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May 18, 1995 - A Mother's Day Worth RememberingGA • The Suffolk Times • May 18, 1995 A Mother's Day Worth Remembering By Paul Stoutenburgh We took Mother's Day to open the cottage on the bay and had a celebration. All the kids and grandchildren and many of the relatives were there for snacks, hamburgers, salads, drinks and a variety of goodies that made the occasion a momentous one. Driving down the long driveway through the woods to the cottage, we traveled under a canopy of newly budded trees, the start of a greening world. Along the edges were the Focus on delicate pink to purple flowers of Nat=3 the wild geranium. Whenever I see their quiet beauty I think of those great woods east of Greenport, Moores Woods, for it was there years ago I photographed it where it filled the pathways as you wandered along through the woods. Further along the roadway the head of a screech owl looked out of an elongated bird house where a squirrel had gnawed the hole to accommodate its inquisitive body. No doubt he took the cache of nuts that some deer mouse had stored inside. Now it had become the home of our smallest of owls, the screech owl. I once found a similar situation on Gardiner's Island. That time the screech owl had holed up in a wood duck's nesting box out on the pond. Almost any cavity will do for this little owl. The marsh in back of the cottage was still draped in last winter's dead colors of grey and brown, but I knew green shoots had already started up. Soon it will be tall and green, one of my favorite sights, the marshes of the East End. Our osprey sits tight on its nesting platform that has served it well for the past 10 to 15 years. Later, as we were all eating and enjoying the warmth of the sun, the male flew by with a silvery fish in its talons — a Mother's Day gift, no doubt, to the brooding female. All a Bit Older Daisy, the neighbor's dog, greeted us — a bit older and not quite as spunky as I remembered her from last year, but then that could be said of many of us. Barbara had visited the cottage earlier and had the Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh SCREECH OWL —Our smallest year -round owl will seek a cavity in trees or, if the opening is large enough, a manmade box. Here it has made its home in a wood duck's nesting box over a pond. place spick and span. The lilacs I'd picked at a friend's place on the way over sat on a table in front of the big picture window, the sun steaming in on them, their pungent scent filling the room. When I had stopped to pick the lilacs there was a wood pile nearby swarming with newly hatched flying termites. It was one of the rare sights of nature's overabundance. Newborn insects rose in a cloud of wings that took to the air and drifted away much like a whiff of smoke. Birds were taking advantage of this explosion of life and were feasting on those that lit on the ground while oth- ers picked them off in the air. A bluejay gorged itself with the teeming multitude of insects on the logs. As so often is the case when tempera- ture, humidity and the urge to proliferate are combined, these spectacular displays of nature can be seen. Most will die but there will always be those few that will find the right location where all the ele- ments are in place for a new colony of termites to start up. Let's hope it's not in 2 w1169w 2 wwL nwwL 75 Years Ago May 14, 1920 Classifieds: For sale — A lawn mower in first -class condition, 14 -inch blade, ball bearing. Will sell for $6. Horse for sale — A good all- around horse, as I have no use for him. William H. Cook, Greenport. To let — Three rooms and attic, $7. Inquire 306 Bridge St., Greenport. Buys Submarine Chaser: Clarence Mackay, who has leased Gardiner's Island for a term of 20 years for $200,000, has purchased recently one of the government submarine chasers. The purpose for which Mr. Mackay will use this boat is principally to transport him from points along Long Island to Gardiner's Island. The particular boat he has purchased is Sub Chaser 434, practically a new boat, 110 feet long with a speed between 14 and 16 miles an hour. 50 Years Ago May 18, 1945 World Peace Discussed: Speaking on postwar problems at Custer Institute on Saturday night, Mr. F. Lang- ton Corwin succeeded in stirring up a discussion that lasted far into the evening and brought forth some very interesting expressions of opinion. In his discourse Mr. Corwin made any of our backyards. Soon our guests arrived and were greeted with hugs and kisses. Each found a comfortable spot to sit and relax. Before us.the bay sparkled in all its springtime splendor. How clear the wa- ter was. it'was as if you were looking through air. Newly arrived, delicate white terns dove for small fish and every once in a while one would carry a shin- ing minnow to its mate that sat patiently at the water's edge. Here a bit of nuptial courtship and the prize was given up — a true Mother's Day gesture, I thought. Berm Washed Away How the beach had changed. Gone was the high berm that we all had walked over to get to the beach. Today it is almost gone. Last December's high tides and strong winds moved it overnight, a task that would have taken man and his machines weeks to accomplish. Before we dredged our creeks and bays, the bottoms had become more or less stable. The light materials had been washed away and sand bars acted as two statements that promoted the argument. He said first that there is a trend toward communism sweeping the entire world, and second, that until wages throughout the world are equalized and a more level standard of living is attained it will be almost impossible to bring about a lasting peace. From these propositions arose this question: Will the American people be willing, merely for the sake of peace, to lower their standard of living for the benefit of the back- ward peoples of the earth? The answer of the Custer mem- bers was an almost unanimous No! from which it can be concluded that in their opinion no solution of the problem of universal peace, except to maintain it by force, has yet been suggested. 