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July 19, 2007 - Seashells by the seashore16A • The Suffolk Times • July 19, 2007 Seashells by the seashore 1 thought it would be fun to take a walk on the beach I knew as a kid. I'd ask my daughter to join us, as she uses that beach for field trips and knows the area well. So off we went, and as we headed for the beach, at the end of Pequash Avenue in Fleets Neck in Cutchogue, we talked of the changes that had taken place since I grew up in the area. At that time there was an old pathway Focus from our house to the beach. ON "Let's take a look and see if NATURE it is still there, Sure enough, by Paul there it was. Stoutenburgh (Peg's sharp eyes picked it up.) How many bare feet had traveled over it during those years? How many turtles and toads had we seen there as we ran to the bay"? Satisfied with finding the old path, we headed toward the beach to start our walk. Once there, we met two of Peg's students with their mother spending time at the beach. The girls ran up and asked their teacher if they could join us on our walk. "Sure," was her reply. "Come along. We're looking for interesting things to write about. You can help us find some." Probably one of the most common shells on our beaches is the shell of the hard clans that everyone knows. The big clams are ground up and used in clam chowder, clam fritters, baked clams, etc.; the smaller ones are used as steamers, and others raw, on the half shell. The other clamshell we sometimes come across is that of the soft clam, my favorite. When they're steamed and dipped in butter, you have the best of eating. They, like all other shellfish, are filter feeders and live off the various types of plankton found in our rich waters. We hadn't gone far on our beach walk when we spotted a red jellyfish. They can dampen your day at the beach should you run into their long, stinging tentacles — but thank good- ness, the jellyfish are few and far be- tween. The two girls kept busy digging up treasures at the water's edge. When I asked them what they were looking for they replied, "Mole crabs." Mole crabs live and feed in the surf line of the water. When a wave comes rolling into the beach, they dig down, letting the wave ride over them, then as the water recedes they thrust up a netlike affair that captures all sorts of tiny animals that they eat. We found one lone oyster shell. Could it be a remnant of days gone by? Oysters were big business in our bays years ago. Long cedar posts with a flag on top marked the oyster beds Oyster boats and an oyster house were part of New Suffolk's economy. I also remember pulling oysters out of the banks in our creeks. They were plentiful in those days. Few people realize how much we've lost through the years A scallop shell I picked up remind- ed me how plentiful our bay scallops once were. When I was a kid, a man stopped me and asked if I'd like to make 75 cents (big money in those i y_ ♦' t r � r ��r s days). "Sure. What do I have to do?" I lected the scallops right off the beach. asked. He produced a big basket and That was the easiest money I ever said, "Fill this with scallops and the earned. 75 cents is yours." Half an hour later The scene I remember most about I collected my 75 cents and the man scallops in our bay was looking over had his half bushel of scallops. I'd col- toward New Suffolk on opening day Suffolk Trrres pholm by Barbara Sloute burgh Above: Someone once said, "There's never a bad day on a beach." Here we took advantage of a sunny day to walk a beach and reacquaint ourselves with the many wonders our local waters produce. Left: We often see clumps of spaghetti grass, an invader from Europe. It's es- tablished itself throughout our area. Some hate it, for it seems to be taking over our creeks and bay bottoms, while others applaud its presence, for it acts as a nursery area where small fish and other organisms can hide from the many predators that are always on the lookout for an easy meal. Notice the slipper shells attached to the rock. Below: Someone found the shell of a small horseshoe crab with the front slit open that showed the crab had left its shell. This shedding process is how it grows. It emerges soft and bigger than It was before. Later the shell will harden. of scallop season. There would be 20 or more sailboats of all sorts dredg- ing for scallops. In those days it was against the law to use motors. These events were when the bay bottom was covered with eelgrass. Then in the '30s a disease swept into the entire eastern seaboard and killed the eelgrass To this day it is found only in a few places, but there's hope. Scien- tists are working hard trying to bring it back, for eelgrass has so many benefits going for it. One of the most important is that it acts as a nursery and spawn- ing area. It's in the swaying eelgrass that the small fish and shellfish could live and grow. Today our creeks and bay bottoms are bare, affording little protection from predators. In a relatively short period of time a new invader from Europe has cote to our waters; it's called "codium," or spaghetti grass. Unlike the eelgrass, See Focus, next page The Suffolk Times • July 19, 2007 101bv Seashells the seashore l� r Above: Someone once said, "There' never a bad day on a beach." Here w took advantage of a sunny day to wall a beach and reacquaint ourselves witl the many wonders our local water. produce. Below: Someone found the shell of small horseshoe crab with the fro ,ypuu slit open that showed the crab had k its shell. This shedding process is he it grows. It emerges soft and bigg than it was before. Later the shell w 1 thought it would be tun to take a walk on the beach I knew as a kid. I'd ask my daughter to join i}s,as she uses that beach for field trips and knows the area well. So off we went, and as we headed for the beach, at the end of Pequash Avenue in Fleets Neck in Cutchogue, we talked of the changes that had taken place since I grew up in the area. At that time there was an old pathway FOCUS from our house to the beach. ON "Let's take a look and see if NATURE it is still there." b Paul I Sure enough, Y there it was. Stoutenburgh (Peg's sharp eyes - — picked it up.) How many bare feet had traveled