Loading...
September 26, 1996 - Seeking Contrasts in the CatskillsGA '• The Suffolk Times • September 26, 1996 Seeking Contrasts in the Catskills It's nice to have friends, in more ways than one. The particular friends I'm think- ing of have a "wish you had one" cabin up in the Catskills near Andes. If ever there was a perfect setting for a cabin, they have it. It's off one of those roads that starts out with a smooth blacktop, then thins out to ruts and bumps, and finally ends up with a curved gravel road that winds alongside a brook up the mountain. The brook has cut its way through rocks and . boulders, and was even once dammed up around the turn of the century, but like most of man's endeavors along moun- tain streams, they only last so long and then are washed out by unexpected floods. So it was last winter when a combination of heavy snows that started to melt with some warm weather, along with unusually heavy rains, hit the area. We drove through Margaretville that was almost washed out by last year's winter flood. Some bridges were still not back in use and up in the mountains where our friends have their cabin, the little one -car bridges that cross over to people's houses have now just started to be replaced. We think of our place in Cutchogue as being out in the country but there's no comparison to where their cabin is, where all you hear is the wind in the pines or if you're near the brook, its soft babbling sound. What a joy to step out on their huge deck in the morning and breathe the fresh, crisp air of the moun- tains, There you let your eyes feast on the misty haze of the valleys about that are surrounded by greens of every shade and tint. Soon your eyes will pick out the occasional hint of fall color here and there that is now starting to show up. Later, as the cool weather moves in, ev- erything will exchange its green for the dazzling colors of yellows, reds and or- anges of fall, everything, that is, except the evergreens that hold their green throughout the year. I walked around the area as breakfast was being prepared and found a flock of 25 cedar waxwings feasting on a clump of ripe elderberries. Seeds, buds and berries are the waxwings's mainstay and here the ripe elderberries were providing their breakfast meal. Later, the undigest- ed seeds will pass through the birds and be scattered throughout the countryside ready for next year's growing season. In a maple I could hear the tapping of a woodpecker above and I soon discovered it to be the yellow - bellied sapsucker. A single immature young was still follow- ing the adult around begging for food. Evidently all the other young had gone off on their own but probably this one was the runt of the clutch and just com- ing into its own. We see sapsuckers on our East End occasionally but usually they're just passing through. If we didn't see them we would still know they had passed through when we see their telltale signs on our trees, especially soft barked trees where they make a series of small holes around the trees like a necklace. It's these trade- marks they return to for the sap flow that is caused by the holes in the trees. If they are not satisfied with the sap that flows they can collect the many insects that are attracted to this new -found nutritious liq- uid. These punctures were at one time thought to kill the tree, but thank good- ness that myth has been laid aside and the sapsucker is no longer persecuted by the orchard grower's gun. Focus on Nature by Pain Stoutenbuigh Deer Cause Devastation A much more devastating pest, not only to the farmer but to the homeowner and gardener, is the deer. We saw signs of their browsing and rubbing on trees throughout the area as we walked in the mountains. This browsing is something we here on Long Island are well aware of for when there are no natural predators to limit their numbers, corn crops can be devastated, grape buds can be browsed upon, nursery stock made unsalable and a host of their problems caused that are totally unnatural because of the overpop- ulation of deer. So when we hear of a deer season being set or permits given out to limit the exploding population, we must remember it's a necessary step for everyone's good, including the driver who could be seriously hurt by having a deer run into his car. One day we all took a hike on one of the many trails that crisscross this huge Catskill Park area. We saw signs of deer but I'm sure our chatter alerted any in the area that we were coming. We also saw 75 Years Ago Sept. 23, 1921 Bees Store Honey in House Wall: For many years A.N. Luce of Orient has been successful in keeping bees. He usually has several colonies of them which yield many pounds of surplus honey of a superior quality, but probably the largest amount of honey he ever gathered from one colony was made by bees that swarmed about three years ago and took up their quarters in the Corner House owned by Austin Jagger. The bees had entered the home through a small opening in the piazza where it joined the southwest corner of the house and established the colony in the second story of the house between the inner and outer walls. As the bees did not molest any of the inmates of the house they were allowed to remain. Last week, Mr. Jagger and Mr. Luce took out one hun- dred pounds of the finest quality honey in the comb from between the walls of the house. 