25 Years Ago May 15, 1970 Darters Go National: The North Fork is sending a team of darters to the second National Open this Sunday, May 17, in New York City. Expected to draw more than 250 entrants, local contes- tants will be competing for the men's and women's individ- ual titles, as well as two- and five - player team honors. Local team players include Home Delivery John, Dapper Joe, Jolly Jonas, Hot Darts Claudio, Portly Art, Harry the Breeze and Harper Valley Fats. holding tanks for those shifting sands. Now new deposits of virgin sand have been dredged and placed on our beaches. These sands have not gone through the rigors of storm, tide and the waves of time and therefore are very fluid. The result is that the moving sands now have to be dredged almost every year from the mouths of our creeks, one of the costs of having navigable deepwater channels which 50 years ago were unheard of in our local creeks. As we sat and ate I watched a long V of cormorants heading north. They'll find rookeries from here on to the rugged coasts of Nova Scotia. All along the way, just as we have seen on Gar - diner's Island, they'll build their nests in trees or if rocky crags are available they'll use those. Most have already set- tled and these late arrivals will have to fight to claim a foothold for nesting. We often see cormorants as they sit on fish nets, buoys, rocks, etc., wings spread out like laundry to dry in the sun. We saw seven glossy ibis fly by. This long- curved - billed wader stops in our marshes and wet areas to probe the mud for fiddlers in our creeks or worms and insects in the freshwater areas. Last week we saw two of them in a pond just east of Jamesport. One last bit of excitement, at least for me, was a report my son passed Here was a along as he went to one of his rare sight: a jobs: a hundred or more hundred or bobolinks had more congregated in an alfalfa field bobolinks in Peconic. Bob- olinks once nest- congregated ed on Long in an alfalfa Island's Hemp- stead Plains and field in other isolated spots, but for the Peconic. past 60 years their numbers have dwindled to practi- cally zero. We see them only as they pass through on migration and then only sparingly. This was one of the great spectacles of the year for me to see and hear. Anyone from upstate New York knows the wonderful song of the bobolink in the hay fields and pastures of that rolling countryside where they still nest. Spring is so full of activity. It's hard to cram it all in. Mother's Day was no exception. We filled the day with family and friends — a fitting tribute to the mothers we all know. For Summer Jobs GREENPORT— Community Action of Southold Town (CAST) announces that applications for the Suffolk County Department of Labor Summer Youth Employment and Training Pro- gram (SYETP) are available at the 110 South St. office in Greenport. All Southold Town youths, ages 14 to 21, may apply. Eight slots are available in clerical, janitorial and tutorial /child care posi- tions. Applicants must meet income guidelines. The salary is $4.25 per hour for 30 hours a week. Employment begins July 5. Applications must be completed by May 31; assistance in completing the forms is available at CAST for those who need it. Call Pam Babcock at 477 -1510. k,q II �t s rk , Ml *ham s x, yy _ k a53 a�i/ " x , R Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh SCREECH OWL —Our smallest year -round owl will seek a cavity in trees or, if the opening is large enough, a manmade box. Here it has made its home in a wood duck's nesting box over a pond. place spick and span. The lilacs I'd picked at a friend's place on the way over sat on a table in front of the big picture window, the sun steaming in on them, their pungent scent filling the room. When I had stopped to pick the lilacs there was a wood pile nearby swarming with newly hatched flying termites. It was one of the rare sights of nature's overabundance. Newborn insects rose in a cloud of wings that took to the air and drifted away much like a whiff of smoke. Birds were taking advantage of this explosion of life and were feasting on those that lit on the ground while oth- ers picked them off in the air. A bluejay gorged itself with the teeming multitude of insects on the logs. As so often is the case when tempera- ture, humidity and the urge to proliferate are combined, these spectacular displays of nature can be seen. Most will die but there will always be those few that will find the right location where all the ele- ments are in place for a new colony of termites to start up. Let's hope it's not in 2 w1169w 2 wwL nwwL 75 Years Ago May 14, 1920 Classifieds: For sale — A lawn mower in first -class condition, 14 -inch blade, ball bearing. Will sell for $6. Horse for sale — A good all- around horse, as I have no use for him. William H. Cook, Greenport. To let — Three rooms and attic, $7. Inquire 306 Bridge St., Greenport. Buys Submarine Chaser: Clarence Mackay, who has leased Gardiner's Island for a term of 20 years for $200,000, has