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December 04, 1986 - Winter Work: SurvivalWinter Work: Survival By PAUL STOUTENBURGH I've been watching the afterglow of a November sunset. The leaves have fallen from the oaks in the woods and a cool quietness has taken over the area. To the west there's a reddish- - orange glow blending upward to an evening blue sky above. The cardinal sneaks into our feeder outside the window to take its last bit of nourish- ment before it heads for its favorite roosting spot deep inside the thicket. It's time for the little screech owl to pop out of his hollow lodging in the dead oak nearby. His quiet flight takes him to a lookout in the nearby field where mice will soon be forag- ing in their endless pursuit for seeds. Food is the key to survival and it's the first order of business for all wildlife whether it be owl, mouse or raccoon. I know the raccoon has been about for ,I saw his fresh hand - prints at the edge of a muddy puddle just this af- ternoon. He, too, will be food- gather- ing after darkness. There was a time when the raccoon had to watch his step for there were predators of all sorts looking for a meal. Today the predators are gone and Mr. Raccoon has free rein to wander at will. Sorry to say his wanderings are becoming more and more annoying to man's way of life. They've overpopulated and are becoming a problem. Yet the raccoon has a few deter- rents, one being my dog when he gets a whiff of the raccoon's trail. Then he'd better move out or look for the nearest tree to climb. There's still that old predatory instinct in our dog, Hickory, and Mr. Raccoon truly stirs that ancient blood. A more gen- tle or devoted dog I've never had, but let Mr. Raccoon into his territory and his disposition radically changes. He's my only hope for keeping the "masked bandit" away from my chickens and he does a pretty good job at that. Plants Ready for Spring As some parts of our outside world are preparing for the coming winter, others have already set the stage for spring. I moved a pile of leaves into the edge of the woods just recently and found under their wet mat the yellow -green shoots of a cluster of Star of Bethlehem bulbs. In the spring they will add their v Mite flow- ers to the parade of blossoms that herald in the new season. Out in the garden, we dug some Focus on Nature raspberry plants for a friend and found they, too, had already started new shoots towards the surface, al- most as if they wanted to take no chance of not being ready for spring when it arrives. And yet, even when the mice run in the fields and the owl glides by on silent wings and the plants have set the stage for spring, some have al- ready gone into winter's deep sleep. Insects, those cold - blooded creatures that lose their mobility when winter's chill takes over, have, for the most part, become dormant. A tarpaulin which my son and I unwrapped to cover his boat dis- played this winter sleep in a nest of carpenter ants that had taken up lodging in the folds of the cover. There they were by the hundreds and perhaps thousands -- ants of all sizes, some even with wings. Those are the adventurers who have the job in the spring of flying away to seek out new territories and establish a new col- ony. All kinds of ants went into mak- ing this colony function. All in per- fect condition, in the perfect envi- ronment they had selected for their winter's sleep. As we tipped the tarpaulin up to get rid of the ants, it gave the appear- ance of a net full of black beads roll- ing out on the ground where their feeble movements told us they were alive but inactive. They would soon become a feast for the chickens, who by now find meager pickings when scratching for insects amongst the leaves. The variety of life about is almost mind - boggling and is ever- fascinat- ing. We humans are the only ones who have stepped out of the natural flow of the seasons by having heated homes, warmer clothes and what seems like an endless supply of food at the supermarket. We alone have broken the chain and invaded the natural system. To compensate for that effort and change, we are liter- ally altering the world we live in. The big question that has to be answered some day is "What hap- pens when the supplies we consume run out ?" for nothing is forever. CNRISTPdAS [aVnew0fid Garden Center Main Road, Cutchogue OPEN HOUSE • Dec. 6 ft 7 Join Us for Punch and Cookies 134 -6911 0 134 -691$ I he Suffolk Times/December 4, 1986 /Page 11 A Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh SCREECH OWL - -This little owl sleeps the day away, but when dark- ness comes, he's up and out, flying over woods and fields for a meal of mice, insects or anything small that moves. 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