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December 01, 1994 - A Sudden Flurry of Winter Hits Home6A • The,Suffolk'Timeg December 1, 1994 i A Sudden Flurry of Winter Hits Home i3v Paul Stoutenburah Winter waited until the night before Thanksgiving to show up with snow squalls, high winds and dropping tem- peratures. When we awoke the next morning the temperature had dropped to the mid -20s. As I looked out the bed- room window I needed no thermometer to tell me it was cold outside for the rhododendron leaves were curled up tight. This makes their surface less vul- Focus on Nature nerable to the cold winds and therefore less evaporation of water will take place in their broad, evergreen leaves. The whole outside world had changed. The trees were stripped and the ground below was covered with leaves. Each had found its own particu- lar place to nestle down for the winter. Now wedged in place, they would wait like the leaves of past winters below them for time and its magic to convert them into the rich duff that feeds all trees in the woods. Out on the lawn the birdbath is frozen solid. The mockingbird comes to drink, looks around at what's in front of him and flies away. I wonder if this is a new bird this year. Has it seen ice before? Where will it find open water? Perhaps it will come to where I chop the ice out of the cow's trough. Later when I do get out to perform this chilly task I'll find a good three- quarters of an inch of ice has been made up during the night. I scoop I ate SUNRISE COACH LINES o � Invites you to our annual... Holiday Do -As- You - Please Trips to New York City Saturday, December 3rd and 10th $15 round-tripper person $10 Children (under 12) Reservations Necessary Call 477 -1200 Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh CAROLINA WREN —This little songster is a relatively new year -round resident from the south. Its cheery and varied song can be heard throughout the winter. a container of water for the chickens and they stop their feeding to run over and drink, lifting their heads skyward like someone taking a pill with a glass of water. From now on this problem of water will plague me for I have no luxury of an underground water line going to the barn. Unfrozen water will be added to the chores of the day 'til early spring. Flowers Are Confused On my way out to feed the chickens my path goes along the edge of the woods where through the years daf- fodils have grown. •A week ago I no- ticed some have been confused by our mild fall and have started to show them- selves above the ground with greenish shoots. There they'll stay more or less frozen in time through the winter 'til, like the ice in the buckets, spring will release them. The brisk walk out to feed the animals told me through my feet that the ground was frozen. No longer were my steps cushioned by the soft earth. I found no difference between the brick walk and the frozen ground — all felt like one. Now the moles, earthworms and a multitude of unknown and unseen organisms will retreat below this frozen layer of ground to the safety of soft and warmer places. Some will sleep the winter away; others will eke out a mere living 'til spring. We had to go to Riverhead to pick up some new glasses. The time was just about sunset. There was little of that. Somber gray clouds were being blown out of the north. As we turned on our headlights they picked up leaves that blew across the road in helter - skelter fashion. The evening took on an ominous look. Red and green street lights swung in crazy fashion as the gusting wind homed in on every moving object. We drove snugly in our car and felt guilty as we watched some poor souls with heads bent into the wind and ragged coats flapping making their way to who knows where. It was going to be a cold night and I'm sure we both thought silently how difficult it is for those who must walk the streets on nights like that. ■ _rL9— ■ `.:. M.. §. 82 Years Ago Nov. 309 1912 Advertisement: Announcement: In order to meet the increased demand for telephone service and to best serve our subscribers and increase the efficiency of tele- phone service wherever possible, the New York Telephone Company wishes to announce that on Dec. 1, new central offices will be established in Southold and Mattituck. New central office districts will also be established to be known as Jamesport and Orient. 50 Years Ago Dec. 1, 1944 New Museum Coming: The executive committee of the Long Island Chapter of the New York State Archaeo- logical Association and the board of directors are to meet soon to consider a site and the type of building required for a museum to house objects and material of various descrip- tion relating to the history and the culture of the North Fork. The need for a building of this nature has been emphasized repeatedly to accommodate the growing store, and it was discussed again at the annual meeting held at the home of Stanton Mott, in Southold, recently. Servicemen to Get Stockings: The Camp and Hospital Committee of the American Red Cross is planning Then there was a hint of rain pelting our windshield; not many, but enough to let us know those gray clouds that were building up and scurrying by held more than just a threat. We arrived at our des- tination and Barbara ran in to get her glasses while I stayed in the warm car with the engine running. Then I thought I saw a flake of snow. It seemed out of place or was it just some of man's para- phernalia whirling about? We knew the temperature was dropping for the tailpipes of cars smoked with vapor as they do in the cold weather. A Surprise Snow Shower By now the occasional snowflake had turned into a real flurry. We were wit- nessing a real snow shower. By the time Barbara had gotten her glasses fitted and returned to the car, one would have thought we were in one of the snows of last year. White flakes raced across the road in a horizontal streak. Traffic slowed down and the world took on an- other direction. It didn't last long and by the time we got home the snow had completely stopped and only the gray clouds and wind and cold told us that winter was truly here. It didn't seem possible that such an abrupt change could take place. Only a few days ago I sat in my little retreat up back writing with the door open and enjoying the mild, warm afternoon sun. Below me I could hear the cow munching on the grass and the thought of winter was still far away. I even had a Carolina wren singing just outside the door to cheer me up. I stopped my writing to enjoy its song when all of a sudden it appeared in the doorway, looked around almost as if to say, "Here I am" and hopped inside. I sat quietly as the little tuft of brown with its upright tail checked over the place. There was only curiosity in its looking. I had just swept the place out so there were no goodies about for it to eat. Then off it hopped into the tangle of shrubbery below, still singing its song. Was this lovely little creature going to stay with us all winter giving out with its song and hope? I surely hope so for the brightness of a bird singing in the middle of the winter will go a long way to brighten the day. to provide a Christmas stocking for every casualty located in the hospitals of Camp Upton and Mason General on Long Island. These stockings will hold a dozen useful arti- cles for the men who are confined on Long Island. A sample of the stocking is on display in the Arcade Department Store window. See it and act. 25 Years Ago Dec. 5, 1969 Orient Man Donates to NY Museum: When a man has spent a successful lifetime farming potatoes, he has performed a valuable service. When he has paralleled that occupation as a naturalist and ardent collector on as comprehensive a scale as Roy Latham has, his life's work is doubly distinguished. Mr. Latham, an 88- year -old lifetime resident of Orient, was presented a citation on Tuesday on behalf of the Board of Regents for his generous gift to the State Museum, of his enormous natural history collection. The gift consists of more than 100,000 botanical speci- mens and 10,000 zoological specimens which include mounted birds, bird skins, eggs and nests, mounted animals and animal pelts and mounted fish specimens, all from the Long Island area, as well as thousands of shells from Long Island and all over the world.