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April 21, 1983 - Suggestion for Spring: Look and SeeSECOND SECTION The *Uffolh Timrg April 21,1983 Suggestion for Spring: Look and See By PAUI, STOUTENBURGH Last Wednesday was a perfect day to work outdoors. Part of my job was to remove a fallen tree blocking the driveway where we had a job to do. While down on my hands and knees cutting the tree, I noticed a familiar leaf covering on the ground. It was the leathery leaf of the trailing arbutus, sometimes called Maypinks. If someone could have seen me down on my knees, head down, tail ffoQ�� o� up, smelling that rare fragrance they might have thought me some sort of worshipper. And perhaps I was. Trailing arbutus is becoming more and more difficult to find but here it spread out before me in what seemed to be a patch as big as our living room rug. I wondered if the new owner of the property would cherish this spring beauty as much as I. Or would the bulldozer push it aside with the other trash so that grass could be planted here? The day was one of our better ones and as we worked in the warm sun I continually looked across the creek to see if an osprey had taken one of the platforms put up during the winter. So far we have two new nests and this one at the mouth of the creek hadn't produced. The job I was on was to clear a piece of land for a new home. As the chain saw cut through the brambles and small shrubs, I could see mottled pipsissewa standing erect in the duff below. Its last year's flower stems were still there. Further on in the day I came across the dried heads of a clump of Indian pipes. These are plants that live on decayed material and have no green coloring. They come up as white stalks somewhat in the shape of a shepherd's staff. These are interesting plants and are always worth checking on whenever they're up. I'm afraid I don't put 100 percent into my work for when I'm outside there are so many things to draw your attention away from the job. I had to walk down to the creek once just to check it out. There were still bufflehead ducks diving out there. Soon they'll be heading north. The male's trim black and white body makes him one of the handsomest ducks we have. They're a little fat chunky duck that gets them the name butterball by the gunners. Up north they'll look for an inland lake or swamp where there will be ,old dead trees for it's in one of these old hollow trees this duck will nest. Usually we think of ducks nesting on the ground but not the bufflehead. A Fur -Lined House To top my day of work my eye caught a chickadee in the top of an old dead oak. There were two and being spring that gave me a clue something was going on. I watched these happy little balls of black and white fluff for about a minute as they pecked here and there, sometimes on top of the limb, sometimes under the limb, sometimes reaching for a morsel on a nearby limb till all of a sudden there was only one. ARBUTUS- -It's still a bit early to see this hard -to -find back you may just find one blooming -- then test its wildflower in our woods, but by moving the leaves rare fragrance. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh Now I knew in those bare branches it couldn't have flown away without my seeing it so where could it be? Search as I would, there was only one. Then there were two. What was going on? Then my eyes caught one disappearing in a small hole. They were house hunting. In an old rotten branch no more than three inches in diameter this little fellow had found an old hole or perhaps he had previously dug it out for himself. Often they will pick the soft decayed wood out like a woodpecker and cut themselves a cavity just big enough for them. Their needs are not for a mansion but rather a small cottage. It reminded me we all too often make our bird houses too big. After all, a smaller cavity means a cozier nest. In my mind I could picture the plant fiber nest lined with hair of some small animal. Once we found a chickadee's nest by our house lined with rabbit fur, another time one lined with horse hair. Mr. and Mrs. Chickadee demand only the best liners for their young. In all the day went fast. Outside were a hundred things to make the day more pleasant. Sure, there was work involved and the job assigned was done but on the side yours truly saw once again the wonders that are ours to see if we only will take time to see them. GRAND OPENING TJAY-9S TRANSMISSIONS 1212 E. MAIN ST. AI VERHEAD" N.Y. 11901 369 -0011 DOMESTIC & FOREIGN SERVICING CARS & TRUCKS eAutomatics •Standards •Four Wheel Drives Parts All Work Guaranteed Service SECOND SECTION cKhr xrmigruirw April 21,1983 Suggestion for Spring: Look and See By PAUL STOUTENBURGH Last Wednesday was a perfect day to work outdoors. Part of my job was to remove a fallen tree blocking the driveway where we had a job to do. While down on my hands and knees cutting the tree, I noticed a familiar leaf covering on the ground. It was the leathery leaf of the trailing arbutus, sometimes called Maypinks. If someone could have seen me down on my knees, head down, tail ft(�Nm @Ufl MaQMTq up, smelling that rare fragrance they might have thought me some sort of worshipper. And perhaps I was. Trailing arbutus is becoming more and more difficult to find but here it spread out before me in what seemed to be a patch as big as our living room rug. I wondered if the new owner of the property would cherish this spring beauty as much as I. Or would the bulldozer push it aside with the other trash so that grass could be planted here? The day was one of our better ones and as we worked in the warm sun I continually looked across the creek to see if an osprey had taken one of the platforms put up during the winter. So far we have two new nests and this one at the mouth of the creek hadn't produced. The job I was on was to clear a piece of land for a new home. As the chain saw cut through the brambles and small shrubs, I could see mottled pipsissewa standing erect in the duff below. Its last year's flower stems were still there. Further on in the day I came across the dried heads of a clump of Indian pipes. These are plants that live on decayed material and have no green coloring. They come up as white stalks somewhat in the shape of a shepherd's staff. These are interesting plants and are always worth checking on whenever they're up. I'm afraid I don't put 100 percent into my work for when I'm outside there are so many things to draw your attention away from the job. I had to walk down to the creek once just to check it out. There were still bufflehead ducks diving out there. Soon they'll be heading north. The male's trim black and white body makes him one of the handsomest ducks we have. They're a little fat chunky duck that gets them the name butterball by the gunners. Up north they'll look for an inland lake or swamp where there will be old dead trees for it's in one of these old hollow trees this duck will nest. Usually we think of ducks nesting on the ground but not the bufflehead. A Fur -Lined House To top my day of work my eye caught a chickadee in the top of an old dead oak. There were two and being spring that gave me a clue something was going on. I watched these happy little balls of black and white fluff for about a minute as they pecked here and there, sometimes on top of the limb, sometimes under the limb, sometimes reaching for a morsel on a nearby limb till all of a sudden there was only one. ARBUTUS - -It's still a bit early to see this hard -to -find back you may just find one blooming -- then test its wildflower in our woods, but by moving the leaves rare fragrance. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh Now I knew in those bare branches it couldn't have flown away without my seeing it so where could it be? Search as I would, there was only one. Then there were two. What was going on? Then my eyes caught one disappearing in a small hole. They were house hunting. In an old rotten branch no more than three inches in diameter this little fellow had found an old hole or perhaps he had previously dug it out for himself. Often they will pick the soft decayed wood out like a woodpecker and cut themselves a cavity just big enough for them. Their needs are not for a mansion but rather a small cottage. It reminded me we all too often make our bird houses too big. After all, a smaller cavity means a cozier nest. In my mind I could picture the plant fiber nest lined with hair of some small animal. Once we found a chickadee's nest by our house lined with rabbit fur, another time one lined with horse hair. Mr. and Mrs. Chickadee demand only the best liners for their young. In all the day went fast. Outside were a hundred things to make the day more pleasant. Sure, there was work involved and the job assigned was done but on the side yours truly saw once again the wonders that are ours to see if we only will take time to see them. GRAND OPENING TJAYPS TRANSMISSIONS 1212 E. MAIN ST. � RIVERHEAD' N.Y. 11901 369 -0011 DOMESTIC Sc FOREIGN SERVICING CARS &TRUCKS oAutomatics oStandards Four Wheel Drives Parts All Work Guaranteed Service Mo SECOND SECTION U, hP xrW13J__q,PVirW April 21, 1983 Suggestion for Spring: Look and See By PAULSTOUTENBURGH Last Wednesday was a perfect day to work outdoors. Part of my job was to remove a fallen tree blocking the driveway where we had a job to do. While down on my hands and knees cutting the tree, I noticed a familiar leaf covering on the ground. It was the leathery leaf of the trailing arbutus, sometimes called Maypinks. If someone could have seen me down on my knees, head down, tail goQd� caw wa4[��o up, smelling that rare fragrance they might have thought me some sort of worshipper. And perhaps I was. Trailing arbutus is becoming more and more difficult to find but here it spread out before me in what seemed to be a patch as big as our living room rug. I wondered if the new owner of the property would cherish this spring beauty as much as I. Or would the bulldozer push it aside with the other trash so that grass could be planted here? The day was one of our better ones and as we worked in the warm sun I continually looked across the creek to see if an osprey had taken one of the platforms put up during the winter. So far we have two new nests and this one at the mouth of the creek hadn't produced. The job I was on was to clear a piece of land for a new home. As the chain saw cut through the brambles and small shrubs, I could see mottled pipsissewa standing erect in the duff below. Its last year's flower stems were still there. Further on in the day I came across the dried heads of a clump of Indian pipes. These are plants that live on decayed material and have no green coloring. They come up as white stalks somewhat in the shape of a shepherd's staff. These are interesting plants and are always worth checking on whenever they're up. I'm afraid I don't put 100 percent into my work for when I'm outside there are so many things to draw your attention away from the job. I had to walk down to the creek once just to check it out. There were still bufflehead ducks diving out there. Soon they'll be heading north. The male's trim black and white body makes him one of the handsomest ducks we have. They're a little fat chunky duck that gets them the name butterball by the gunners. Up north they'll look for an inland lake or swamp where there will be old dead trees for it's in one of these old hollow trees this duck will nest. Usually we think of ducks nesting on the ground but not the bufflehead. A Fur -Lined House To top my day of work my eye caught a chickadee in the top of an old dead oak. There were two and being spring that gave me a clue something was going on. I watched these happy little balls of black and white fluff for about a minute as they pecked here and there, sometimes on top of the limb, sometimes under the limb, sometimes reaching for a morsel on a nearby limb till all of a sudden there was only one. ARBUTUS - -It's still a bit early to see this hard -to -find back you may just find one blooming -- then test its wildflower in our woods, but by moving the leaves rare fragrance. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh Now I knew in those bare branches it couldn't have flown away without my seeing it so where could it be? Search as I would, there was only one. Then there were two. What was going on? Then my eyes caught one disappearing in a small hole. They were house hunting. In an old rotten branch no more than three inches in diameter this little fellow had found an old hole or perhaps he had previously dug it out for himself. Often they will pick the soft decayed wood out like a woodpecker and cut themselves a cavity just big enough for them. Their needs are not for a mansion but rather a small cottage. It reminded me we all too often make our bird houses too big. After all, a smaller cavity means a cozier nest. In my mind I could picture the plant fiber nest lined with hair of some small animal. Once we found a chickadee's nest by our house lined with rabbit fur, another time one lined with horse hair. Mr. and Mrs. Chickadee demand only the best liners for their young. In all the day went fast. Outside were a hundred things to make the day more pleasant. Sure, there was work involved and the job assigned was done but on the side yours truly saw once again the wonders that are ours to see if we only will take time to see them. GRAND OPENING TJAYPS TRANSMISSIONS 1212 E. MAIN ST. RI VEAHEA D' N.Y. 11901 369 -0011 DOMESTIC & FOREIGN SERVICING CARS & TRUCKS eAutomatics •Standards •Four Wheel Drives Parts All Work Guaranteed Service