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September 10, 1981 - Exploring a Hidden CreekSECOND SECTION The *Uffolh TtMC5 Exploring a Hidden Creek Labor Day means different things to different people. To us, it meant getting away from the traffic jams, crowded beaches and general madness that seem to accompany this last fling holiday. Our sailboat was the solution. Friends with boats felt the same way and so we were to rendezvous at Sag Harbor for the first evening and from their it was on to the east. These plans were soon altered as the wind dropped off about noon the second day and forced us to use power. After a few hours of motoring, we dropped anchor outside a lonely cove "out east" and settled down to enjoy the peace and quiet of the area. Since we carried a dinghy, Barbara and I decided to explore along the shore. She took on the rowing task, which was kind of nice for it left me free to take in the greatness that we were about to see. In a small grassy area that merely looked like an indentation in the shoreline, we found a slow, meandering, narrow creek. In places it was only as wide as our boat and the marsh grass draped over the sides as we poled through the narrow spots. It had been cloudy most of the morning but by now the sun had broken through and this along with a flood tide gave us access to this dreamy, usually inaccessible area. Fall had started to paint its colors in the dark crimson of the pepperidge and dogwood leaves that spotted the banks. Already the salt hay had a tinge of golden brown and the tall thatch grass was dangling its cream - colored seed heads in a delicate row along its stem. Not a breath stirred and all this beauty was magnified from the mirror of reflections in the water. Hawk Leads The Way What had originally lured us to this secluded place was a young red - tailed hawk that was intent on following some- thing on the ground. It moved silently from one location to another in the trees and as we followed it we came upon this hidden world. No sooner had we entered this magical area, than more birds started to show up. A great blue heron, the tallest sentinel of our creeks, took off with slow flapping of wings and out - stretched neck; it disappeared up over the trees. The trees, by the way, were unusual to me from the North Shore for they all seemed to be the chestnut oaks with their unfamiliar oak leaf. Ahead in a flooded marsh was a white sentinel -- a snowy egret. He was stalking minnows that had now been able to move high above their normal range because of the flood tide -- slow and deliberate steps, each one calculated not to disturb the unsuspecting prey. The white head and neck slowly leaned forward, then a pause, a quick jab and another killie went down the tall slender neck in jerky movements. Not until we were within 25 feet did he stop his hunting and fly to the tip top of a dead cedar to await our passing. Further on a kingfisher chattered as it flew to a new perch over the newly- flooded marsh. He, too, was reaping the harvest of small fish milling about below. A family of crows came flying overhead chattering like children with their new delight in life. A WORLD OF CULTURE Sales /Service Over 50 Major Brands Down they swung to the nearby bay beach where they would glean the hightide mark for goodies that had possibly washed ashore. All along the twisting narrow waterway were clumps of sea lavender with their tiny light blue blossoms that were just starting to break through. Bunches of these dried marsh flowers are always a part of our household furnishings and we renew them each year. We plucked a small spray for the boat -- after all it now served us as our temporary home. Not as prominent as the sea lavender were the small white flowers of the low salt marsh aster. It, like the asters ashore, start blossoming from now until frost. This little, inconspicuous aster flourishes where no other flowering plant can. Somehow it has adapted to having its feet continually drenched with salt. Perhaps that is why it is so small and inconspicuous. It's given up the robust growth of the roadside aster so that it can show its glory alone on the marsh. As mentioned before, we were exploring at flood tide. This triggered a whole cycle of moving salt marsh snails. These snails are different than the black mud snail we usually see along the bottom of our bays and creeks. This salt marsh snail lives exclusively in the grasses of the marsh. Its shape is more elongated and lighter in color than our mud snail. Also its shell is much thinner. and more brittle. For those not acquainted with this interesting little snail, look for its empty shell cases along the high hightide mark. Often when severe high tides and winds take over in the creeks, many of these small snails are washed ashore and perish, leaving their little bleached shells along the hightide mark. Normally they rise on the blades of marsh grass just ahead of the rising tide. Looking across the tops of the grasses we could see them clinging, like little globs, about two inches above the water. Scientists have taken them into their laboratories and found that they continue to rise and fall on the side of their enclosures even though there is no tide to spur them on. Their clock mechanism has been set to the rhythm of the tides and still functions even though they are far from the sea. Looking at this tiny creek with all its wonders we could almost imagine our- selves as Indians in this untouched world. Here was an incredible uninhibited natural we of systems each flourishing and yet each being controlled by other forces. Here truly was nature in balance. I'm afriad society is once again a loser for the more we move in and take over these natural areas, the more things seem to get out of balance. And by doing so we seem to create more of our own problems. CHAROS SOUND EASTERN L.I.'s LARGEST AUDIO -VIDEO SPECIALISTS 28 Cameron St. ( just off Main St. ) Southampton 283 -4428 AT CHARO'S EVERYTHING'S AFFORDABLE Portable Radios & Cassettes - Stereo Components - Auto Sound Systems - TV's - Audio Accessories Large Screen Projection T.V. — Video Recorders VHS MOVIES Available for Rent SEPTEMBER 10, 1981 MARSH ASTER - -This small inconspicuous aster is often overlooked. It lives only out on the low salt marsh in isolated-locations. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh That is why it is so important not to overrun the land with man's contraptions. Wise planning can bring this about so that both man and nature can survive. This can only come about with intelligent decisions based on a knowledge of the environment by people who have no personal gain. 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