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June 18, 1987 - A Time to Live...A Time to Live... By PAUL STOUTENBURGH There is still more to come I'm sure, but we've certainly just finished two weeks of the most frag- rant time of the year. The giver of such joy to the nostrils is found in the hedgerow of our pasture. It is made up of the white multiflora rose and the pale yellow insignificant blossom of the Russian olive. This hedgerow surrounds the four acres of pasture where our cows browse and keep it well mowed. These shrubs originated from the New York State Department of En- vironmental Conservation as seedl- ings years ago when they distributed them to individuals who would plant them for wildlife habitat. Our pas- ture was an open farm field 30 years ago, but by planting these fast -grow- ing delightfully fragrant shrubs we not only have created a wildlife habitat but a fragrant border be- sides. For those who have open land and want privacy and a wall of shrubbery that even my cows can't penetrate, I highly recommend mul- tiflora rose. But there's a warning that travels with this suggestion, and that is sooner or later you're going to find the young of these aggressive plants sprouting up all over. The multiflora rose, with its many flowered clusters, produces an abundance of small ber- ries that carry innumerable seeds. In the fall the berries turn red and provide food for a wide variety of wildlife. Most are swallowed whole and after the nutrients are extracted from the pulp, the seeds are passed on. Where these seeds are dropped is anyone's guess, but I can vouch that any fence row will have its share for birds spend much time sitting on fences, thereby depositing the seeds along it. Birds Distribute Seeds Of course, there are seeds dropped in flight -- over your garden or my pasture or even an open field. The reason we don't see the seedlings in our lawns and gardens is that we eliminate them by mowing or pulling them out. My cows do a fine job of eating the tender shoots, but the open field left fallow is where you'll really see these aggressive plants starting up. Without a control they'll be there. It's a great cover for wildlife, but its escape into pastures has become such a problem in some agricultural states where pasture is king that its planting has been outlawed; you can understand why if it ruins good pas- tureland. But here, most of us keep it under control. It loves sunshine and therefore doesn't do too well in the woods, but along the wood's edge, where the sun can get at it, just watch it grow. The same is true of the Russian olive. It has a multitude of small flowers that give off a delightful fragrance and, like the multiflora rose, has great quantities of small seeded fruit. These are eaten by birds and spread the same way, hither and yon. Along the Sunrise Highway Ex- tension going by Hampton Bays and into Southampton, you'll see the highway department has planted these and they are now huge silvery green bushes lining the roadside. Both these plants are easy to grow Focus on Nature and are aggresisve once established. Right now rosa rugosa, or the salt spray rose, is making its appearance in great clusters of green along our sandy areas. Whether it be the dunes of the ocean or the flat sandy areas of the bay, rosa rugosa does well. It tol- erates the salt spray that is usually found in this harsh shoreline envi- ronment and is used by many dune homes in their plantings. I have lots of fun when on a walk in the fall picking the rose hips. You can eat them raw, but you'll find the outer shell is the only part edible as the inside is a storehouse of seeds. Where abundant, we've collected these rose hips and Barbara's made a pretty marmalade using oranges, grape- fruit and these rose hips. It not only adds a special tang to the jelly but it adds color as well. Add this to the storehouse of Vitamin C and the rose hip becomes a worthy item to collect in the fall. Daisy from the Old Country Our good wayside friend, the daisy, is out in full force right now. Along with the tall - stalked king devil, they are probably the most prominent flowers seen. Sometimes you can find fields of these growing in such profu- sion that they are totally white or in the case of king devil, yellow. I re- member taking a picture of such a field of king devil years ago at the traffic circle in Riverhead where 7 -11 now stands. King devil hasn't changed but surely that corner has. Both these roadside flowers are im- migrants from the old country and, like many of our own immigrants, make this country what it is. Al- though not native wildflowers, the king devil and daisy are now consi- dered by most to be part of our wildflower heritage. But no matter what we speak of -- plant, tree, animal, fish or any living thing -- it is now busy reproducing itself in one form or another. It is part of the cycle we continually speak of. Some life cycles are mea- sured in days or less, while others like trees can go on for more than a thousand years. Yet death eventu- ally comes. It is my belief we don't stress this living and dying enough, particu- larly with our young people. We have a tendency to make believe too much. We're afraid or feel uncomfort- able talking about death. There was an advantage for the boy and girl who lived on the farm, for life and death was part of every day. Some chicks were born, some died. Chick- ens were killed and wound up in the pot. Pigs were slaughtered and Dad went hunting and shot rabbits for the table. Today we're not leveling with our kids. Everything has an end and they should know about it. It should not be kept from them. In the long run, they'll be the better for it and be able to face the facts of life when the time comes. f SP. t 8 t 9rml,` a9mIT )Iniiu?. 9rlPAfi gpeq The Suffolk Times /June 18, 1987 /Page 9A Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh KING DEVIL - -Most will consider this wayside splash of yellow a weed, but upon close examination it reveals a charm and beauty all its own. ss 9 L � NO FORK RESTAURANT North Road, Southold, NY 765 -2111 Lunch 12 noon - 2:30 p.m. • Dinner 5 -9 p.m. Sunday 12 noon - 9 p.m. • Closed Mondays MAJOR CREDIT CARDS 94E 2E9io//lnaf cuisine and winzs Of 1.0129 gsCpand; m.l i .�V JOHN C. ROSS Chef Ovviwr from scaatek, cooked to o %dE2 1-11/1 *- pp and SE2VEd with �itidE. SOUTMOLD, -- � ,� ^ ^�^/ C MATTIT Morn Hoak Open 7 Days Year -Round Located on Route 25 (Main Road) between Southold and Greenport overlooking Southold Bay and our marina. \`�'IIIIJI� j DEAN BLAIKIE 765 -1010 Major credit cards accepted Fresh Fish, Lobsters, ' Clams and Oysters. 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