August 06, 1998 - Pastural ponderings10A • The Suffolk Times • August 6, 1998
rasturai ponderings
It sure helps in more ways than one to live near a
farmstand, particularly when they replace the old
sweet corn with new each morning. It's then that Al.
Krupski brings over his old corn for our cows. There's
only one problem with that arrangement and that is
the cows get used to this delicious supplement and
look forward to the delivery and moo continually
until they are satisfied. As a
matter of fact, they get ram-
bunctious and pace up and FOCUS
down in a most demanding way, ON
one which concerns me that
they'll jump the fence to. look NATURE
around on their own. Lately, by Paul
we've tried to outsmart them. $toutenburgh
We wait until- they are lying
down chewing their cud and
then take the corn in the pickup out into the pasture
and hide it behind bushes and clumps of grass, out of
sight. Then as they wander about feeding here and
there, they'll sooner or later come across one of the
many caches we put out for them. In that way they
won't anticipate the delivery of corn-each day. So far
they have not bellowed for their prize and the urge to
jump the fence has been diminished, "I hope."
As we drove about one section of the pasture we
noticed the common milkweed growing here and
there, its large leaves standing out in contrast to the
dry, brown grass of the pasture. It reminded me how
important this poisonous, bitter - tasting plant is to the
monarch butterfly's survival. It acts as a host to the
monarch's eggs and as soon as the young caterpillars
hatch, they immediately start munching on the potent
leaves with full immunity. As the butterfly gets larger
and larger, it soon senses the need to spin a green
chrysalis, or cocoon -like structure, where the miracle
of metamorphosis takes place. It's hard to believe that
a green- white - and -black striped caterpillar can weave
a capsule about itself and emerge later as a glorious
orange- and -black butterfly. During this remarkable
transformation the bitter poison the original caterpil-
lar ingested from the milkweed leaves has now been
passed on to the monarch butterfly. This is why birds
and other creatures have learned to leave the mon-
archs alone. It only takes one taste of a monarch but-
terfly for a predator to find out it's not good eating
and then spit it out.
Some monarchs head to Mexico
It won't be long before we'll see the monarch but-
terflies starting on their annual fall migration south.
Some will stay in Georgia, Florida and other southern
states, while others will go as far as Mexico to spend
the winter. They, like migrating birds, have to build up
their energy package to see them through this long,
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tedious journey. Flowers of all sorts will be called on
to supply the rich nectar that will: help them along the
way. Imagine something almost as light as a feather
battling winds and rains, heat and cold to make a
journey with all those odds against them. Yet it does
and those that do make it will return next spring to
seek out milkweed once again in my pasture and start
the cycle over again.
As I sit here writing I
have to chuckle at the
two young squirrels that
have been baffled in their
never - ending effort to get
to my bird feeders. We,
like so many of you, have
been continually out-
smarted by their persis-
tent ingenuity. No matter
how we set up our feed-
ers, sooner or later
there'll outfox us. My lat-
est failure was to use an
inverted garbage can
cover as a baffle under
the pole feeder. It worked
on my son's feeder pro-
vided he put it in a loca-
tion where the little ras-
cals couldn't jump out
onto it . from a nearby
tree. My failure came
when I used a lid with a
bead running around the
edge. It was just enough
to let the squirrels grab
onto it and swing up and
help themselves to a meal
of sunflower seeds.
Now I think I've out-
smarted them. I threw a
long (20 -foot) piece of
thin wire over a limb of a
tree just outside our deck
and to it I attached my
dome feeder. It's com-
pletely baffled the little
robbers. They sit on their
hind legs looking up. They run to the nearby tree and
climb and look out at it. They even climb the old bird
feeder with its garbage- can -lid baffle and look over at
the mysterious feeder seemingly hanging in midair
and are unable to figure it out. In the meantime the
chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, house finches, blue -
jays, goldfinch and others flit back and forth enjoying
the sunflower and thistle seeds, while the two frustrat-
ed squirrels can only pick up the leftovers.
We had to do something, for not only was I mad at
what the squirrels were doing to my seed supply, but
they, in their persistence to get to more, chewed great
holes in my plastic feeders. Something had to be
done. Perhaps this long wire with its feeders dangling
at the end will do the trick. I'll keep you informed.
Another thing we noticed when out in the pasture
was the ripening of wineberries around the edge of the
pasture. I can remember these raspberry-size berries
from when we were kids. Each had his own little
clump that was sort of
secret and waited for
them to ripen. If you let
them get too ripe the
birds would enjoy them
and you'd be left out. The
canes of the wineberries
are a maze of tiny thorns
that make picking areal
challenge. It's funny how
it always seemed that the
best and biggest berries
were always in the back,
just out of reach of our
skinny bare arms, but
once they came within
our reach the berries
came off the bush easily,
leaving the neat yellow
core behind.
