April 03, 2008 - Coming home to springApril 3, 2008 • The Suffolk Times Comi*ng
ome to sDri
n
Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenbur,
This driveway is made up of stones from various sites on the North Fork. Some came from old dirt cel-
lars that were being bulldozed; others were discarded fieldstones from a farm along the Sound.
We're home again from our sojourn in Florida and
oh, how good it is to be back. Everyone we meet asks
the same question, "Why did you come back to our
miserable weather ?" The truth is, I'm not quite sure.
1 guess it's just one of those things you can't explain.
Yet there are subtle things that unknowingly pull on
your heartstrings.
There are hints everywhere you look; for in-
stance, the first thing we saw as we approached our
home was the old stone wall of our driveway. Every
stone was dug out, lugged away and brought back
and fitted into its place in the wall. Another thing
that makes the driveway interesting is the kinds
of stone, which change as you move up the drive.
One section is made up of stones rescued from a
farmer's old root cellar that was being bulldozed
in. Another section of the wall is made up of red
sandstone, which I was told came from Connecticut
"They say the stones were used as ballast in ships.
What history lies within these relics of time!
The fieldstones that have their place in the wall
came from a farm up along
FOCUS_ the Sound, where they were
deposited 10,000 years ago by
ON the last great glacier. I contact
ed the farmer and asked if he
NATURE wanted to get rid of the larges
by Paul ones. His reply was, "Take all
Stoutenburgh you want." Today stones of all
sizes bring a good price — the
larger, the more expensive.
And so, a section of the wall along our driveway is
made up of those large rounded fieldstones.
Another section is made up of blocks of gran-
ite. These are the most wanted, for they are ideal
for building. All the stones in the wall are held in
place merely by the soil around them. No cement
was used and, believe it or not, they've held up for
over 50 years.
If you look closely, what makes the stone wall so
appealing is the moss that grows around and on the
stones. Looking closer, you'll see a dainty little fern
that I brought home years ago and planted in the
d,
Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenbur,
This driveway is made up of stones from various sites on the North Fork. Some came from old dirt cel-
lars that were being bulldozed; others were discarded fieldstones from a farm along the Sound.
We're home again from our sojourn in Florida and
oh, how good it is to be back. Everyone we meet asks
the same question, "Why did you come back to our
miserable weather ?" The truth is, I'm not quite sure.
1 guess it's just one of those things you can't explain.
Yet there are subtle things that unknowingly pull on
your heartstrings.
There are hints everywhere you look; for in-
stance, the first thing we saw as we approached our
home was the old stone wall of our driveway. Every
stone was dug out, lugged away and brought back
and fitted into its place in the wall. Another thing
that makes the driveway interesting is the kinds
of stone, which change as you move up the drive.
One section is made up of stones rescued from a
farmer's old root cellar that was being bulldozed
in. Another section of the wall is made up of red
sandstone, which I was told came from Connecticut
"They say the stones were used as ballast in ships.
What history lies within these relics of time!
The fieldstones that have their place in the wall
came from a farm up along
FOCUS_ the Sound, where they were
deposited 10,000 years ago by
ON the last great glacier. I contact
ed the farmer and asked if he
NATURE wanted to get rid of the larges
by Paul ones. His reply was, "Take all
Stoutenburgh you want." Today stones of all
sizes bring a good price — the
larger, the more expensive.
And so, a section of the wall along our driveway is
made up of those large rounded fieldstones.
Another section is made up of blocks of gran-
ite. These are the most wanted, for they are ideal
for building. All the stones in the wall are held in
place merely by the soil around them. No cement
was used and, believe it or not, they've held up for
over 50 years.
If you look closely, what makes the stone wall so
appealing is the moss that grows around and on the
stones. Looking closer, you'll see a dainty little fern
that I brought home years ago and planted in the
shaded side of the wall. It has spread up and clown
the driveway. It's these little things that lure me back
home and keep me going.
There was a time when we'd often see garter
snakes sunning themselves along the driveway. One
year at the foot of the wall I found an ovenbird's nest
built out of leaves in its unusual oven shape.
We didn't lay out this driveway originally. It was
an old dirt road through the woods and fields to the
creek in back that was used by farm hands and an oc-
casional fisherman who had brought his boat into the
beach and then walked up the road to get supplies.
So let's drive up this bumpy driveway that washes
out a little at the top each time it rains. When we
get to the top there's a parking area. Did I tell you
that on our way up two, three ... five deer bounced
across in front of us and into the woods to the north'?
They have eaten everything edible as far as they can
reach, leaving the understory looking more like a
manicured park than the woods itselt.l'm sure otner
people have had the same problem. The deer even
ate the tops off all the pansy plants that had been left
on the porch for us to plant later.
As we looked around the lawn we could see
bright- colored crocus blooming at the base of many
of the trees. Further on to the back pasture we could
see our two cows nibbling the new shoots of spring.
They had been well taken care o% as had the chickens
and the lone duck and the cat that had had the run
of the house. The lawn had all been raked and the
leaves scattered in the woods. How fortunate we are
to have family close by to take care of our place and
'> ►
Suffolk Times photo by Barbara
As we stood and looked over the backyard we no-
ticed the bird feeders had been filled and were busy
with nuthatches, chickadees, titmice, white - throated
sparrows, song sparrows, red - winged blackbirds,
grackles, blue jays and others.
Then as we stood there we heard that familiar
high - pitched call of an osprey, They, too, had re-
turned from their winter quarters and will soon be
busy repairing their nest sites. So you see, we live it
a world of interesting wonder. One can see why we
yearned to get back'even though the weather here
persists in trying to hold off spring.
P.S. Focus will now be coming to you every other .
week rather than weekly as it has in the past.
Of all the sounds
of spring, the one
closest to my heart
is the call of the
early osprey.
We saw him flying
up the creek to his
nest the day after
we arrived home.
�C
_ ...
3 c
N °
o °
ao
N �
c
C o
L V V
p N y
Y 3 �
as
°o c c
61 =
0
N ' >
L .`
0 0Z
o +•
c ° o
L = E
CM
O � O
fp N N
L
CL
O N c
J d
C m
o a) ea
N N d
aoi
N3_
m 0
as
° o
c N
s
EN F
caw ti
3 m �
y � T
_ L
ar ° O
� O
N bA Q
N M O
— +.
U) ai U)
° ° a
W o c
+- om
3 V s
E °
R t to
R Q
3 ° �
c
L E +O+
� O A
E 3
3 'ca 3
� L
+a�ca
=a� o
V T
C t
(D O V
N
W
O
O T V