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April 06, 2000 - Glories - and griefs - of the garden60 t Thd BGffolkTimes *'A0n6V8 "2b00 " Glories —and griefs — of the garden Once again I've put down my gar- den rake. It's just too beautiful out to spend my time raking the lawn, so I head out to the garden where there's always a chair for a weary body to sit in. Once out here I notice the ill -kept lawn has its little white flower, Whit- low grass or draba, on a thread -like stem, one of the first blossoms to FOCUS break forth in the spring. Most ON would consider it NATURE just a weed, but once viewed by Paul through a hand Stoutenburgh lens this minia- ture takes on new meaning. It's only about two or three inches high and the flower is only about an eighth of an inch across. If I look closely I can see tiny insects flying in and out of the flowers, probably pollinating them. So the cycle continues. By the tool shed there's an old pussy willow from which we have al- ready harvested many spring bou- quets. We left a few branches to rep- resent this member of the willow fam- ily for next year's growth. The once - tight pussy willows have now burst and flowered and are attracting their own pollinators, little flies or insects of one sort or another. Magnolia's majesty How gorgeous it is out. I look over to the pasture where the robins have been gleaning all day and see the magnolia we transplanted from my dad's home 40 years ago trying to burst its buds. You can see a little pink to them now. Around it I have a cage of wire, for the cows dearly love to scrape the bark off and enjoy a change of diet. It won't be long now: first the forsythia, and then the mag- nolia. If I look closely along the edge of the raised beds we have in the garden, I can see the fresh new shoots of peonies trying to break through with their deep maroon color. We've kept a parsley plant under glass all winter and so now we've opened the lid of the little greenhouse, or I guess you call it a hotbed. It's coming along fine. We often go out and snip a little off whenever we need it for cooking. This parsley plant will grow to be huge, seeing it has such a good start on the season. These raised beds, and there are four of them, look like they had snow fall on them. I put lime on the other day to sweeten the soil. I use nothing but cow manure for fertilizer and so everything in our garden is organically grown. What we'll plant this year I don't know. We tried some vegeta- bles last year but the deer came in and cleaned us out. They not only devastated our garden but raised havoc with our plantings around the place. Everything that's edible is eaten off as high as the deer can reach. How brazen they've gotten. When it snowed we found their tracks right across our raised patio. We even see them during the day as they explore the areas through the neigh- borhood. I feel sorry for the farmer or nursery owner who has to put up with their devastation. Hundreds, even thousands, of dollars can be lost in one night's ravaging and it's not just what they eat that causes damage, it's the debarking and breaking of branches by the bucks when they remove the velvet from their horns in anticipation of determining who becomes the dominant male and therefore reaps all the rewards — his harem of does. Back to the raised beds in the gar- den. We tried flowers and they did much better so maybe this year we'll just have flower beds and purchase our vegetables from the roadside stands. This taking of the farmers' pro- duce reminds me of years ago when I attended the ag school in. Farmingdale; our professor told us that if you wanted to raise strawber- ries or cherries or any of the delicacies the birds or animals enjoy you had to make up your mind to plant or grow enough for both the birds and animals orchard to the little pond where there are always a couple of old weathered chairs waiting. The cows paid little attention to us as we walked by. Their new -found green grass had them busy grazing close to the ground, moving from place to place, each move look- ing for greener pastures. When we got to the pond we sat down and watched the busy world of birds around us. Our biggest wood- peckers, the flickers, had found each other and the male was chasing the female in a mat- ing ritual with fanned -out tail and jerky head motions along with muffled little sounds that must have meant much in woodpeckers terms. Redwings were everywhere. They love the moist wet areas and we had dis- turbed them. They went off chattering and scolding, for we had entered their territory. Later they'll build a nest of reeds usu- ally near some wet area. Of course, robins were singing everywhere. They haven't as yet started their joy- ous call that char- acterizes spring so perfectly. As we approached our little pond ripples told us the turtles had slipped off their log. How they can see us from so far away and why they are so leery I don't know. They had been basking in the warm sun. As we set- tled down in the chairs and chatted