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April 16, 1992 - Companionship on a Lonesome Bay4A • The Suffolk Times April 16; '1992 Companionship on a Lonesome Bay By Paul Stoutenbur4h I've become an avid follower of John Burroughs, the great naturalist who lived during the turn of the century, and in the first chapter of his book, "Signs and Seasons," there'-- an appropriate in- troduction to my article this week. "So on a large scale, the student ... has this advantage over people who gad up and down the world, seeking some novelty or excitement; he has only to stay at home and see the procession pass ... What a voyage is this we make without leaving for a night our own fireside!" So it was yesterday when I got a call from my son after dinner inviting me for a short spin around the bay. His boat and motor has been tied to the dock all winter with only the protection of a mo- tor cover. Knowing the oddities of out- board motors, I doubted it would start but nevertheless thought it worth a try. Seeing it could be chilly and windy out on the bay at this time of year, I threw my old hooded jacket on just in case. How glad I was later I'd taken this pre- caution. It was getting near sunset when we got down to the dock. How drab and washed out winter had left the place. The tide was going out but I could see the water was crystal clear in contrast to the summer's murky bloom. Down be- low I could see plainly the little black mud snails doing their part in the scheme of things by cleaning the bot- tom, but that was the only sign of life I could see. I knew better for the ospreys are back and this tells me the flounder and eels have started to come out of the mud where they've spent the winter in deep slumber. Winter Start -Up With the cover off, Roger broke out his wizardry by turning a knob here, shifting a wire there, lifting and lower- ing levers that somehow set the inner workings in gear. Finally, with a squirt of some secret potion into the throat of the carburetor, he was ready to throw the switch. With a pair of pliers he turned it on and presto, with a few groans and sputters and coughs and smoke, the engine took hold and purred like a kitten. I think we were both amazed. We were ready to move. I took an oar and helped move us out. It sank halfway into the black ooze below. This was creek mud, one of the most misun- derstood parts of our complicated world where everything has a reason for being. We backed out gently as the water Who Will Be Next Miss Polish Town? RIVERHEAD— Entries are being ac- cepted for the "Miss Polish Town USA" contest. The new queen will reign as hostess of the Polish Town Street Fair and . Festival on Aug. 15 and 16. She will also ride atop the Polish Town float in the Southampton Fourth of July parade and the New York City Pulaski Day parade in October. Women of Polish ancestry between 18 and 25 are eligible. Each contestant must submit a 100 -word essay on "Why I Would Like to Become the Polish Town Queen," a recent photo and a r6- sum8. Entries must be postmarked no later than May 15. For information and an entry blank, call Queen Contest chairlady Claire Latour at 727 -0139 or the Polish Town Civic Association at 369 -1616. Focus on Nature was very low. The propeller every once in a while hit some object that told us to take it easy until we got to the channel. We passed close to shore where the trees showed up like skeletons against the bright western sky. Hopefully this will change as spring leafs out and gives us a solid mass of greenery. How we all are looking forward to spring and its magical change. Slowly we moved out into the creek and headed for the bay. The slow speed was appropriate for the mood we were being brought under. Now lonesome buoys passed by waiting for their sum- mer tenants. Along the shore were oc- casional docks ripped up by winter's ice. They looked grotesque and out of step with their counterparts. Now the great salt marshes came into view. They, too, had felt the wrath of winter's ice and snow for they lay pros- trate in their grey -brown mass. This is the ongoing compost of the marsh where debris and decayed grasses com- bine with other ingredients to make up one of the world's great nutrient facto- ries to feed our shellfish, fish and other organisms that make up our marine en- vironment. A lone pair of bufflehead took off to the right, the dripping and wetness of their low flight trailing in the water. Soon they'll be off to the north to rear their young. The further out we went the more I appreciated the old coat for now we could feel that chill that is still left over from winter's hold. Soon we were in the mouth of the creek — the great bay spread out before us. A dark, rip- pled surface could only be interpreted as cold. Yet the orange -red of the now -past sunset told us that warmth was trying its best to unlock winter's grip for all of us. A few lights started to show up along the