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August 20, 1992 - Camping and Canoeing in ConnecticutAugust 20, 1992 • The Suffolk Times • 7A Camping and Canoeing in Connecticut By Paul Stoutenburgh It is surprising to see how quickly one can get away from our East End when you head east and take the ferry. In just two or three hours you are in another world and yet on these short trips to Connecticut or Rhode Island one can see pretty much the same fauna and flora that we have right here on our own East End. We've just come back from a mini camping/canoe trip inside Connecticut's largest state forest. At Pachaug we pad- dled on the smooth, coffee- Focus colored waters that wind through on Nature pine and swamp maples inter- mixed with what seemed to be stunted white cedars. At a very nice launching ramp, we put our canoe in and headed upstream, where for the next three and a half hours we were the only ones on the water. On the map it is designated as a fishing area but that was in the opposite direction in the more open lake area. We had camped nearby overnight and witnessed one of the great summer thunder and lightning storms with downpours of rain which had left everything fresh and dew - laden. An early morning mist lay about us, which would soon be dissi- pated by the bright sun coming up through the trees. This would be a reunion with old plant friends, ones we have been famil- iar with in our own Peconic River that has now become a popular canoeing area back home. The first familiar plant was the pickerelweed with its arrow- head- shaped leaves and purple- flowered spike. It lined the water's edge and shared its space with the perfect white blossoms of the water lily. Also on its edges we'd find occasional clumps of yellow spatterdock with its big, floating, round leaves that resemble those of the water lily. Later we'd see another edge lover, the dainty white, flowering, broad - leafed arrowhead with its charac- teristic arrowhead- shaped leaf. Some of the blossoms on the two -foot -high stems had fruits below that would ripen and fall to the water to be dispersed by the currents. BROAD - LEAFED ARROWHEAD —Here is a plant that can be found throughout our northeast where there is still water. Notice the perfect arrow - shaped leaf. Probably the most abundant blossoms we saw along the upper edges were those of the sweet pepperbush. As the name implies, this large bush with its white slender spikes of flowers would bathe us in a constant "sweet aroma." Here and there were remnants of the small pink swamp rose that added a special touch of color to our watery gar- den. As we sat quietly in our canoe a huge black -and- yellow bumblebee lit on one, weighing it down almost to the wa- ter's edge. Evidently breakfast was hid- den in those bright- yellow center discs. I_!ls9A I_AAL nwwL 78 Years Ago Aug. 22, 1914 Republican Shore Dinner: Republicans of East- ern Long Island are planning a shore dinner at Paradise Point, Southold, on Saturday, Aug. 29, at 3:30 p.m. sharp. Mary C. Bullock, proprietor of Paradise Point, has a wide reputation as a caterer and her patrons are always loud in praise of the good dinners she serves. It is hoped and expected that Hon. William Calder, Representative in Congress from Brooklyn and a candidate for the Republi- can nomination for U.S. Senator, will be present and make an address. The price of the dinner is $1.50. Potato Blight: The potato crop at Southampton is being moved, starting last week at 60 cents a bushel. The early crop is in fine condition but blight has already appeared on the late varieties. If this sultry, buggy weather continues great damage will result. There is a great crop of potatoes in Southold this year. Many of the growers are get- ting 300 bushels and upwards to the acre. 50 Years Ago Aug. 20, 1942 Coast Guard Needs Horsemen: The spurs of Coast Guards on horseback will jingle, jangle, jingle along the Atlantic coastline when the beachfront protection orga- nization puts its newly established mounted patrol into ser- Standing as tall as the familiar sweet pepperbush was the buttonbush. Its flower reminded me of a perfect sun- burst, the creamy one -inch yellow ball is covered with soft delicate spikes giv- ing it its sunburst effect. We often came upon what at one time must have been great masses of white flowers. Now they were dried and drooping and upon close examination proved to be the swamp - honeysuckle, which in reality is an azalea. We have all these flowering bushes along our Peconic River but here in Connecticut vice. Organization of a patrol to guard the sandy wastes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts was announced in Washington recently. A call was issued for volunteers among horsemen living near the two bodies of water. Their job would be to protect the shores against invasion by submarine -borne spies and saboteurs as well as watching for persons in dis- tress and for ships which need help. Volunteers will be trained by the Coast Guard and supplied with arms and uni- forms. 25 Years Ago Aug. 25, 1967 GHS Senior Rescues Boy: Barry Latney, 17- year -old Greenport High School senior, last Sunday per- formed a heroic act of rescue in the Peconic River, River- head. A young boy, fishing, fell off the pier opposite the Marine Corps Recruiting Station. As bystanders watched, the boy went down for the third time. Barry jumped into the water fully clothed and managed, despite the boy's strug- gles, to bring him to safety. After being lifted from the water, the boy walked away without giving his name or thanking his rescuer. TV Station Approved: The Federal Communica- tions Commission gave its approval this week to Long Island's first television station in Riverhead. Developers of Channel 55 hope to broadcast as early as November 1968. they seemed more vigorous in their growth. At one point we came upon a large bush of blueberries just loaded and asking to be picked. Here was the missing fruit of our breakfast and so, holding on to the bushes, we plucked and ate to our heart's and mouth's de- light. A catbird scolded us from a nearby branch letting us know they were his private stock. When we left the catbird followed us for a quarter of a mile, scolding us all the way, and even when we returned it flew up to greet us, continuing its scolding. We took heed and passed up his private berry stock on our way back. The pale pink spires of the steeple - bush were everywhere along the water's edge. I showed Barbara the brown wooly undersides of the green leaf that makes it easy to identify. We stopped to photograph the succulent jewelweed that seemed to be at its height. Its juicy stems when broken prove a good cure for poison ivy and has helped me many a time get through the itching time. A Dew - Dropped Display Since we had left early much of the area was still draped in sparkling dew, which set the spider webs off in a daz- zling array of contrast against the dark - shadowed background to our right. In one small white cedar three webs seemed to try to outdo each other in their jeweled brilliance. The parade of flowering shrubs, trees and seemingly tropical grandeur slid by us as we quietly paddled upstream in the coolness of the morning. Joe -pye weed was at its height and I wondered if the stories were we about this famous In- dian Joe -pye who made his potion that cured one's ills from this plant that loves the wet places. Some of the flowers had passed, leaving only their ripened seed pods. The one most conspicuous was the thick, elongated, ripened seed pods of the blue flag or swamp iris. Ferns, which have always given me difficulty in figuring them out, grew in great mats, adding to the tropical flavor of the area. Elderberries were starting to ripen in their umbrella of berries but I'm sure as they turn purple, birds will soon be feasting on them. We saw cedar waxwings flycatching in their particular flight in open areas and an unusual closeup view of a black - billed cuckoo that soon moved off into the thickets and gave its haunting odd call, which once heard is never forgot- ten. High above two turkey vultures soared on the now increasing thermals. But for now the birds would have to take a back seat in the voyage for the plants and flowers kept us busy identify- ing. Of course, there were plenty of sideshows with turtles sunning them- selves and then there were the continu- ous rapid twirlings and gyrations of the water bugs that seemed as if they had no rhyme or reason in their mad pursuit about the surface of the water. Our eyes never tired of the world about us. Perhaps we could have seen all this in our own Peconic River but there in Connecticut in the deepness of this for- est stream everything seemed new again and that's the great adventure for those who enjoy the outdoors. No matter where you are you'll find old and new friends and acquaintances. No matter what the day is or what the weather is, whether it's your own backyard or the great streams in some other part of the country, it's all there for those who take time to see.