about this or that, I could see the red blossoms of the swamp maple lying on the water. They had just started to fall. Later their pinwheel seed pods will form and when ripe will spiral to the ground in hopes of starting a new gen- eration of maples. The willows were also hanging in their new yellow -green spring dress. I looked up and could see one of my birdhouses had been ripped apart by a prowling raccoon. He's a devil and what he's after I think are the mice inside the box. What happens is that during the winter, mice use these to nest in and store their hickory nuts and cherry pits there. The raccoon, knowing there's a mouse inside, will do anything to get to it and being the strong animal it is, it literally rips the boxes apart, sometimes even ripping them off the tree and letting them tumble to the ground, where the rac- coon then drops down and does his devilish work there. By now a chill had come across the little pond as the sun sank in the west, so we got up and headed back to the house. It was a pleasant hour or two spent enjoying the pre- spring weather and reminiscing with an old friend. When we got up to the house that is nestled amongst the trees, a coolness had taken over. It was time to retreat inside. The warmth of spring had left. Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh The red flower of the swamp maple has by now reached its peak and the spent flowers will fall. As time passes the pinwheel seed pod will form and when ripe will spiral to the ground In hopes of starting a new generation of swamp maples. LET'S LOOK BACK 25 years ago April 3, 1925 For sale or rent: Orient, Long Island — Overlooking Long Island Sound, house (bungalow style) with nine rooms, including sleeping porch; 50 -foot verandah; large rear porch, screened; two fireplaces; bath, hot and cold water; electricity; one -car garage; two acres, garden, fruit. Three minutes to beach, half mile from post office; some furniture included in sale. To rent for season, fully, fur- nished, $800. Apply to Philip Weiler, Orient. Indian skeletons found: While walking around "Majors Pond" at Orient one day last week, Elliott Brooks noticed many Indian shells. Upon digging he found three Indian skeletons. This makes four Indian skeletons that have been found on this part of the island, including the one that was found on the grounds of Mount Pleasant House a few years ago. 50 years ago March 31, 1950 Porky's opens: On Saturday, when Porky's new restau- rant on the North Road, just east of the Village of Greenport, is officially open, the public will have the opportunity of seeing how a luxurious country home can be transformed into an attractive, modern restaurant. Porky's Restaurant, which was formerly the home of Marshall Tulloch of the Greenport Basin and Con- and you. I don't know if that's a wise thought or not, seeing how deer have become such a problem of late. As I sat in my chair enjoying the sun and warmth and the world around me I was suddenly aware someone was in back of me. It turned out to be an old friend who had stopped in to chat. It's always nice to have people like that stop in and reminisce but my shangri la wasn't the place. So I got up and we walked down through the struction Company, was both ideally located and arranged on the interior for remodeling into a restaurant.... Walter Sledjeski, the owner and proprietor of Greenport's newest eating place, has had many years of practical experience in the restaurant business. For about 13 years he was the proprietor of the original Porky's Restaurant at Arshamomaque. 25 years ago April 3, 1975 New Scout troop forms: A new Boy Scout troop, No. 477, was officially organized under the sponsorship of the Kiwanis Club of Southold Town on Monday evening, as a check for $100 was presented by Kiwanis president John Pietrodangelo to John McGonegal, one of the troop mem- bers. Since Southold's present troop, No. 6, has reached capacity membership, the need for a new troop was creat- ed. The group will be led by William McGonegal, assisted by Gil Hughes and Frank Wanser. Four subdivisions unopposed: No one offered a word of opposition to the four subdivisions reviewed by the Southold Town Planning Board, chairman John Wickham said. Before adjourning the two -hour session Monday night, Mr. Wickham indicated that the George L. Penny - Flora S. Luce project, Alma Suter's "Tuts Acres," Adelphi Land Corporation's "Peconic Knolls" and Highland Estates would all receive "favorable approval." 