November 21, 1991 - Bats, Ticks, Geese and the Light Box6A - The Suffolk, Times • Novelmbor 21; 1991
B Ticks., Geese and the Light Box
By Paul Stoutenburah
Last week I wrote of picking up a bat
that was clinging to the outside wall of a
nearby hospital. I captured it and put it
in a small aquarium which my daughter
brought into her fifth -grade classroom
where her students got a firsthand
glimpse of this common but often not
seen visitor.
The reason for relating this tale is to
let you know there was a happy ending
to the story. When I picked up the bat
the temperature was in the 40s and so no
insects were flying about. At these
temperatures no bat in his right mind
would be flying and it looked rather
grim for our little bat clinging to the
wall.
After capturing him and taking him
home we waited until a series of mild
days came along and then decided to let
it go. Having grandchildren who delight
in such events as letting bats go, we gave
them the job of setting it free. It was
toward evening and they sat by it,
waiting for it to fly away. But like the
pot that never boils as you watch it, our
bat would not fly. Then, for a moment,
they were distracted and ran into the
house to do something. At that very
moment our bat flew off. It was unbe-
lievable to both Sara and Robby. "How
could he do that to us ?" they complained.
I chuckled. Hopefully, our bat is well on
his way south, taking advantage of the
mild spell he had at that time. If not, he
will pay dearly for lingering.
Last of the Apples
We still have apples on our trees that
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Focus
on Nature
we'll have to get in. Our resident mock-
ingbird (a grey- and -white bird a bit
smaller and slimmer than a robin but
with a long tail) has started his usual
taking over of our back pasture that in-
cludes the orchard. He's already ruined
many of the apples by digging deeply
into them, but then I guess he should for
he's a fruit eater. He has just about
cleaned us out of our raspberries that
produced right up to last week. Bushes
that bear any kind of berries are fair
game to him. He'll drive away any other
bird that ventures into "his precious
winter food supply" should that be au-
tumn olive, multiflora rose hips, holly
berries, Virginia creeper berries or cat -
briar berries. You name it. If it's edible,
he'll claim it.
As colder and colder weather moves
in we'll pick our last roses. For some
reason the last rose of summer seems to
carry a hint of hope that there'll always
be a coming spring. We have the old -
fashioned, small, pink cluster rose that
keeps blooming all summer long and
late into the fall. It is the last rose we'll
pick and then it will hold center stage in
our light box 'til it fades.
Let me tell you about our light box. I
was introduced to its charm by a won-
derful young -at -heart lady who lives
alone up on the Sound in the woods. I
met her when she called about a young
owl under her car she was concerned
about, seeing cats were around. We res-
cued the owl and were then cordially in-
vited into her home where I saw the
wonderful light box she had in the
comer. What is it? It's simply a small
box about a foot or so square with a light
inside where this ingenious lady displays
"objects that fascinate her." These
objects of the day are rotated oc-
casionally to bring out the lights and
shadows in the various positions.
It's a wonderful idea and for years I
was always going to build one but
Photo by Haul Sioutenburgh
TYPICAL FEEDING GEESE — Should you see any geese with white
bands around their necks report them. The DEC is trying to determine the
change in wintering habitats taking place throughout the state.
couldn't find the right light source. Then
one day at a yard sale I found the perfect
miniature half -inch fluorescent tube and
so I made my light box and it's where
we'll display our object of the week, the
old- fashioned pink rose.
Ticks Are Still Around
The pulse of fall's warm and cool days
takes some of us off guard. We often
forget on these warm days that ticks are
lurking out there year round and for
those who work or play in the outdoors
these pests, and sometimes real problem
pests, keep showing up. I took two Lyme
ticks off myself just last week. They are
smaller than the common dog ticks and
should not be taken lightly. Any tick that
attaches to you should be immediately
brought to the attention of your local
doctor. By now, all are well schooled in
prescribing treatment. Don't
underestimate the destructive force of
these tiny, potentially dangerous ticks.
One last bit about ticks. As you
probably know, mice of all kinds play
host to ticks and this is the time mice
look for nesting spots to spend the win-
LnVa t_nn4 adelld•14
79 Years Ago
Nov. 23, 1912
Big Ships in Greenport: Several well known
authorities have, from time to time, declared that
Greenport, not Montauk, is the proper place for the big
ships to dock. E. Platt Stratton, of College Point,
commenting on the latest plan to establish a ship terminal
at Montauk Point, said, "To my mind, Greenport, which is
ten miles inland on Peconic Bay, affords one of the finest
natural harbors in the eastern end of Long Island. This
harbor is far inland and away from the open sea, so as to
be free from the swell. Deep water is to be had all the way
in. The harbor is deep and offers any number of places for
building docks. It would not be necessary to do a bit of
dredging to make Greenport Harbor adaptable to
commercial use."
50 Years Ago
Nov. 27, 1941
Mine Sweeper Christened: One of the most
impressive sights along the waterfront in the Village of
Greenport in years was the launching on Tuesday
afternoon of the U.S. Navy's newest minesweeper, the
136 -foot YMS21, which was launched at the plant of the
Greenport Basin & Construction Company, which for
ter. They could be in your wood pile,
bird house or even in your garage or
home. There's a product that kills these
harboring ticks. If you place a few
"tubes" carrying the chemically treated
cotton around where mice will be, they
take the material from inside the tube
and make their nest of it. Then the
chemical will kill the ticks that travel on
the mice, thereby keeping your mice
clean of these pesty intruders. You can
buy these tubes of cotton from your lo-
cal hardware store, Agway, etc.
In closing, a bit about the geese we
see in our fields. As you know, we are
seeing more and more of them each year
and nobody really knows why. Some
believe our milder winters are keeping
them up north. The Department of En-
vironmental Conservation is interested
in their distribution and would like any
sightings of geese with white collars re-
ported to them. By banding these geese
they hope to be able` to determine the
changing patterns of these once -un-
common winter visitors. This kind of
information helps us better understand
the world we live in.
several months has been engaged in defense work for the
U.S. Navy.
On Tuesday afternoon, as Mrs. Margaret Tulloch, wife
of Marshall E. Tulloch, secretary and treasurer of the
company, broke the traditional bottle of champagne over
the vessel's bow, the last chock was removed and the
YMS21 slid down into the arms of the sea. The flag -
trimmed vessel was a sight that the crowd of spectators
will not soon forget.
25 Years Ago
Nov. 18, 1966
New Orient School Dedicated: At a short but
impressive outdoor ceremony on Sunday afternoon,
Orient's beautiful modern new elementary school was
dedicated. The new school is an outstanding example of
what a small community can accomplish when its citizens
work together as a unit.
A Bigger `Prospect': The ferry boat "Prospect,"
one of the three steel boats owned by the Shelter Island and
Greenport Ferry Company, has undergone surgery at the
Gladding Hearn shipbuilding yard in Somerset, Mass. The
"Prospect" has had a 20 foot section inserted which will
increase its overall length to 84 feet. In the past its capacity
was nine cars. In the future it will be able to carry 12 cars,