Loading...
August 20, 1981 - Signs of Summer's EndAugust 20, 1981 The *Uffolk Timto Signs of Summer's End All day and into the night Monday a cool northwest wind blew. The air was clear and brought thoughts of a typical fall day that can't be far away. Summer goes so fast. First we anxiously await the Fourth of July and in no time it seems the end of August approaches. Where did it all go? In back our golden fields of grain have been consumed by the work of a grain combine and now show only the green grasses below that once were smothered by the overpowering grain. There's something impressive about that huge machine as it rumbles across the fields devouring all in its way and spewing the digested debris behind. Surely this is a sign of a season's passing. It tells a story of the mainstay of our nation, its grain. Here in the east, the small amount of grain planted each year amounts to no more than a kernel in a field compared to the great expanses of the bread basket regions of the west. But this wasn't always so. In earlier times grain was the most important part of every farm, for not only did it supply the mainstay of the family, but fed the domestic animals as well. Those were the times when grain mills were spotted throughout our landscape. Some were run by water at the heads of rivers or the mouths of creeks. Others waved their arms as the winds blew and turned the machinery to grind the grain. Few machines are perfect, and so it is with our grain combines. Some of the grain is missed and falls to the ground. Like the famous painting showing the women gathering the missed grain after harvest, so it is that the birds, ducks and geese will profit from the mistakes of the machine. And what is not gathered by them will sprout and grow next year. Birds Begin to Flock Right now the starlings and grackles with their young are starting to congregate in flocks. They'll eat almost anything, including the excess grain in our fields, but what gives them a bad reputation is when they invade the fruit growers' crops. My own poor orchard with its watched -over ripening fruit is continually under attack. To me, it's no great problem, for we have learned to eat around the damage. But to the fruit grower who must sell his crop, birds can be a disaster. And it is not only starlings and grackles that can be so destructive. Our common robin and the redwing and even the lowly house finch take their toll. Again we find ourselves on the horns of a dilemma. We want the birds and yet we want our fruit unmarred. To work out the solution is not always an easy task. Here again the ripening fruit tells of the end of a season. Our lush red raspberries and the red - cheeked peaches, along with heavy - ladened apple branches, all tell us that they have had their time in the sun and the season is passing. The weedy garden that was once so clean and manicured, now looks like a backyard gone wild. It seems the weeds are determined to smother everything we've worked for all summer long. Overnight they appear and there's no keeping pace with them. Already my cucumbers have given up. The weeds have taken over their territory. Along the beaches and along the sand- bars, the young terns are lined up into the wind awaiting their next lesson in sur- vival. A few still beg for food, but like most fledgings in the bird world, they had better learn their trade well. Soon the parent birds will forever leave them to forage for themselves. Those who do not pay strict attention to the game of survival will soon perish or be left behind, for that inner urgency to migrate has already started in some birds. Monarchs Start to Move I see the Monarch butterfly lazily working over the pasture. It seems as if there is no apparent direction, but like a soft wind their overall drift is migration oriented. Soon hundreds of thousands of them will be working their way over our south shore, especially along the great barrier beaches that rim our coast: Fire Island, Sandy Hook, and so on southward they'll move. Weighing little more than a feather this dainty butterfly makes it through storms and peril that seem to defy all logic. The milkweed pods already are full of their gossamer and seeds, packed like some wonderful surprise package that lies in wait for their time of the year to ex- plode. First they must dry and this takes a bit more of the good hot August sun. Then sometime in September they will burst their seed pods and from the split will flow an almost lighter than air sunburst of silver filaments that will transport the tightly -held seeds to their new homes -- who knows where? Slowly the summer comes to a close; crabs will be caught, snappers fished for, boats will be hauled out, summer cottages closed for the season and we'll await another year for the magical season of summer to come once again. PAULSTOUTENBURGH TOM ROB TWOMEY PIKE STEVE Y JOYCI LATAM ZIGH SCHMITT ROOP SCHMITT ATTORNEYS- AT-LAW .L.L-& Real Estate Transactions - Small Business Matters Family & General Practice - Public Interest 10 Main Street 33 West Second Street East Hampton, N,Y. Riverhead, New York 324 -1200 727 -2180 Page 17 MONARCH BUTTERFLY -- Gathering energy, the Monarch butterfly starts on its long, southward trek as far away as Georgia, Texas or even Central America. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh Sea She %I .. (continued from previous page) duckling, one of the biggest sellers, which is glazed with a not - too-sweet orange sauce. The Sea Shell's long list of seafood dishes starts off with sea squab, broiled in a lemon /garlic scampi sauce or lightly breaded and fried. "No one breads like we do," said Mrs. Power. She also said that sea squab (blowfish) is a hot item and she doesn't know of another restaurant which offers it. The seafood fare also includes lobster, soft shell crabs, scallops, king crab legs and more. In addition to the items on the printed menu, the Sea Shell offers local fish in season: weakfish, eels, fried clams and swordfish. Dinners include a bread basket (with real butter), coleslaw or salad, the farm stand vegetable of the day and the potato of the day, either baked, mashed, scallop- ed or au gratin. Dinner prices range from $7.95 to $15.95, but most are in the $8.95 neighborhood. The Sea Shell also offers a complete luncheon special daily -- soup to coffee — for $4.95. Lunch is served from noon to 2:30 and dinner begins at 5 p.m. The restaurant • is open six days a week (closed Tuesdays) throughout the year. During their eight years at the Sea Shell, the Powers have "done a lot of redecorat- ing, a little bit every year." The result is a cozy, yet somewhat formal atmosphere, with linen napkins and tablecloths, candles and fresh flowers. They have installed a fireplace which they said is "nice on a rainy or snowy day" and ceiling fans for the warm ones. The walls are hung with plants and oil seascapes. "Everyone com- pliments the decor and the cleanliness," said Mrs. Power. As you drive east from Southold, you'll find the Sea Shell on the north side of the Main Road, JEFF MILLER BACK -TO- SCHOOL CLEANING SPECIAL Bring in your typewriter (any brand) and our Service Technician will r. 1. Air Clean 2. Make minor adjustments 3. Clean type face 4. Install new ribbon S. Lubricate 2 WEEKS ONL Y — AVAILABLE AT DUNKERLEY'S Riverhead Southold 138 E.Main Street Main Street 727 -7747 765 -3226 $2250 Reg. $45.00 Value Offer Good Thru 9 -3 -81 A low ,0 1.