6A • The Suffolk Times • April 6, 2UO0 Glories —and griefs — Once again I've putdown my gar- den rake. It's just too beautiful out to spend my time raking the lawn, so I head out to the garden where there's always a chair for a weary body to sit in. Once out here I notice the ill -kept lawn has its little white flower, Whit- low grass or draba, on a thread -like stem, one of the first blossoms to Focus break forth in the spring. Most ON would consider it NATURE just a weed, but once viewed by Paul through a hand Stoutenburgh lens this minia- ture takes on new meaning. It's only about two or three inches high and the flower is only about an eighth of an inch across. If I look closely I can see tiny insects flying in and out of the flowers, probably pollinating them. So the cycle continues. By the tool shed there's an old pussy willow from which we have al- ready harvested many spring bou- quets. We left a few branches to rep- resent this member of the willow fam- ily for next year's growth. The once - tight pussy willows have now burst and flowered and are attracting their own pollinators, little flies or insects of one sort or another. Magnolia's majesty How gorgeous it is out. I look over to the pasture where the robins have been gleaning all day and see the magnolia we transplanted from my dad's home 40 years ago trying to burst its buds. You can see a little pink to them now. Around it I have a cage of wire, for the cows dearly love to scrape the bark off and enjoy a change of diet. It won't be long now: first the forsythia, and then the mag- nolia. If I look closely along the edge of the raised beds we have in the garden, I can see the fresh new shoots of peonies trying to break through with their deep maroon color. We've kept a parsley plant under glass all winter and so now we've opened the lid of of the garde Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh The red flower of the swamp maple has by now reached Its peak and the spent flowers will fall. As time passes the pinwheel seed pod will form and when ripe will spiral to the ground in hopes of starting a new generation of swamp maples. the little greenhouse, or 1 guess you call it a hotbed. It's coming along fine. We often go out and snip a little off whenever we need it for cooking. This parsley plant will grow to be huge, seeing it has such a good start on the season. These raised beds, and there are four of them, look like they had snow fall on them. I put lime on the other day to sweeten the soil. I use nothing but cow manure for fertilizer and so everything in our garden is organicall, grown. What we'll plant this year I don't know. We tried some vegeta- bles last year but the deer came in and cleaned us out. They not only devastated our garden but raised havoc with our plantings around the place. Everything that's edible is eaten off as high as the deer can reach. How brazen they've gotten. When it snowed we found their tracks right across our raised patio. We even see them during the day as they explore the areas through the neigh- I feel sorry for nursery owner who has to put up with their devastation. Hundreds, even thousands, of dollars can be lost in one fight's ravaging and it's not just what they eat that causes damage, it's the debarking and breaking of branches by the bucks when they remove the velvet from their horns in anticipation of determining who becomes the dominant male and therefore reaps all the rewards — his harem of does. Back to the raised beds in the gar- den. We tried flowers and they did much better so maybe this year we'll just have flower beds and purchase our vegetables from the roadside stands. This taking of the farmers' pro- duce reminds me of years ago when I attended the ag school in Farmingdale; our professor told us that if you wanted to raise strawber- ries or cherries or any of the delicacies the birds or animals enjoy you had to make up your mind to plant or grow enough for both the birds and animals and you. I don't know if that's a wise thought or not, seeing how deer have become such a problem of late. As I sat in my chair enjoying the sun and warmth and the world around me I was suddenly aware someone was in back of me. It turned out to be an old friend who had stopped in to chat. It's always nice to have people like that stop in and reminisce but my shangri la wasn't the place. So I got up and we walked down through the orchard to the little pond where there are always a couple of old weathered chairs waiting. The cows paid little attention to us as we walked by. Their new -found green grass had them busy grazing close to the ground, moving from place to place, each move look- ing for greener pastures. When we got to the pond we sat down and watched the busy world of birds around us. Our biggest wood- peckers, the flickers, had found each other and the male was chasing the female in a mat- ing ritual with fanned -out tail and jerky head motions along with muffled little sounds that must have meant much in woodpeckers terms. Redwings were everywhere. They love the moist wet areas and we had dis- turbed them. They went off chattering and scolding, for we had entered their territory. Later they'll build a nest of reeds usu- ally near some wet area. Of course, robins were singing everywhere. They haven't as yet started their joy- ous call that char - ac enzes spring so perfectly. As we approached our little pond ripples told us the turtles had slipped off their log. How they can see us from so far away and why they are so leery I don't know. They had been basking in the warm