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November 22, 1990 - High Winds, Low Tides: It's WinterNovember 22, 1990 • The Suffolk Times C1 i High Winds, Low Tides: It's Winter By Paul Stoutenburgh There's not much doubt in my mind that with all the howling winds and that taste of unseasonably cold weather we had in the past few weeks, winter's truly arrived. Two or three times a year the wind will shriek out of the north, day after day, 'til one wonders if it will ever stop. It's during these times that the leaves on the ground get shifted Focus on Nature around to their more or less permanent winter resting spots. Of course, there will be those who will rake and bag the leaves, but those that have fallen in the woods or blown into open fields have pretty well found their resting place. As the rains and snows come, they'll mat down the leaves so that they can become part of nature's compost, thereby starting their conversion into nutrients. It's these nu- trients that are nature's fertilizers. It's during these stormy winds that nature trims her trees of old and diseased limbs. Ask anyone who has a lawn with trees and they'll vouch for the "pick up sticks" they have after a big blow. Normally in a woods these discarded branches that no longer can produce are dropped and will decay like the leaves, creating the richness of the forest loam. The fact is that self - replenishment is little understood by most for we tend to think in short terms. The leaves and branches are usually taken away and not allowed to return to the soil. This is understandable around the home, but in the woods they should be left where they fall.to replenish the soil. We've become so used to trees be- ing trimmed and leaves being raked that some think a woods is dying when they see dead trees, broken limbs and leaf Join 4 -H Suffolk County 4 -H programs are open to kids ages five to 19. Kids can learn about food and nutrition; ani- mal science; human development and family studies; gardening; lead- ership development and more through hands -on projects. To find out more about joining a club or or- ganizing one, call Cornell Coopera- tive Extension at 727 -7850. Photo by Paul 5toutenburgh EXTREME LOW TIDE —Often during the winter months the wind will howl fiercely out of the northwest, blowing most of the water out of our creeks. rubble below, when in reality they are part of the cycle of the forest's future. Wind Blows Water Away When those special days of wind oc- cur the water in our bays and creeks is literally blown out and we have the most unusual low tides of the year. Just this past week there was just a narrow band of water where the channels were in our creeks. Alongside were the ex- posed mud and sand flats. Looking closely, you could see the small black mud snails sprinkled throughout the wet exposed surfaces. These vacuum cleaners of the bottoms were stalled in their tracks and had pulled their working parts into their shells to await the return of their life- supporting water. Then it would be back to their never - ending sweeping of the bottoms. Boats that once floated free were now sitting on their bottoms. Some, unable to remain upright, lay at odd angles in the mud in a most undignified manner. Old moorings showed their heads, draped with seaweed and growth of every sort. They, took, looked out of place on the weed- exposed bottom. What was once a thriving community of plants and animals now lay prostrate and helpless, a mere glob of bulk. For those who know of these special HELUNK SMACK BAR b RESTAURANT The only authentic Greek Restaurant on the North Fork Last Weekend... Closing Nov. 25th We would like to thank all our customers for their patronage this season. Enjoy the holidays! We look forward to seeing you in February. Open Dally for Breakfast. Lannch and Dinner Main Road 477-0138 East Marion. days when the wind blows the water out, it's a day to take down the old clam rakes or forks and head for a day of clamming. Now one could walk where once water flowed. A good pair of rub- bers or at most a pair of knee boots would suffice. Then, with a little skill and know -how, soft clams would be on the menu that night. By skill and know- how I mean one would have to detect the tell -tale holes of the soft clam — not just in any hole would you find them — oh, no. There are all sorts of tube worms and other holes that can frustrate the inexperienced. A good clue is the sight of a water spout as you walk along, giving them the name that's mentioned with a smile. Once you've located a likely spot the next step is the art of digging these soft clams. Just digging away will result in a tremendous loss by breaking the soft shells of these clams, making them use- less. The art of digging is one of caving in a starter hole. Here a hole is dug quite deep so that the sides start to cave in. Then a continual taking away of the caved material exposes new clams as fast as one can dig. You can pick these clams right out of the sides and often you'll see them with their long, two - inch, rubbery necks pointed upward in their holes. When the tide comes in their long siphons reach to the top of the hole in the sand or mud and pull in the rich nutrients from the waters. When conditions are right a "good catch" can be taken from one spot. A conscientious clammer will then tidy up the area by filling in his hole behind him. When these high winds and low tides occur in the cold of winter, much harm is done by freezing. Anything that was normally protected by the water now be- comes a candidate for death. The com- mon ribbed mussel we find along the banks of all our creeks seems to be able to survive intermittent freezings and thawings, but should long periods of extremely low temperatures occur, they too may die. Many of the seaweeds also can withstand intermittent freezings but, like the mussels, will succumb to pro- longed extreme cold. The savior of life on these wintry days in the return of the two tides each day. As long as the in- coming tide can cover these plants and animals, they will survive. At night during these low tides the ducks, raccoons and others have addi- tional territory to explore. It's here they "puddle out" their food in the newly ex- panded shallows and so there are those who take advantage of nature's quirks in the weather, be it man or beast, while most stay at home and listen to the wind roar and the trees sway. It's na- ture's way of saying she's in control, and should anyone doubt it, just look about when the wind lets up. She al- ways seems to rule and remind us we're just a small pebble on the beach of time. OANTHONY9 Main Road, Southold 765 -5282 O� Oe 51 Open 7 days for dinner from 4 p.m. - closing and Friday, Saturday and Sunday for Lunch 1 1:30 until closing Closed Thanksgiving Day (�)76 'Birdwwwrls Companw-i Eaua &- der" ythit>8 f or the r North Road, Southold, 765 -5872 Open Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday Gifts • Binoculars a Books • Seed • Feeders • Houses v.