purchased recently one of the government submarine chasers. The purpose for which Mr. Mackay will use this boat is principally to transport him from points along Long Island to Gardiner's Island. The particular boat he has purchased is Sub Chaser 434, practically a new boat, 110 feet long with a speed between 14 and 16 miles an hour. 50 Years Ago May 18, 1945 World Peace Discussed: Speaking on postwar problems at Custer Institute on Saturday night, Mr. F. Lang- ton Corwin succeeded in stirring up a discussion that lasted far into the evening and brought forth some very interesting expressions of opinion. In his discourse Mr. Corwin made any of our backyards. Soon our guests arrived and were greeted with hugs and kisses. Each found a comfortable spot to sit and relax. Before us.the bay sparkled in all its springtime splendor. How clear the wa- ter was. it'was as if you were looking through air. Newly arrived, delicate white terns dove for small fish and every once in a while one would carry a shin- ing minnow to its mate that sat patiently at the water's edge. Here a bit of nuptial courtship and the prize was given up — a true Mother's Day gesture, I thought. Berm Washed Away How the beach had changed. Gone was the high berm that we all had walked over to get to the beach. Today it is almost gone. Last December's high tides and strong winds moved it overnight, a task that would have taken man and his machines weeks to accomplish. Before we dredged our creeks and bays, the bottoms had become more or less stable. The light materials had been washed away and sand bars acted as two statements that promoted the argument. He said first that there is a trend toward communism sweeping the entire world, and second, that until wages throughout the world are equalized and a more level standard of living is attained it will be almost impossible to bring about a lasting peace. From these propositions arose this question: Will the American people be willing, merely for the sake of peace, to lower their standard of living for the benefit of the back- ward peoples of the earth? The answer of the Custer mem- bers was an almost unanimous No! from which it can be concluded that in their opinion no solution of the problem of universal peace, except to maintain it by force, has yet been suggested. 25 Years Ago May 15, 1970 Darters Go National: The North Fork is sending a team of darters to the second National Open this Sunday, May 17, in New York City. Expected to draw more than 250 entrants, local contes- tants will be competing for the men's and women's individ- ual titles, as well as two- and five - player team honors. Local team players include Home Delivery John, Dapper Joe, Jolly Jonas, Hot Darts Claudio, Portly Art, Harry the Breeze and Harper Valley Fats. holding tanks for those shifting sands. Now new deposits of virgin sand have been dredged and placed on our beaches. These sands have not gone through the rigors of storm, tide and the waves of time and therefore are very fluid. The result is that the moving sands now have to be dredged almost every year from the mouths of our creeks, one of the costs of having navigable deepwater channels which 50 years ago were unheard of in our local creeks. As we sat and ate I watched a long V of cormorants heading north. They'll find rookeries from here on to the rugged coasts of Nova Scotia. All along the way, just as we have seen on Gar - diner's Island, they'll build their nests in trees or if rocky crags are available they'll use those. Most have already set- tled and these late arrivals will have to fight to claim a foothold for nesting. We often see cormorants as they sit on fish nets, buoys, rocks, etc., wings spread out like laundry to dry in the sun. We saw seven glossy ibis fly by. This long- curved - billed wader stops in our marshes and wet areas to probe the mud for fiddlers in our creeks or worms and insects in the freshwater areas. Last week we saw two of them in a pond just east of Jamesport. One last bit of excitement, at least for me, was a report my son passed Here was a along as he went to one of his rare sight: a jobs: a hundred or more hundred or bobolinks had more congregated in an alfalfa field bobolinks in Peconic. Bob- olinks once nest- congregated ed on Long in an alfalfa Island's Hemp- stead Plains and field in other isolated spots, but for the Peconic. past 60 years their numbers have dwindled to practi- cally zero. We see them only as they pass through on migration and then only sparingly. This was one of the great spectacles of the year for me to see and hear. Anyone from upstate New York knows the wonderful song of the bobolink in the hay fields and pastures of that rolling countryside where they still nest. Spring is so full of activity. It's hard to cram it all in. Mother's Day was no exception. We filled the day with family and friends — a fitting tribute to the mothers we all know. For Summer Jobs GREENPORT— Community Action of Southold Town (CAST) announces that applications for the Suffolk County Department of Labor Summer Youth Employment and Training Pro- gram (SYETP) are available at the 110 South St. office in Greenport. All Southold Town youths, ages 14 to 21, may apply. Eight slots are available in clerical, janitorial and tutorial /child care posi- tions. Applicants must meet income guidelines. The salary is $4.25 per hour for 30 hours a week. Employment begins July 5. Applications must be completed by May 31; assistance in completing the forms is available at CAST for those who need it. Call Pam Babcock at 477 -1510.