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June 27, 1996 - A Wet, Winged Weekend in Montauk8A • The Suffolk Times • June 27, 1996 A Wet,, Winged Weekend in Montauk Believe it or not, we went camping in the rain last week over at Hither Hills State Park in Montauk. Usually you can get a campsite before the summer season starts, but beware after school is out. Then, unless you've put in a reservation ahead of time, all spots are usually filled up. As we drove through the campsite we knew the rainy, foggy weather had put a damper on many campers, for their tents were deserted. People who live on the island left their sites and .. went home, hoping to return when the weather cleared. There were still a few tenters sticking it out. They were the rugged ones. We had come in our little camper and were warm and snug. As we ate supper the rain — came down in earnest and the only thing moving outside was a seagull walking from campsite to campsite to see what he could find. Later we'd see that same seagull up on someone's picnic table, where he had found some food they left behind. Mr. Seagull was working on it and enjoying a free meal. Not only do you have to keep your food put away here because of inquisitive gulls, but you probably have to be on the lookout for Mr. Raccoon who, too, would never miss a chance for a free meal. Bird life in the campsite was as meager as the number of tenters. A few robins hunted for worms while the ever - present starlings marched about like storm troop- ers probing their yellow - pointed bills in and around everything. They always seem to be in a hurry. Already most have brought up one family of young. I see flocks of these young starlings (20 to 30) telling me how efficient they are in nest- ing. There were a few grackles raiding the garbage bins and a lone crow that seemed to be calling commands to everyone. Two cormorants flew from north to south out over the ocean probably, like all fisher- men, looking for a better spot to fish. boats coming in with their catch. Stripers and blues were the main catch of the day as we walked along the pier where they were cleaning the fish. I like to watch for I can always pick up a pointer or two from the experts. In today's world most people want their fish without any bones so the person cleaning the fish is forced to cut away a lot of good meat. Sharp knives are a must when it comes to fillet- ing and the sharpening stone is usually . not far away; with every other fish the edge of the knife was retuned. Years ago all the remains of the fish, after they were cleaned, would just be dumped overboard at the dock — no such thing today. Regulations no longer allow this to happen and there is good reason for it. It's all part of the effort to keep our waters clean. Farther along we came upon a charter boat that had caught some sharks. Here steaks were being cut and put into bags of ice to be put in a chest for transport home. These were blue sharks, sleek and beautiful. I wonder how long this shark fishing will continue before they, too, will be on the endangered list. We saw one party boat come in with many of the people disgruntled for their day had been a windy, rough, cold, few -fish day. I'm sure much time was spent below with some probably not feeling too well. Rainy Night in Camp Back at the campsite we settled in for the night catching up on those many magazines you never get a chance to read at home. Next morning, about 7, we were up for bacon and eggs and ready to take a walk on the ocean beach. By then the rain had stopped but the fog and east wind continued. Ours were the first footprints out on the beach as we headed to the west. We could see the dune line had been eaten away by some previous storm. Ocean beaches come and go, they are always changing, but this one was now in the process of rebuilding itself. Dune grass, the pillar or foundation of all dunes, was trapping the blown sand and holding it as the dune built up. What makes dune grass so remarkable is its ability to with- stand being buried by the blowing sand. It's never smothered as other plants would be by the mounting sand. Its long tap roots go deep into the sand below and Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh A Little Shopping We had forgotten a few things so we went to the local IGA in the village of Montauk. The rain had put a damper on things here, also, for most of the village was quiet and in no time Barbara was back with the supplies she needed. See- ing we were not far from the docks at Lake Montauk we decided to visit them. It's always a great spot to see the charter ■ ■ � Vm 011..wim 75 Years Ago June 24, 1921 Greenport News: A government buoy setter and lighthouse tender has been in Peconic Bays, resetting channel markers, painting buoys, etc. Lights on Spindle Shoal and the end of the government breakwater in Shelter Island Sound now guide the mariner through the main channels. Make a Deposit: The Peoples' National Bank of Greenport announces that deposits made in the interest department on or before July 15 will draw interest at 4 percent per annum from July 1, left on deposit six months. One dollar will start an account. 