sun. As we set- tled down in the chairs and chatted about this or that, I could see the red blossoms of the swamp maple lying on the water. They had just started to fall. Later their pinwheel seed pods will form and when ripe will spiral to the ground in hopes of starting a new gen- eration of maples. The willows were also hanging in their new yellow -green spring dress. I looked up and could see one of my birdhouses had been ripped apart by a prowling raccoon. He's a devil and what he's after I think are the mice inside the box. What happens is that during the winter, mice use these to nest in and store their hickory nuts and cherry pits there. The raccoon, knowing there's a mouse inside, will do anything to get to it and being the strong animal it is, it literally rips the boxes apart, sometimes even ripping them off the tree and letting them tumble to the ground, where the rac- coon then drops down and does his devilish work there. By now a chill had come across the little pond as the sun sank in the west, so we got up and headed back to the house. It was a pleasant hour or two spent enjoying the pre- spring weather and reminiscing with an old friend. When we got up to the house that is nestled amongst the trees, a coolness had taken over. It was time to retreat inside. The warmth of spring had left. 6A • The Suffolk Times • April 6, 2UO0 Glories —and griefs — Once again I've putdown my gar- den rake. It's just too beautiful out to spend my time raking the lawn, so I head out to the garden where there's always a chair for a weary body to sit in. Once out here I notice the ill -kept lawn has its little white flower, Whit- low grass or draba, on a thread -like stem, one of the first blossoms to Focus break forth in the spring. Most ON would consider it NATURE just a weed, but once viewed by Paul through a hand Stoutenburgh lens this minia- ture takes on new meaning. It's only about two or three inches high and the flower is only about an eighth of an inch across. If I look closely I can see tiny insects flying in and out of the flowers, probably pollinating them. So the cycle continues. By the tool shed there's an old pussy willow from which we have al- ready harvested many spring bou- quets. We left a few branches to rep- resent this member of the willow fam- ily for next year's growth. The once - tight pussy willows have now burst and flowered and are attracting their own pollinators, little flies or insects of one sort or another. Magnolia's majesty How gorgeous it is out. I look over to the pasture where the robins have been gleaning all day and see the magnolia we transplanted from my dad's home 40 years ago trying to burst its buds. You can see a little pink to them now. Around it I have a cage of wire, for the cows dearly love to scrape the bark off and enjoy a change of diet. It won't be long now: first the forsythia, and then the mag- nolia. If I look closely along the edge of the raised beds we have in the garden, I can see the fresh new shoots of peonies trying to break through with their deep maroon color. We've kept a parsley plant under glass all winter and so now we've opened the lid of of the garde Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh The red flower of the swamp maple has by now reached Its peak and the spent flowers will fall. As time passes the pinwheel seed pod will form and when ripe will spiral to the ground in hopes of starting a new generation of swamp maples. the little greenhouse, or 1 guess you call it a hotbed. It's coming along fine. We often go out and snip a little off whenever we need it for cooking. This parsley plant will grow to be huge, seeing it has such a good start on the season. These raised beds, and there are four of them, look like they had snow fall on them. I put lime on the other day to sweeten the soil. I use nothing but cow manure for fertilizer and so everything in our garden is organicall, grown. What we'll plant this year I don't know. We tried some vegeta- bles last year but the deer came in and cleaned us out. They not only devastated our garden but raised havoc with our plantings around the place. Everything that's edible is eaten off as high as the deer can reach. How brazen they've gotten. When it snowed we found their tracks right across our raised patio. We even see them during the day as they explore the areas through the neigh- I feel sorry for nursery owner who has to put up with their devastation. Hundreds, even thousands, of dollars can be lost in one fight's ravaging and it's not just what they eat that causes damage, it's the debarking and breaking of branches by the bucks when they remove the velvet from their horns in anticipation of determining who becomes the dominant male and therefore reaps all the rewards — his harem of does. Back to the raised beds in the gar- den. We tried flowers and they did much better so maybe this year we'll just have flower beds and purchase our vegetables from the roadside stands. This taking of the farmers' pro- duce reminds me of years ago when