May 14, 1987 - Maypink MemoriesMaypink Memories
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
Spring plus Mother's Day equals
flowers, and this weekend surely
proved that. And with the flowers my
bees have never been busier, for this
is the big run on honey. We have
such an array of colorful nursery
trees, bushes and plants at this time
that the wildflowers sometimes go
unnoticed. What with the first for-
sythia and then the wide variety of
azalea colors bursting through and
the blossoming trees of all shapes
and colors, it's understandable that
the woodland plants are sometimes
forgotten.
In early days when dollars and the
accompanying horticultural displays
were less evident, the country folk
from north, south, east and west
knew well where the spring flowers
grew. My folks' specialty, like that of
so many others of this area, was the
trailing arbutus or maypinks. Our
soils of the East End in many places
are ideal for this delicate ground
hugger.
Even as a boy who was involved in
a boy's world, I, too, had my favorite
patch. In those days when arbutus
was common along most country
paths and roads, we'd pick a bouquet
to bring home. Its delicate white -to-
pinkish waxy flowers would fill the
room with a fragrance one never
forgets.
Today, like so many things we once
took for granted, the maypink is hard
to find. Granted, there are those who
still protect their precious patch and
look forward to its blossoming each
spring.
Wood Anemone Still Here
There are some spring wildflowers
still plentiful in such quantities that
hopefully they'll always be around.
Wood anemone, which wilts almost
immediately when picked -- perhaps
its salvation -- still is common
throughout many of our rich, wet
woods. So slender and fragile is this
tiny beauty that only grows about
four inches tall that the slightest
breath of air sways the head back
and forth. Many's the time I've
waited, bent over on hands and
knees, for that breath of air to stop
moving so I could photograph it. In
the same woods star flower can be
found, but it grows much more
sparsely. It, too, is a delicate flower.
Wild lily -of -the- valley or Canada
mayflower that blankets some of our
forest floors is much more insignific-
Focus on
Nature
ant in its flowers but its leaf often
dominates great patches of the
woods. Once established, this green
cover seems to take over and give a
delightful freshness to the area. As
you've heard me say before, we
hardly ever go anywhere without our
cameras and binoculars. Our wan-
derings never seem to have an exact
set of plans or set of time. Just this
weekend Barbara and I took off with
no destination except perhaps we'd
head towards Yaphank in hopes of
seeing if the warblers had arrived
from the south. We took the River
Road that parallels the famous
Peconic River, stopping along the
way to check the river and take
photographs. It was a delightful day
and it was an easy walk from the
road to the river.
Canoers on the River
We found one group of paddlers
just coming down the river as we ar-
rived. It reminded us that we, too,
should be getting our canoe out and
making our annual pilgrimage.
The black and ' white warbler
worked its way around and around
the trunk of a tree, stopping now and
then to dig out a bit of nourishment.
A yellow warbler sang its heart out
in a wild apple tree that made a
beautiful picture against the blue
sky. It was good to see the water high
in the river, for last year when we
paddled down we'd often run ag-
round. Soon the paddlers were
around the bend and out of sight and
almost out of hearing. The new
greenery on each side engulfed them.
Further along we stopped to watch
a pair of red - tailed hawks cavorting
in their courtship -- dives, glides and
high - pitched screams. A patroling
police car stopped and inquired what
we were doing. We didn't look like
spies, but Grumman Aircraft's huge
plant lay just to the north of us. Soon
we were to realize this, as a deafen-
ing roar from one of their jets warm-
ing up before takeoff drowned the
area in almost intolerable noise and
vibrations. Our dream world of warm
sun and budding spring was shat-
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The Suffolk Times /May 14, 1987 /Page I IA
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
MAYPINKS OR TRAILING ARBUTUS -- Probably one of the most
lovely and fragrant of all our wildflowers, the beautiful, ground- hugging
maypink is fast disappearing from the woodlands of the East End.
tered and we were brought back to
the real world of cat and mouse that
the major powers of the world are
playing. Man, with all his technology
and resources, can make these intri-
cate machines and yet has done little
to change human distrust and con-
flicts. Soon, another huge burst of
sound and the aircraft was airborne
and it seemed to rocket itself out of
sight. In no time the world came back
to normal and we resumed our
ramblings.
Times Are Changing
We explored the back roads of
Manorville I'd known 40 years ago.
Tremendous changes are taking
place throughout the area. New
roads, shopping centers, homes; and
we even watched one new develop-
ment where two -story modular unit
homes were being assembled by a
huge crane in what seemed to be a
no -man's land.
The pressure is on the land and I'm
afraid the East End is in its path. I
wonder if our grandchildren will ever
thrill to a patch of violets or the scent
of maypinks? If they don't, they've
been robbed of some of nature's
greatest wonders.
MB
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