50 Years Ago June 28, 1946 Airport Land Bought at Orient: The pre- dictions made at the end of World War II regarding the popularity of private aviation was demonstrated this week when a five -acre parcel of land at Orient Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh HERRING GULL — Seagulls are clever scavengers. Here one calls out to tell the world how smart he is. He has just stolen some food from an unguarded picnic table. keep it green in the hottest of weather. Another sand stabilizer is the rosa ru- gosa rose that grows in the swale and quiet areas. This seaside rose can stand the salt spray and heat from the dunes. It is not a native plant but one of Asian ori- gin that has done well all along our east- ern seaboard. Right now its deep -pink flowers are forming rose hips, those mar- ble -sized pods that turn red - orange when they are ripe. You can eat them raw but they are full of seeds. As they are high in Vitamin C (remembet Rose Hip Vitamin C you buy in the store ?), we often add them to Barbara's jams and jellies for flavor and color. Along with the regular pink flowering rosa rugosas there were many plants of pure white. Both bushes were as healthy as you could ask for without a spot of insect damage. I wish 1 could do as well in my garden. As we walked along the beach old familiar objects came into view. There were the big surf clam shells that are so clean and weathered they are hard to re- sist picking up. Then there was the rock - weed with its air pods that snap when you press them together along with the familiar blades of eel grass that once grew in our own bays in great carpets. Eel grass died out because of some dis- ease in the 1930s and is only now start- ing to come back in some of our waters. I guarantee you if we could ever get it back in our bays as it once was, we'd have scallops galore again. Then we found the shell of the "black clam," a clam some- what in the shape of our hard clams but with a black -brown coating on its shell. We'd seen occasional ones of these at Fire Island but never in the quantity we saw here. Another small interesting shell only an inch across was the chestnut astarte, a thick - shelled clam that once seen you won't forget. Barbara even found the walnut -size, soft, spongy -like growth called sea potato. It grows on rocks. It's actually a seaweed that has been broken away and washed ashore. It was good to be back on the ocean beach where years ago we spent so many pleasant summer days while working for the seashore at Fire Island. The fog and dampness had tried to dampen our spirits but the lure of the ocean beach is always there no matter what the weather. I wonder how long shark fishing will continue before they, too, will be on the endangered list.' Point was purchased by Charles Rose from Rufus Tuthill for development as a modern airport. Work on the new airfield will start this fall, immediately after the crops on the land have been harvested. Mr. Rose plans to construct hangars and lay out the field in accordance with the latest flying fields. The sale was made by attorney Henry Booth Moore of Greenport. 25 Years Ago June 24, 1971 Editorial: It is difficult to believe that Green - port, which has been waiting quietly on the sidelines for the last generation, has suddenly turned from the ugly duckling into the potential swan. There are three new projects bidding for attention to further improve the economics of the area and herein lies the source of some future friction. The most advanced is the project of the commer- cial seaport in the area of the the railroad dock. The plan apparently carries the blessing of state and fed- eral government officials, but still requires an agree- ment with the Long Island Rail Road, which owns the pier. The second project is the suggested railroad muse- um and local steam train that would run from Green - port to Riverhead. This project has the appeal of attracting more tourists; its problem, however, is that it conflicts directly with the commercial seaport con- cept. The third project, an aquarium, has received uni- versal approval in principle and looks to be a certain success when the financial hurdle of raising about a million dollars has been cleared. One of the nice things about the aquarium idea is that it does not con- flict with either of the other two. Some think four small ships a month will hurt the tourist trade, others think it will help. Some think crowds will flock to ride an ancient steam engine train to Riverhead and back. Others find little thrill in this and doubt whether it will work. The debate grows sharp and it looks to be a long, hot summer.