March 05, 1987 - March & MudMarch
&Mud
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
Marcl- and mud seem to go to-
gether, for we have nothing but rain
and puddles everywhere. When I
went out to feed the animals, each
step was in soft mud, but I could still
Focus on
Nature
feel the solid frozen ground beneath.
Where there is a good insulator like
leaves or snow, the ground will re-
main frozen below much longer than
the ground out in the open. Perhaps
by tomorrow, with the warm rain
and mild temperatures, all the frost
will be out of the ground. Then the
puddles of water that were held back
from percolating below will disap-
pear.
This freezing and thawing of our
ground is very beneficial -- it condi-
tions the land, loosens it up and
makes it easy to plow and work. A
warning, though, to those who can't
wait to get into the garden. Starting
too soon to work the ground can be
detrimental. Not only does the frost
beneath have to come out of the
ground but the moisture mlist have
time to work out also. Getting in too
soon can cake and pack the ground,
defeating nature's conditioning.
It's difficult for us to realize just
how much freezing and thawing does
for us for we tend to look for instant
results. What I speak of takes mil-
lions of years to work. One of the
ways to break down rock into soil is
by freezing and thawing. One only
has to walk along our sound beach.to
see huge boulders with cracks in
them. Water enters and when the
cold of winter freezes the water it ex-
pands and cracks the rock. Through
multiplying this cracking and break-
ing through millions of years, sand
and soil are born.
Signs of Life
About this time of the year when
the frost comes out of the ground and
the temperature tries to get away
from winter's cold, life once again
starts to move in the upper soil. The
worms in our lawns that have been
confined to below the frost line re-
turn to this upper surface to feed
once again. Along with these com-
mon night crawlers, there are a mul-
titude of micro- organisms that func-
tion in our soil to make it the produc-
tive medium we all take for granted.
How and what all these visible and
non - visible organisms do is still not
completely understood. We've come a
long way in our study of soils but
there's much much more to learn.
Countries have prospered and
others fallen by the wayside because
of their soils and climates. No other
place in the world has been given
such precious gifts of productive soil
and perfect climate than we have in
our country. What is it they call the
midwest -- the bread basket of the
world?
The great plains must have been
something to see in those pioneer
days. Some of the great grasses
reached the height of a man and
stretched out as far as the eye could_
see -like s&nn -great ocean. -TliA- fs
The Suffc!!,, Times /March 5, 1987 /Page 11A
ICE RINGS- -Short bursts of cold towards the end when the temperature dropped.
of winter show up as ice rings made during the night
where the covered wagon got its
name "Prairie Schooner ", for it took
the early settlers across the oceans
of grass that later became the wheat
fields of the west.
Soils Need Attention
But soils, like anything else, must
be taken care of Nature in her own
way does a pretty good job of it if left
alone, but when man moves in he
often forgets his responsibility to the
land and then we see dust storms,
erosion from rain and soil depletion
entering into what was once a fertile
vigorous soil.
It's like many things in life, if you
continually take, take, take without
putting anything back. It doesn't
matter whether it is soil, shellfish or
trees. Each has its limit or carrying
capacity. Perhaps it is human nature
to always take more than we should
from the land. We squeeze every bit
of production out of the soil, we over -
harvest our shellfish and we often
clear cut our timber. Each has its
short -term rational reasoning behind
it while little thought is given to the
long -term effect of what we've done.
Slowly we're learning. We know
how to stop erosion, we know how
much our land can produce safely
and we set limits on shellfish. And in
forestry we can change our cutting
methods. Hopefully we will do all
these and others before it's too late.
The big problem ahead is with the
new emerging nations. Countries
like Brazil and others in South
America and the many new and
emerging countries in Africa are all
struggling to get every bit of produc-
tion out of their land. Can and will
they try to take. the correct steps to
avoid the mistakes we made? It's a
lot to ask a starving oountry to slow
down and do it right. Yet if they
don't, they too will wind up with
their dust bowls, their erosion and
their droughts.
Yes, March has come with its
thawing of winter. Muddy shoes,
deep tire tracks from cars, lots of
water about and the beginning of life
once again in the ground that's been
asleep all winter. It will be but a few
weeks and the salamanders will be
out looking for woody ponds in which
to lay their eggs. A new movement of
life has started and I await its entr-
ance with anew. excitement and fas-
cination.
FORTUNE
MORTGAGE
BANKERS
INC.
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
Licensed New York State
Mortgage Bankers
405 Ostrander Avenue,
Riverhead, NY
368 -8400
(opposite Riverhead Building Supply)
EQUIPMENT AUCTION
WESNOFSKE'S FARMS • TRUCK ROUTE 25I13OUTE 48,
PECONIC, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK * ON THE NORTH SHORE
SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 19879
At 10:00 AM
DIRECTIONS: From Riverhead, take Truck Route 25/Route 48 about 15 miles -- Farm is on the right.
From Orient Point, take Route 25 West to Jet. of Truck Route 251Route 48. Take Truck Route 25/Route 48
West 10 miles- Farm is on the left.
TRACTORS - PLANTING - HARVESTING - IRRIGATION - PACKING EQUIPMENT
•Int. #186 Hydro Tractor
•Int. #84 Hydro Tractor
*FMC Potato Harvester
94 -Row Lockwood Potato Planter
*Oliver OC6 Crawler
•4 -Row Int. Front -Mount Cultivatur
•Singer Bin Loader w/28' Boom
*Advanced Bin Loader with 25' Boom
*Clark Pallet Jack
•Dietz- Wetzel Potato Seed Cutter
•4 -BTM. New Type Coldbuster
•3 -Row, 3 -P.H. Transplanter
-Stanley 3 -Row Direct Seeder
•Fish Bein Sowing Machine
•4- and 6 -Row Drag Harrows
*Fertilizer Augers
*Union Special Sowing Machine and Conveyor
•Farmall H Tractor
•50 - 100 lb. Kiper Automatic Potato Bagger with
Conveyor
100 Lngs. of 4" x 40' Aluminum GLF Irrigation Pipe with Risers
•50 Lngs. of 4" x 40' Aluminum Stout Irrigation
Pipe
•UD14 and UD14A Irrigation Motor on Wheels
16 TRUCKS
• 81nt. Chevrolet GMC, Ford, Trucks w /15' Ziggy Bodyand Auxiliaries
• 3 Int. Trucks w115' and 17' Bulk Bodies
• 3 Ford, Int. Chevy 15' Flatbody Trucks
• 1 White Diesel with 15' Bulk Body
• 1 Chevrolet #C20 Pick -up Truck
AUCTIONEER'S NOTE:
Looking forward to seeing old and new customers and friends alike at this auction where we'll sell a fine
line of equipment for Wesnofske's Farms and some equipment for a few neighbors.
TERMS: Cash or Check -- Day of Sale.
— Sammy Petrowsky
Caterer
Sale Managed By:
Maple Grove Auction Company
105 MAIN STREET, HEBRON, CONNECTICUT
(203) 228 -4124
Riverhead, L.I. Tel. # (516) 369 -1123