distant shore. Ironically, most of the waterfront homes are locked up for the winter, lifeless 'til their summer tenants come to awaken them for a few months of the year. We were the only ones out on the bay that day, I'm sure, and in all Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh DRIFTWOOD — Traveling along our still winter shores reveals many of winter's spoils: pieces of driftwood, wrecked boats, broken pilings and a host of other debris. probability the only ones out all week. How much wonder goes unnoticed by man? Yet I can see why. The comforts of the warmth and security are not here. There'll be a few who will enjoy it but on the whole most will not make the effort. In the distance we could make out a great mass of something floating and as we approached we saw it was a raft of ducks, three or four hundred of them. Then, as if someone threw a switch, they all took off in a frenzy of spray and wings. Scaup, or broadbill as the duck hunters call them, peeled off in strings and groups, each seemingly without re- gard of the other. There was a time when this was common in our bays. It was the time when eel grass spread over the shallow bottom of our bay but in the thirties a disease took over, wiped out the eel grass, changing the habitat and in turn losing the ducks. Dusk was turning to darkness and our evening adventure was about to come to a halt. Slowly we swung around into the cutting wind. I turned my back to it, ■ w &9w 1 w..i, M..Mfti, 78 Years Ago April 18, 1914 $25,000 Bond Issue: Next Tuesday the taxpayers of Greenport Village will vote on bonding the village for $25,000 for the purpose of laying wood block pavements from the railroad station to Front Street, all that section of Front Street within the corporate limits, and Main Street from steamboat dock up to the end of the corporate limits. Of course, there are those taxpayers who are opposed to this improvement and others who are very much in favor of it. In favor. "We can build a wood block road with a con- crete foundation that will last for many years. It will really cost less than the present system." Against: "We do not want to bond the village for $25,000. The village is in debt enough now and we do not want to add to its burdens." Underwater Land: Gov. Glynn has signed a special bill giving Shelter Island the authority to acquire lands under the water and to appropriate money therefor. The bill was introduced by Assemblyman Talmage upon the request of Shelter Island people who want the town to buy a certain piece of bay bottom in case the Baymen's Association wins its suit for possession of the ground. 50 Years Ago April 16, 1942 Danger of Floating Mines: The Commandant, pulling the hood up tighter around my head while "youth" took it face on. We stopped once to pick up a choice piece of driftwood Roger had seen on a previ- ous walk along the beach. The problem was we couldn't get in close enough to jump ashore but again "youth" took over and slipped off shoes and socks and waded ashore to pick up his trea- sure. Back in the creek we passed the old osprey platform we'd put up years ago. Now only the brightness of the western sky highlighted its silhouette. There, standing like sentinels, were the two os- preys, I'm sure the pair that has nested there for the past few years. My heart went out to their gallantry ; their vigor, their endurance, their companionship. Each year since we put that platform up they've returned, the same birds to the same nest. Our after- work -hours trip out into the bay was over. We both felt good and exhilarated. A parting quote, "Goodnight, Dad" said it all. "So long, Rog," I said as I drove off feeling life couldn't be much better. Third Naval District, has requested that all persons observ- ing mines report promptly to the nearest authority —Army, Navy, Coast Guard or local police. Suspicious objects afloat or washed up on beaches must be considered dangerous and all persons are warned to remain at a distance of at least 200 yards. Repairs to Mitchell's: Contractor Wilhelm Lohor of Riverhead, who has about completed the large fireproof plant of the Greenport Bottling Co., started work this week on the repairs to Mitchell's Restaurant on Front Street, which was damaged last week when the ceiling in the large dining room fell. 25 Years Ago April 21, 1967 Proposition Defeated: At a special referendum vote of the qualified residents of the Town of Southold held on Friday of last week for the purchase of property as a site for a future town hall, the proposition was defeated, 1,044 opposed, 846 in favor. The town had an option for the pur- chase of a 28.72 acre site just west of the village, which expires April 30. Last year the vote for the purchase of the proposed site and the building of a new Town Hall was 2,500 opposed and 1,900 favoring the project. Observation: No, no, Detroit, you've got it all wrong. What we need is faster traffic and slower cars.