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January 21, 2010 - Fruit frozen, wildlife stunned by the coldSUFFOLKTIMES.COM I JANUARY 21. 2010 1 7A Fruit frozen, wildlife stunned by the cold Y PAUL. AND BARBARA STOUTFNBURGH PHOTOS Left Many sea turtles like this one at the Mote Aquarium in Sarasota have been picked up along the beaches and taken to places around the state to be warmed up before being released when the water temperature returns to normal. Right Snook, albacore, grouper, angel fish and others fell victim to this winters bitter cold weather in Florida. In my last article I spoke of the coldest weather we had experienced in Florida in the past five years. Little did I know at the time that was only the prelude to record - breaking days ofbitter cold to come. The temperature at night dropped to 36 degrees on our outside thermometer, but we live on an island and, similar to Long Island, we are warmed by the water around us. Further inland and north of us the tem- peratures dropped into the 20s and in some places into the teens. In the daytime, 40s and 50s were com- mon, with chilling winds that went through you. We tried to save some of our plants by bringing them indoors and FOCUS ON NATURE Putting sheets over what we left outside. Even with that were not sure how much we were able to save —and that was noth- ing compared to what was happening to the PAULSTOUTENBURGH strawberry farms and orange groves in the area Having visited the Mixon Fruit Farm last year, we were interested to know how the fruit was hold- ing up under the cold The television kept showing oranges coated with ice, but when I spoke with Janet Mixon, she told me they had covered their plants in the butterfly garden area with eight inches of foam to save them and at 2 a-m that morning they had turned on their micro jets to spray a mist of 64- degree groundwater over the grove, which keeps the fruit from freezing. She told me their grove is protected from the cold unless it gets down to 28 degrees for four hours straight. Many in Florida have probably seen how the high- ways have been affected and closed down due to sink holes from the heavy use of water to save area pro- duce. While most of the talk and concern down here at first had been about oranges and strawberries, little did we realize how many other things would eventu- ally be affected by the long - lasting cold temperatures This spotted sandpiper visiting our dock area appeared to be picking up bits and pieces of what was left of some of time cold weathers victims. We heard that a leatherback turtle had come ashore and was picked up by Fish and Wildlife and taken to the Mote Aquarium. We took a trip there, a place similar to Atlantis Marine World in Riverhead The five- foot -long, 787 -pound leatherback turtle had already been released In the short time it was there, it had been placed in amedical pool to try to help it The concern was to get it back in the water as soon as possible. The leatherback turtle is the largest living reptile in the world and the largest and most endangered of all sea turtle species Many years ago, I photographed one of these huge turtles dead on the East Marion - Orient causeway. What a Goliath it was! Sea turtles all over the state are being taken in to warm them up. Two hundred sea turtles were whisked away to shelters in one part of the state, where they were being warmed up in heated pools after the cold water had shocked their systems, and 40 more were taken to another area; everyone in- volved worked to warm the turtles up so they could be returned to the water as soon as possible_ Calls went out for blankets and warm coverings to help get these animals warmed up. Workers also needed donations of money to help support their work Still, many turtles do not make it once theyhave been hit by the cold. Freshwater turtles do not hide in the mud when the waters get cold like saltwater turtles do. Our diamondback turtles, whose heads we see as we canoe or kayak around our creeks and bays, go to the bottom and hide in the mud to keep warm. This unusual cold snap is deadly for tropical wild- life. It is killing animals accustomed to a temperate climate. Iguanas up to six feet long, cold - blooded reptiles, just dropped out of the trees as they lost their grip in the cold. Up to 200 manatees in some places huddled into balmy canals around the power plants trying to keep warm until the water warms up so they can move out into the bigger water ways Some mana- tees can weigh up to 3,000 pounds. Today the warring trend began. The sun was out and folks were walling about Down the street toward the bay we could see people wading in the cold water picking up large fish stunned in the cold waters A man came by walking his dog. He sat down, took off his shoes and socks and jumped into the water to pick up a large grouper that he took home with him. Other large fish were picked up, filleted and given to anyone who had aplastic bag in their pocket Toward evening, as we watched from our win- dow, we saw a small bird fly to the dock. We got out our binoculars and looked to see what it might be. The first clue was that we could see it bobbing as it searched the dock, then it flew down among the rocks to forage. Sure enough, true to form, this small tan and white bird with its light eye line teetering on the rocks was a spotted sandpiper. As we walked down to the pier later and looked over the side, we could see big fish lying on the rocks and needlefish dead in the water. Someone had spread fish on the beach and we just had to get a picture to show the variety and size of fish that were victims of the cold Perhaps this is only the begin- ning of what we will see as the water warms and the fish bodies at the bottom float to the surface. i CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT Karen A. Hel i nski CPA, PLLC • Business and Personal Tax Planning and Preparation • Financial and Management Advisory Services • Accounting and Auditing Services 765 -1118 • FAX: 765 -1755 240 Beckwith Avenue, Box S00 Southold • New York 11971 e -mail: