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February 25, 1999 - The soaring songs of bird and manThe so I'm sitting not 50 feet fr Caloosahatchee River that through the Army Corps cam at the Ortona Lock. This riv from the East Coast across through Lake Okeechobee to t coast at Fort Myers. This lake, way, is the second largest fre lake in the country. It is just be lake where our next campsite Foc V will be in about a week or so. The ON locks here at NAT Ortona have just b finished major repair, which Stouten made it quite in- convenient for the many boate had planned to take this shortc the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf With the repairs now complet traffic is once again on the Everything from small outbo million - dollar yachts pass by day. As we pulled in we saw old friends we had worked with when we were on the manatee watch a few, years ago. Many campers have been coming here for years and seem to be a part of the place. I can see why, for it is just about the most perfect spot you can find. In back of the campsite on the south are a couple hundred acres where cattle graze, making it quite picturesque. There always seems to be a breeze blowing here, except for an hour or so in the late afternoon, when it dies down, leaving the river like glass. It's then that the tree swallows that are passing through come to drink and bathe. They do it in flight, making a small splash in the water when they dip. I'm told that all this tranquillity changes when summer moves in; 105 - degree temperatures with no wind and lots of rain must be pretty hard to take. Those who stay south all year live in air - conditioned homes and do little out- side. As I mentioned in my last article, it seems each campground has its own mockingbird. Ours is singing its heart out atop a cedar tree not 30 feet from me. What a variety of calls bubble out aring songs om the from this happy songster. Nearby there flows is a wet spot that has its thick mat of c Aground cattails growing through it. Here six or er runs eight red - winged blackbirds have set up v Florida camp, all claiming it for their future s he west nesting site. So far I've seen no females. h by the The males are trying to outdo each a shwater other in their continual calling. It seems c low the - that each is trying to tell the other, "I h was here first." o S Then to top off. A this singing and 1 chattering, the common grackle and the boat - tailed grackle are also letting V RE the world know they are starting to feel s their oats. It seems 9 Pain they, too, are practic- burgh ing their vocal skills for the upcoming rs who competition for it from mates. I see them Coast. checking out the e, boat cedars for future nest - move. ing sites and as they ards to sneak in and out they us each seem to have their ■ ....mss ■ ■� own dialogue going on, as if they were commenting on the suitability of the site. With all the pluses this park has to offer, there had to be at least one minus hid- den away somewhere, — and I found it. It was one of those per- fect days when every- thing was going fine. I'd taken time out to walk to the edge of the bank to check.on the possibility of see- ing an armadillo that has its burrow dug in the embankment. I was standing there dreaming as if I owned the place. The beautiful still river lay below me, lush green was all about, the air was tropi- cal. Things couldn't have been better when all of a sudden one of my legs felt as if I had stepped into a fire — and fire it was: fire ants! These little red devils had summoned their troops and were in full attack. My one moccasin was covered with them while others were making their way to the heart of the February 25, 1999 • The Suffolk Times • 7A of bird and man problem — me. How such tiny little reatures can sting and inflict so much discomfort is hard to believe but I can ouch for their effectiveness. I tomped, jumped and to some it may ave looked like I was dancing around tribal campfire. I brushed the little ritters off my leg and foot with my ands but there always seemed to be ne or two I would miss. By now I had eft my moccasin behind and was scur- rying barefoot to safety. Barbara carne to the rescue with ome "this will help" medicine as I con- had stung me. Most of the low spots have dried up from the previous rains, but a few linger and therefore attract birds of all sorts. One wet spot up by the bridge had a common snipe (shorebird) for two days that was living on worms in the ooze below. I took one of the best pictures of a snipe out on Narrow River Road years ago in Orient. It was the ' beginning of winter and much of the fresh water had frozen, thereby shut- ting off Mr. Snipe's food supply. Luckily, on the other side of the dam there was a ditch that drained the fields to the north, and there the water was still open. It was in this ditch that I spotted the snipe in the per- fect position for pho- tographing. I rolled down the window of the car, rested my camera with its bulky telephoto lens on its edge and took the