over it during those years? How many turtles and toads had we seen there as we ran to the bay? Satisfied with finding the old path, we headed toward the beach to start our walk. Once there, we met two of Peg's students with their mother spending time at the beach. The girls ran up and asked their teacher if they could join us on our walk. "Sure," was her reply. "Come along. We're looking for interesting things to write about. You can help us find some." Probably one of the most common shells on our beaches is the shell of the hard clam that everyone knows. The big clams are ground up and used in clam chowder, clam fritters, baked clams, etc.; the smaller ones are used as steamers, and others raw, on the half shell. The other clamshell we sometimes come across is that of the soft clam, my favorite. When they're steamed and dipped in butter, you have the best of eating. They, like all other shellfish, are filter feeders and five off the various types of plankton.found in our rich waters. we haan "t gone tar on our beacn walk when we spotted a red jellyfish. They can dampen your day at the beach should you run into their long, stinging tentacles — but thank good- ness, the jellyfish are few and far be- tween. The two girls kept busy digging up treasures, at the water's edge. When I asked them what they were looking for they replied, "Mole crabs." Mole crabs live and feed in the surf line of the water. When a wave comes rolling into the beach, they dig down, letting the wave ride over them, then as the water recedes they thrust up a netlike affair that captures all sorts of tiny animals that they eat.. We found one lone oyster shell. Could it be a remnant of days gone by? Oysters were big business in our bays years ago. Long cedar posts with a flag on top marked the oyster-beds. Oyster boats and an oyster house were part of New Suffolk's economy. I also remember pulling oysters out of the banks in our creeks. They were plentiful in those days: Few people realize how much we've lost through the years. A scallop shell I picked up remind- ed me how plentiful our bay scallops once were. When I was a kid, a man stormed me and asked if I'd like to days). "Sure. What do I have to do ?" I asked. He produced a big basket and said, "Fill this with scallops and the 75 cents is yours." Half an hour later I collected my 75 cents and the man had his half bushel of scallops. I'd col- lected the scallops right off the beach. That was the easiest money I ever The scene I remember most about scallops in our bay was looking over toward New Suffolk on opening day of scallop season. There would be 20 or more sailboats of all sorts dredg- ing for scallops. In those days it was against the law to use motors. These events were when the bay bottom was covered with eelgrass. Then in the '30s a disease swept into the entire eastern seaboard and killed the eelgrass: To this day it is found only in a few places, but there's hope. Scien- tists are working hard trying to bring it back, for eelgrass has so many benefits going for it. One of the most important is that it acts as a nursery and spawn- ing area. It's in the swaying eelgrass that the small fish and shellfish could live and grow. Today our creeks and bay bottoms are bare, affording little protection from predators, In a relatively short period of time a new invader from Europe has come to, our waters; it's called "codium," or spaghetti grass. Unlike the eelgrass, whose roots are in the bay bottom, codium attaches itself to stones, shell: anything that will hold it in place. Often storms wash quantities of this new arrival ashore: Usually there will be slipper shells attached to whatever the codium has used as an anchor. Speaking of slipper shells, have you ever eaten these gourmet delights? If not, it's about time you became ac- quainted with some really good eats. Some are squeamish about eating them, yet they'll eat snails (escargot) with no problem. Mark my word, someday you'll find slipper shells (of- ten called boat shells) on the seafood I see some of our group swatting at greenhead flies, those roamers of our beaches. That's one thing that hasn't changed — and can they bite! It's only the female that bites and what you are feeling when she bites is, rath er than using something like a needle to suck the blood from you, she slits the skin to make your backside or arm bleed, and then takes her fill. We came across evidence of our three most common crabs; one was evidence of a small horseshoe crab that we could tell had shed its old shell for a larger one. How did we know that? If you look at the lead- ing edge of the empty horseshoe crab shell, you can see the opening where the new crab has emerged, softer and bigger than it was before. This is how horseshoe crabs grow. The blue crab, which we also found does something similar but, as many of you have noticed, it backs out of it shell rather than emerging from the front of its shell. The blue crab is the finest eating you can get, whether it's boiled red and eaten hot, outside on table covered with newspapers, or as soft crab, deep -fried crisp and brown. The other crab we found on the beach was the spider crab. It looks like a miniature king crab or a giant spider. I often wondered if you could eat them, but they don't look very ap• It was a fun walk along the bay - front that I remember as a kid. I was - amazed at how knowledgeable our two young guests were about the creatures of the beach. Everywhere I looked I saw old friends -- whether it was a crab shell or a clump of spa- ghetti grass, all made me think back to those wonderful days of my youth. And the best part of it all was the two young girls who tagged along and had.so much fun enjoying the world around them. Young people like them are our only hope that there will al- ways be a sandy beach to explore and clean waters to swim in. Lem we often see clumps of spagh grass, an invader from Europe. It's tablished itself throughout our ai Some hate it, for it seems to be tal, over our creeks and bay bottoms, w others applaud its presence, for it a as a nursery area where small fish other organisms can hide from many predators that are always on lookout for an easy meal. Notice slipper shells attached to the rock.