Our back yard is an
early learning center for
all sorts of birds. The yel-
low- shafted flicker, our
largest woodpecker, is
down on the ground
showing its three big juve-
niles the art of anting.
Although a master
"woodpecker" in the
trees, the flicker spends a
great deal of its time down
on the ground, where its
specially designed long
tongue pulls ants from
their tunnels. As I
watched I could see the
young flickers mimicking
their parents and hopeful-
ly having as good results.
It was a different story with the bluejays, here the
parent bird would gather up a few sunflower seeds
from our feeders, then fly to the nearby young and
pound away at the seed until it got to the meat. It
would the hop over to the young, who by now were
fluttering their wings and calling loudly to be fed. In
the choice morsel went to the gaping mouths, then off
the jay would go for another supply. Later I'd see the
parent bird bring sunflower seeds to the
Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh
Look for these lush raspberry - shaped berries —
wineberries — along our roadside, hedgerows and
overgrown fields. They are nature's midsummer
treat, but watch out for their hairy spines.
Aug. 3, 1923
New golf course: A new country club has formed at
Bay View, Southold, to be known as the Reydon Country
Club. A large estate has been purchased, the hilly contour
of which makes it ideal for a golf course. Additional farms
have been purchased and the large residence, which was
on the estate, has been remodeled into a temporary club
house for the members.
A good rain: How much everybody enjoyed the rain
last Saturday night. Such a good "ground rain" as it was!
Everything and everybody took on a different look.
Lawns, gardens, crops and even people seemed
refreshed.
Classified Advertisement: For sale -24 -foot, raised -
deck cruiser, toilet, two berths, two - cylinder Mianus
engine, reverse clutch, copper gas tank, new leather cush-
ions and mattresses. Now in commission at Greenport.
Will sacrifice for $300.
50 years ago
Aug. 6, 1948
PO to be memorial: The East Marion War Memorial
Association has voted to build the new East Marion Post
Office as a war memorial. In addition to serving the com-
munity as a modern post office, which is badly needed,
the building will bear a bronze plaque including the
names of all the East Marion men and women who served
in World War II. Funds are still needed to meet the rising
costs of building construction. If you are interested in this
project for a wartime memorial and a civic improvement,
contact the chairman of the memorial association,
Wayland Brown.
Classified Advertisement: For sale or rent --Gas sta-
tion with living quarters, now in operation. Price $5,500,
rental $50 per month.
Southold— Nine -room summer home, excellent condi-
tion, large plot, private beach, Peconic Bay, price fur-
nished, $11,000.
25 years ago
Aug. 2, 1973
Happy birthday: This week the Suffolk Times quietly
celebrates her 115th birthday as befits one of her age.
Unlike many of her contemporaries, she has shown little
sign of senility. Her circulation is above average for one
her age and her vigor is credited to youthful associates
and steady diet of nutritious news.
There have been many changes in her appearance as
the years go by. She has been putting on a considerable
amount of weight in the last couple of years — gaining
most of it in the summer and taking off much of it in the
winter. Her dress is more modern than it used to be, but
only a few people seem to object to efforts to keep up
with the modern generation. Her interests, as in the past,
remain mostly in her own area of Southold Town and
Shelter Island, but she has been paying more attention to
Riverhead also of late. The reason she gives is that as the
world shrinks a paper must grow or become ingrown...
Happy birthday, old gal.
young, drop them and leave. The young
would then do battle with this new
source of food. Sooner or later I'm sure
the young bluejay would break through
the seed hull and be rewarded. Each
was learning how to fend for itself.
Another lesson learned was when a
family of crows flew into our big, four -
foot -wide bird bath. They lined up at the
water's edge while the parent bird
dipped and drank. Then the parent bird
fed, if that's the word, one of young
crows its bill of water. Back and forth it
went until one by one each bent down
and started drinking for the first time. I'll
bet it must have been like a game for
they stayed there for quite a while enjoy-
ing their newfound pleasure. A new les-
son was learned and from then on drink-
ing will be a part of their daily routine.
As we near the end of this article I
look out over the pasture and see swal-
lows maneuvering for insects in graceful
sweeps and turns. Soon they will start to
congregate in great flocks. We'll see
them lined up by the hundreds on tele-
phone wires, in trees, on TV antennas,
etc., all awaiting that perfect day to head
south. Our summer is slipping away. The
days are shorter and fall is positioning
itself to move in without notice. Don't
wait too long to enjoy our East End
summer. It's later than you think.
I