I attended the ag school in Farmingdale; our professor told us that if you wanted to raise strawber- ries or cherries or any of the delicacies the birds or animals enjoy you had to make up your mind to plant or grow enough for both the birds and animals and you. I don't know if that's a wise thought or not, seeing how deer have become such a problem of late. As I sat in my chair enjoying the sun and warmth and the world around me I was suddenly aware someone was in back of me. It turned out to be an old friend who had stopped in to chat. It's always nice to have people like that stop in and reminisce but my shangri la wasn't the place. So I got up and we walked down through the orchard to the little pond where there are always a couple of old weathered chairs waiting. The cows paid little attention to us as we walked by. Their new -found green grass had them busy grazing close to the ground, moving from place to place, each move look- ing for greener pastures. When we got to the pond we sat down and watched the busy world of birds around us. Our biggest wood- peckers, the flickers, had found each other and the male was chasing the female in a mat- ing ritual with fanned -out tail and jerky head motions along with muffled little sounds that must have meant much in woodpeckers terms. Redwings were everywhere. They love the moist wet areas and we had dis- turbed them. They went off chattering and scolding, for we had entered their territory. Later they'll build a nest of reeds usu- ally near some wet area. Of course, robins were singing everywhere. They haven't as yet started their joy- ous call that char - ac enzes spring so perfectly. As we approached our little pond ripples told us the turtles had slipped off their log. How they can see us from so far away and why they are so leery I don't know. They had been basking in the warm sun. As we set- tled down in the chairs and chatted about this or that, I could see the red blossoms of the swamp maple lying on the water. They had just started to fall. Later their pinwheel seed pods will form and when ripe will spiral to the ground in hopes of starting a new gen- eration of maples. The willows were also hanging in their new yellow -green spring dress. I looked up and could see one of my birdhouses had been ripped apart by a prowling raccoon. He's a devil and what he's after I think are the mice inside the box. What happens is that during the winter, mice use these to nest in and store their hickory nuts and cherry pits there. The raccoon, knowing there's a mouse inside, will do anything to get to it and being the strong animal it is, it literally rips the boxes apart, sometimes even ripping them off the tree and letting them tumble to the ground, where the rac- coon then drops down and does his devilish work there. By now a chill had come across the little pond as the sun sank in the west, so we got up and headed back to the house. It was a pleasant hour or two spent enjoying the pre- spring weather and reminiscing with an old friend. When we got up to the house that is nestled amongst the trees, a coolness had taken over. It was time to retreat inside. The warmth of spring had left. 6A • The Suffolk Times • April 6, 2UO0 Glories —and griefs — Once again I've putdown my gar- den rake. It's just too beautiful out to spend my time raking the lawn, so I head out to the garden where there's always a chair for a weary body to sit in. Once out here I notice the ill -kept lawn has its little white flower, Whit- low grass or draba, on a thread -like stem, one of the first blossoms to Focus break forth in the spring. Most ON would consider it NATURE just a weed, but once viewed by Paul through a hand Stoutenburgh lens this minia- ture takes on new meaning. It's only about two or three inches high and the flower is only about an eighth of an inch across. If I look closely I can see tiny insects flying in and out of the flowers, probably pollinating them. So the cycle continues. By the tool shed there's an old pussy willow from which we have al- ready harvested many spring bou- quets. We left a few branches to rep- resent this member of the willow fam- ily for next year's growth. The once - tight pussy willows have now burst and flowered and are attracting their own pollinators, little flies or insects of one sort or another. Magnolia's majesty How gorgeous it is out. I look over to the pasture where the robins have been gleaning all day and see the magnolia we transplanted from my dad's home 40 years ago trying to burst its buds. You can see a little pink to them now. Around it I have a cage of wire, for the cows dearly love to scrape the bark off and enjoy a change of diet. It won't be long now: first the forsythia, and then the mag- nolia. If I look closely along the edge of the raised beds we have in the garden, I can see the fresh new shoots of peonies trying to break through with their deep maroon color. We've kept a parsley plant under glass all winter and so now we've opened the lid of of the