50 Years Ago Sept. 27, 1946 Greenport News: A Greenport woman, as the result of putting on a striptease act on Tuesday after- Photo by Paul Stotenburgh CEDAR WAXWING —These trim - looking birds are occasionally seen in small flocks here on our East End. When we are lucky enough to see them they are usually busy feeding on berries or seeds in the treetops. signs of porcupine chewing. Seems they enjoy the good and tender cambian layer just under the bark of the trees. Our walk was in the shade most of the time and the forest floor was still damp and moist, making ideal conditions for salamanders and newts to move about. We found a . newt in its brilliant orange - red color scurrying across the trail and, of course, had to stop and pick it up to admire it. What a delightful little creature it was, with its big eyes and bright color. They live in the damp duff of the forest floor and under rotten trees and desirable rocks. Minute organisms of one sort or another make up their diet, giving us just a hint of how complicated the forest floor must be with all its organisms, worms, salamanders and insects milling over what falls from above and eventually winds up as nutritious soil. Barbara picked up a large turkey wing feather. Wasn't it those long sharpened turkey feathers that our forefathers used to write with? Yes, and I believe one was used in signing the Declaration of Independence. Turkeys have come back strongly throughout the Catskill area. We knew they were there for we could see their heavy ground scratching and famil- iar big footprints. They, too, knew we were about and promptly left without us seeing them. Acorns were what they noon, was arrested by Chief of Police Smith and offi- cer "Bud" Goldsmith. She was arraigned before Police Justice Ansel Young on a charge of disorderly conduct and was given a 60 -day sentence in the county jail at Riverhead. New Packing Station in Riverhead: The Long Island Cauliflower Distributors Inc. has started con- struction of a sizable packing station on a newly purchased 20 -acre tract of land adjoining the Long Island Rail Road tracks at Mill Road, Riverhead. 25 Years Ago Sept. 23, 1971 First Oyster Festival Set: Breathes there a man or woman with appetite so jaded he is not looking forward to the first annual Oyster Festival to be sponsored by the Greenport- Southold Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, Oct. 9, at the American Legion Hall in Greenport? There will be sample oyster tasting, clam tasting, oyster - shucking contests, and an arts and crafts exhibition and movies of oyster farming. In addition, the cosponsors, Long Island Oyster Farms and Shelter Island Oyster Company, will offer a vast array of gourmet appetizers in frozen shell- fish at special prices. were looking for —one of their staples. It takes a pretty rugged person to climb up and down those mountains. Every once in a while we'd stop with the pre- tense of chatting to get our breath. One spot revealed the shrub witch hazel that now has it seed pods well formed and as we looked closely we even found some of its tiny, tufted, leftover yellow flowers that usually bloom during the cold months of February and March. It was from this plant that the famous witch hazel lotion was made to cure all aches and pains, so it was said. On our way home I had our friends stop the car so I could check on some birds I saw on a power line. I had hoped they were bluebirds but didn't want to get everyone's hopes up just in case they weren't. But now with my binoculars I could see the blue, not as prominent as on adults but blue enough to let me know they were fledgling young. What a good sign to see. We have a few sighting of bluebirds on the East End and even confirmed nest- ings over on the south shore. Wouldn't it be great to have them back again? All along the roadsides the pale- laven- der fall asters grew. Some hillsides were actually lavender with their color. Then in small clumps here and there, you'd see the deep - purple New England aster. All these lavenders and purples mingled with the profusion of goldenrod yellow told us that fall was just around the corner. A more chilling report from the car radio told us that the temperature had dipped to 38 degrees the night before, but for now the Catskills held us in their charm. Roads that continuously went up and down, twisted and turned through the mountains of green, held us in their wonder. It was a pleasant change from our East End. Heart Walk Team Members Sought MATTITUCK —East End Fit- ness, a new personal training and fitness counseling business, is as- sembling a team of walkers and sponsors for the American Heart Association's American Heart Walk set for Sunday, Oct. 6. The three -mile walk will be held at Indian Island Park in Riverhead. East End Fitness team members will receive a free T -shirt. To join the team, call 298 -9502.