dash at 5 a.m. to see the first rays of sun to hit the islands. It was so cold that we wore everything we had with us to bed, and still we froze. We got up in the dark and drove the rest of the way to the crater's edge, where we found others huddled in blankets to keep warm in this mile - high spot. The Haleakala sunrise, one of the highlights of Maui, was spectacular, just as this Long Island sunrise was today. No wonder the religion of the people of the ancient world revolved around the sun. They realized its im- portance and worshipped its life- giving powers. Last night we were literally rocked to sleep by a strong northwest wind. Yet we were snug in our little camper here at the county's Smith Point Park. There were probably nine or 10 other hardy campers enjoying the fall season's nice days. As we watched the red - orange ball of fire slowly rise out of the sea, we thought how different this so- called camping was from when we first started years ago in a tent with the kids. It was good to be able to look back and smile and think, "I wonder how we did it." It seemed within minutes the rising sun had shaken off its early wrappings of low -lying clouds and was free now, bathing our world in all its splendor. Gradually the colors changed. Its early orange -red changed to an orange -yel- low and then, as it sprinkled the sea with its new light, it became the yellow of the day. We had watched the weather report hoping for a w,. ' -w of good fall weather so that wt. ,ould get one last outing in our camper before winteriz- ing it. Once that is done, our traveling days will be over until our big push south, but that is still months away. We had hurriedly put things in the camper and in no time we were pulling out of our pasture where we keep the camper stored. We arrived about noontime and before I had the camper hooked up to water and electricity, Barbara had lunch on the table inside. The wind was really blowing out of the north and with a 50- degree temperature, the wind chill out- side made it a bit nippy. Previously we had "cased the park" to pick out a good spot with a view of the ocean and also a view of the bay to the north. We had selected Site No. 250; it was perfect. Of course, as soon as we got there I had to check out the bird life: sparrows, juncos, yellow- rumps, and a prairie warbler with its bobbing tail. Offshore, scoters (a type of sea duck) were feeding just outside the breaking surf of the outer bar. I could tell they were feeding because the gulls constantly hov- ered over them. I'd seen this kind of gull robbing behavior before. The gulls wait for the scoters to surface from below with food in their bills, then they drop down and snatch the precious morsel away from the bewildered scot- er. As I've often said, it's a cruel world out there and one in which only the strong survive. Yet with all the boiling sea and the windblown beaches and dunes, we could see the last struggling monarch butterflies pumping their way south- ward. We marveled at this fragile bit of life trying to make it in what we would consider a harsh environment. Later we would find a sheltered spot where the monarchs were clinging to the pines in what we thought was a resting mode away from the wind and cold. We'd see two or three monarchs together, wings held up in true butterfly fashion, rest- ing. Were they waiting for a break in the weather to move on or would this be as far as they would ever get? Later in the day we went for a brief walk so we bundled up before we head- ed out. The wind was so strong we found it difficult to walk into. The wind had whipped the top of the sand loose and was moving it along the beach. We were watching how dunes are formed. The moving sand finds some obstacle to collect behind — a bush, a clump of grass, a pine tree. The swirling sand drifts behind it away from the strong winds. Gradually the sands became higher and higher. Then perhaps on another day the wind might come from a different direction and blow the newly built -up sand away. The beaches and dunes are continually moving but if left alone they will create a balance of a sand and water. We marveled at how fast they could bury themselves. Today I still marvel how such a fragile little crab can live, feed and breed in such a tur- moil of boiling surf and moving sand. The water was pouring out of my eyes as we walked, heads bent into the wind. This, plus my trick knee, soon told me I'd had enough and so we turned our backs on the wind and headed back. As always it's good to go into the wind first no matter if you are walking, biking, canoeing, sailing or whatever so that when it's time to head home, your trip will be an eas- ier one and you'll forget about the wind. It's a lesson well learned from experience. Inside the camper it was warm and toasty as we had left the little electric heater on. The afternoon sun flooded the camper and we couldn't have asked for more. Books came out and soon both of us were off in our own special worlds. Before we knew it, the yellow of the afternoon sun had started to take on a reddish glow. A clear sky brought a red -ball sunset to the west. We both watched it in awe as if we'd never seen a sunset before. It was as compelling as watching a campfire. There's something universal that draws man to these simple natural sights. Time went nowhere. Our stay was like we'd been in another place far away. Dinner came and went and evening was spotlighted by the full moon rising like the sun out of the sea. One night just past full moon our world was bathed in silver. Just before bed I had to step outside to grasp the full essence of the night. The heavy surf rumbled along the beach and by now the moon was reflecting a thousand, million tiny mirrors on its surface.The moon shone so brightly it obliterated all the minor stars. How could the world be so perfect? Inside I climbed into bed and lay there listening to the ancient chant of the restless ocean that soon cast its magical spell over both of us. Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh This small, egg - shaped mole crab can be found along the turbulent surf line of our sandy beaches here on Long Island. They constantly move up and down with each tide as they glean bits of food from the receding waves. WILDLIFE RESOURCES WE'RE BEGINNING TO STOCK OUR WAREHOUSE WITH A LARGE VARIETY OF BIRDING PRODUCTS AND RELATED GOODS THAT WILL HELP YOU ENJOY & UNDERSTAND THE NATURAL WORLD. STOP BY WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & LET US KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR. OUR PRICES & SERVICE WILL MAKE YOU GLAD YOU DID. GREAT GIFTS TOO! LOOK FOR OUR WEB SITE COMING SOON. QUALITY BIRD SEED at WAREHOUSE PRICES AVAILABLE NOW.. 734 -2096 Pre -Grand Opening Cox La. & Oregon Rd., Cutchogue Hours are Sat. & Sun. 10 - 4 sort. This is exactly how the barrier beach that runs the length of Long Island's south shore was created. We were watching nature's forces at work Surf clams and mole crabs Walking along the windblown beach we saw the familiar big, discarded surf clam shells that are so characteristic of this sandy strip. We even saw the skele- tal remains of the thumb -sized mole crabs that are often seen digging them- selves into the loose sands of the surf line. Here the mole crab digs below and hides under the moving sands, then as each wave crashes on the shore and re- cedes, the little mole crab thrusts up its antenna -like net and catches the mov- ing particles and sifts out the edible parts. It is its way of feeding on the microscopic material the human eye would miss. These mole crabs are found on our sandy beaches below the tide line. As kids we would collect these crabs and put them in a jar filled with Is your child caught in a failure chain? Your child may need help with weak study skills or poor reading or math skills. He or she may be unmotivated or lack confidence, despite Weak Basic Skills a good I.Q. Our certified teachers help WFrustration with School children overcome frustration Lack of Confidence and failure. A few hours a week can help gain No Motivation the Educational Edge. Individual testing and tutoring in Reading, Study Skills, Writing, Phonics, Spelling, Math and SAT /ACT prep. HUNTINGTON Twomey Avenue and Route 58 LEARNING Calverton, NY 11933 CENTER® (516) 727 -4600 Your child can learn. (across from Splish Splash) Independently owned & operated. F ME a 3 £ � 7 i fi '�C1GeC'iy'�� <. sS f gs" 3 " MO., k � j , Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh This small, egg - shaped mole crab can be found along the turbulent surf line of our sandy beaches here on Long Island. They constantly move up and down with each tide as they glean bits of food from the receding waves. WILDLIFE RESOURCES WE'RE BEGINNING TO STOCK OUR WAREHOUSE WITH A LARGE VARIETY OF BIRDING PRODUCTS AND RELATED GOODS THAT WILL HELP YOU ENJOY & UNDERSTAND THE NATURAL WORLD. STOP BY WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & LET US KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR. OUR PRICES & SERVICE WILL MAKE YOU GLAD YOU DID. GREAT GIFTS TOO! LOOK FOR OUR WEB SITE COMING SOON. QUALITY BIRD SEED at WAREHOUSE PRICES AVAILABLE NOW.. 734 -2096 Pre -Grand Opening Cox La. & Oregon Rd., Cutchogue Hours are Sat. & Sun. 10 - 4 sort. This is exactly how the barrier beach that runs the length of Long Island's south shore was created. We were watching nature's forces at work Surf clams and mole crabs Walking along the windblown beach we saw the familiar big, discarded surf clam shells that are so characteristic of this sandy strip. We even saw the skele- tal remains of the thumb -sized mole crabs that are often seen digging them- selves into the loose sands of the surf line. Here the mole crab digs below and hides under the moving sands, then as each wave crashes on the shore and re- cedes, the little mole crab thrusts up its antenna -like net and catches the mov- ing particles and sifts out the edible parts. It is its way of feeding on the microscopic material the human eye would miss. These mole crabs are found on our sandy beaches below the tide line. As kids we would collect these crabs and put them in a jar filled with Is your child caught in a failure chain? Your child may need help with weak study skills or poor reading or math skills. He or she may be unmotivated or lack confidence, despite Weak Basic Skills a good I.Q. Our certified teachers help WFrustration with School children overcome frustration Lack of Confidence and failure. A few hours a week can help gain No Motivation the Educational Edge. Individual testing and tutoring in Reading, Study Skills, Writing, Phonics, Spelling, Math and SAT /ACT prep. HUNTINGTON Twomey Avenue and Route 58 LEARNING Calverton, NY 11933 CENTER® (516) 727 -4600 Your child can learn. (across from Splish Splash) Independently owned & operated.