garde Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh The red flower of the swamp maple has by now reached Its peak and the spent flowers will fall. As time passes the pinwheel seed pod will form and when ripe will spiral to the ground in hopes of starting a new generation of swamp maples. the little greenhouse, or 1 guess you call it a hotbed. It's coming along fine. We often go out and snip a little off whenever we need it for cooking. This parsley plant will grow to be huge, seeing it has such a good start on the season. These raised beds, and there are four of them, look like they had snow fall on them. I put lime on the other day to sweeten the soil. I use nothing but cow manure for fertilizer and so everything in our garden is organicall, grown. What we'll plant this year I don't know. We tried some vegeta- bles last year but the deer came in and cleaned us out. They not only devastated our garden but raised havoc with our plantings around the place. Everything that's edible is eaten off as high as the deer can reach. How brazen they've gotten. When it snowed we found their tracks right across our raised patio. We even see them during the day as they explore the areas through the neigh- I feel sorry for nursery owner who has to put up with their devastation. Hundreds, even thousands, of dollars can be lost in one fight's ravaging and it's not just what they eat that causes damage, it's the debarking and breaking of branches by the bucks when they remove the velvet from their horns in anticipation of determining who becomes the dominant male and therefore reaps all the rewards — his harem of does. Back to the raised beds in the gar- den. We tried flowers and they did much better so maybe this year we'll just have flower beds and purchase our vegetables from the roadside stands. This taking of the farmers' pro- duce reminds me of years ago when I attended the ag school in Farmingdale; our professor told us that if you wanted to raise strawber- ries or cherries or any of the delicacies the birds or animals enjoy you had to make up your mind to plant or grow enough for both the birds and animals and you. I don't know if that's a wise thought or not, seeing how deer have become such a problem of late. As I sat in my chair enjoying the sun and warmth and the world around me I was suddenly aware someone was in back of me. It turned out to be an old friend who had stopped in to chat. It's always nice to have people like that stop in and reminisce but my shangri la wasn't the place. So I got up and we walked down through the orchard to the little pond where there are always a couple of old weathered chairs waiting. The cows paid little attention to us as we walked by. Their new -found green grass had them busy grazing close to the ground, moving from place to place, each move look- ing for greener pastures. When we got to the pond we sat down and watched the busy world of birds around us. Our biggest wood- peckers, the flickers, had found each other and the male was chasing the female in a mat- ing ritual with fanned -out tail and jerky head motions along with muffled little sounds that must have meant much in woodpeckers terms. Redwings were everywhere. They love the moist wet areas and we had dis- turbed them. They went off chattering and scolding, for we had entered their territory. Later they'll build a nest of reeds usu- ally near some wet area. Of course, robins were singing everywhere. They haven't as yet started their joy- ous call that char - ac enzes spring so perfectly. As we approached our little pond ripples told us the turtles had slipped off their log. How they can see us from so far away and why they are so leery I don't know. They had been basking in the warm sun. As we set- tled down in the chairs and chatted about this or that, I could see the red blossoms of the swamp maple lying on the water. They had just started to fall. Later their pinwheel seed pods will form and when ripe will spiral to the ground in hopes of starting a new gen- eration of maples. The willows were also hanging in their new yellow -green spring dress. I looked up and could see one of my birdhouses had been ripped apart by a prowling raccoon. He's a devil and what he's after I think are the mice inside the box. What happens is that during the winter, mice use these to nest in and store their hickory nuts and cherry pits there. The raccoon, knowing there's a mouse inside, will do anything to get to it and being the strong animal it is, it literally rips the boxes apart, sometimes even ripping them off the tree and letting them tumble to the ground, where the rac- coon then drops down and does his devilish work there. By now a chill had come across the little pond as the sun sank in the west, so we got up and headed back to the house. It was a pleasant hour or two spent enjoying the pre- spring weather and reminiscing with an old friend. When we got up to the house that is nestled amongst the trees, a coolness had taken over. It was time to retreat inside. The warmth of spring had left.