picture. Never was photographing so easy and done in such comfort. Usually I have to crawl up to my subject or sit for hours in a blind or walk miles before I can get a good enough spot to take a picture. Here it was easy and the results were the best ever. Enjoying the natur- al world down here isn't all we do. There are lots of other things we poke our heads into; for example, Sunday there's a fish fry and hush puppy dinner put on by the park's hosts. Everyone is to bring a dish and join in the fellowship of the campers. Tonight we sat in on a group of "pickers" rehearsing. They are just a group of fellows who get together every once in a while to playa There are five more or less, depending on who turns up. They play country music right from the heart. There's a lead guitarist with a white handlebar mustache, second guitarist with silvery gray hair, a bass fiddle player who could be your local banker and a beard- ed cello player who plays with his eyes closed as his head sways back and forth. Then every once in a while a man with a lap full of harmonicas chooses one and joins in. They sure can put out the music. Lots of foot stompin' and re- playin' for they are going to be the entertainment at the fish fry. There's a vocalist who chews tobacco in between songs. He has a wonderful voice and philosophy. To hear him sing "I Saw the Master This Morning" brings tears to your eyes. There's lots of interplay when they're fiddlin'. "Let's change it from D to C and then B flat minor," etc., or "Let's do that part over again," or a request from the singer: "That's a little low for me, you'll have to bring it up." In between all these corrections and addi- tions the music is sweet, the songs sad and true. People walk past the group, stop a while and listen and move on. All this takes place at one of their campsites. We stayed until it got dark and then moved on. We can't wait for the fish fry. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh The mallard is the most widely distributed duck In the world. It Is the ancestor of all our domestic breeds except the Muscovy. Mallards are seen all along the eastern seaboard from our own East End to Florida. L.. G I< = 2.00 V V 2% ED H %.* 1% 75 years ago Feb. 22, 1924 A beach for Greenport: Greenport is to have a suitable public bathing beach and park. This was the sentiment of the special meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of Greenport, which was held Monday evening in the Village Hall. There was a large attendance of the mem- bers of the association present and it was the unanimous vote that at the coming village election a proposition be included in the budget, calling for bonds to be issued for the purchase of a public bathing beach and park. Talk radio: There are nine radios in East Marion and probably more will follow. They are giving much infor- mation and pleasure. President Coolidge's address at the Waldorf Astoria, New York, was heard with deep inter- est. 50 years ago Feb. 25, 1949 Advertisement: [Student speaking on telephone:] "Let's work that out before class. Someone else may want to use this line." That's right, Jack, mathematics on a party line doesn't always add up — especially when your telephone neigh- bors may also have pressing problems to dispose of over the telephone. It's thoughtful and considerate to share party line service so that others on the line can enjoy stantly checked my legs and feet for the persistent little devils. Later I'd rescue my moccasin and beat on it in hopes of dislodging the elusive little critters. No matter how thoroughly I cleaned them out, one or two would always show up. To finally clear the last of them out I had to take the inner sole out of my shoe where five or six had taken up hid- ing. Lucky for Barbara's "cure -all" worked and I'm left with only little red welts where those devilish little buggers their telephones, too. This means the spacing of calls instead of making a whole series one after the other. It means answering the telephone as promptly as possible. It means cheerfully giving up the line in an emergency, and hanging up — gently — when the line's already in use. Many of our customers would like to have a better grade of service than is now generally available — such as an individual or a two -party line. We are working hard to provide the necessary switchboards, cables and other complicated equipment — and we're keeping a careful record of all such applications, which will be filled just as soon as possible. New York Telephone Company, working always to serve the community better. 25 years ago Feb. 21, 1974 Townsend to run for mayor: A youthful contender and first -time political candidate has entered the race to run Greenport. Joseph Townsend Jr., 28 years of age, announced his candidacy for the position of Village Mayor, and will run against appointed incumbent David Walker. ... Mr. Townsend will run on an "Economy Party" line, saying that he chose that party name because he is opposed to a full -time salary for a Greenport mayor.