June 02, 2011 - Enjoying a perfect, sunny daySUFFOLKTIMES.COM I JUNE 2, 2011
Enjoying a perfect,
With all the discouraging weather we've been
having I put off writing Focus in hopes of finding
that "perfect day." Then like all good things that
take time, the perfect day finally arrived with bril-
liant sunshine and low humidity. But now what to
do with our first nice day? Perhaps for starters, I'll
take a stroll out to the garden.
As I stepped off the patio into the wet grass I
could see the bright
FOCUS ON NATURE and glistening. Star of
Bethlehem plants that
have made their new
home throughout our
lawn. Here they have
faced those wet rainy
days of the past giving
us hope for better
PAUL STOUTENBURGH days ahead. Our yard
is alive with birds
singing their own special songs for this perfect day.
Then across the lawn and into the garden. It's not
much of a garden, since we haven't had a chance to
get into it and work as yet. Hopefully we'll be able
to do that soon and cut down the tall grass that has
shot up everywhere; no place has been left barren
as everything green now reaches for the sun.
The only bright spots in the garden were the tall,
colorful blossoms of the iris that stood above every-
thing else, bursting forth in all their splendor. As I
stood there with the sun shining from behind them,
I could think of nothing more gorgeous; the way the
purple, yellow and white blossoms hung reminded
me of dainty drapes of color in some fairy-tale palace.
While I was standing there lost in thought I began to
feel the wet, chilly dew that was slowly penetrating
my sandals. My feet were soaked, but who cared; the
sunny da,
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Least terns are the smallest of all the terns that nest
along our sandy beaches. We often see this summer visi-
tor hovering over the water before it plunges in, hopin€
to catch a small fish.
sun was out and my iris were blooming.
The only other color that could be seen was in
the buds of the peonies waiting for their day of
sun. The big holly my dad had given me years ago
had been pollinated even through the miserable
weather, and now each branch was loaded with
;reen berries that will slowly turn to red. Already a
mockingbird has claimed it as his territory.
What to do next as the sun seemPrl tn crrn. ,,,
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warmer and warmer with each passing hour. The
sun is out, so let's go down and see how the return-
ing plovers and least terns are making out down on
the causeway. We've seen them since their return
but let's check on them once more. They should
be settled in by now. These dainty sand - colored
creatures of the shoreline are having a particularly
tough time in today's modern world of beach ve-
hicles, Frisbee games and wandering dogs.
When we arrived at the causeway we could hear
the high- pitched call of birds — not the plaintive
call of the piping plover but the call of the least tern.
Here was another nester of our beaches and as we
drove along the causeway where good - hearted vol-
unteers have fenced the area in, we could see terns
flying and settling on the beach. This was getting -
acquainted time and courtiniz time with new mates.
To think they had come all the way up trom lien
marine coast of Central and South America to
grace our shores. Who can begrudge these small
wonders, as they ask nothing more than to nest
and raise their young and then they'll be gone.
Since the sun was still out and we were enjoying
its warmth, we decided to make one more trip to
check on spring and returning birds. We chose a
wooded area with wet spots where a solitary sand-
piper, scarlet tanager, indigo bunting and redstart
iad been seen, so we decided to try our luck.
What struck us most was the yellow of the yellow
varblers as they flitted back and forth across the
lirt road in among the blossoming yellow wild
nustard. What a truly magnificent sight. I remem-
ler years ago photographing a pair of these yellow
iirds from a blind after the young had hatched.
Vhat a pleasure being so close and watching this
amily as it was fed and grew before my eves_
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