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June 11, 1998 - Making hay while the bugs biteGA • The Suffolk Times • June 11, 1998 Mly-'o "ong hay t e bugs After we've shaken winter's cold and spring is well on its way, we pass through a series of events that tell us our summer season is off and running. It seems that almost overnight the lawns have unfolded and the FOCUS trees are on their ON way to their sum- mer attire. Then NATURE came our first no- ticeable event in by Paul this new green Stoutenbui gh world. It was the flowering of the trees. Usually this goes unnoticed for it is high above and not easily seen. The oaks and hickories have their long- flowered male catkins that dangle in clusters and await maturity. On the same tree are the short spikes of the female portion of the flower that will eventually be fertilized when the wind blows the pollen from the dangling ripe catkins. It is this pollen that drifts in the air and settles on our cars and picnic tables, patios and roofs. As time goes by and the mystical job of fertilizing has passed, the catkins are dropped and we see their withered strands everywhere. They collect along the roadside, on our driveways and our walks. We sweep them away. We rake them in piles. Their time has passed. On our white oaks a sweet large acorn will soon start to develop and ripen by fall. Indians knew them well and collect- ed them, for here was an item that could be stored for later use. That is, if they could keep them away from the squir- rels and mice and other creatures that also enjoyed them. The other oaks such as the red and black oaks retain their newly formed acorns until the second year, when they mature. These are bitter compared to the white oak acorn. Of course, hickory nuts were also prized by the Indians as well as the early settlers. As a matter of fact, even today some still collect the hard - shelled hickory nut. Those who succeed in getting the sweet meat out are better than I, for I find the task most impossible. Once we get through the fallen cat- kins and drifting pollen, the next notice- able event is the sudden appearance of or, should I say, the sudden realization that the "no- see -ums" or gnats are about. They, along with the more visible mosquitoes, tell us that the rains have puddled the low spots, filled the empty tin cans and discarded tires and other containers with rain water, making the perfect places for these little pests to breed and set out on their mission of annoyance. If they aren't enough to keep you swatting, the black flies or deer flies arrive. They are the dumbest things in the insect world. Most of these an- noyances, like mosquitoes, gnats, etc., as the warmer weather takes over. Then, every once in as while the pressure of the flies or a big horse fly becomes too much and the cows come charging across the field and head for the barn, where they can get some relief. If the barn isn't handy, they'll head for a clump of Russian olive bushes or multiflora rose and run through it, thereby chasing the flies away. Birds take dust baths to rid them- selves of pesky irritants. Their dust bath toes, flies and, of course, the more trou- blesome ticks that seem to be every- where. Remember, any warm- blooded animal will carry ticks. The female ticks, once mated, will fill with blood from their host and then drop off. If you have a dog or cat that is out of doors it should be dipped regularly or you should see your veterinarian for the new topical medica- tion that protects both you and your ani- mal, as even if the tick gets on them it is in the process of dying so that it can cause no harm if it drops off in your home. Remember, the im- portant thing about .ticks is that you be- come aware of them so whenever you shower or change it is a good idea to give yourself a good body check. Just the other day I was changing to go out when my wife noticed a tick on my back. I hadn't been in the woods or in the fields but I had been out in the yard, yet there it was, ready to attach itself to me. When we do go in the woods or in the field we try to wear light - colored clothing, tuck our pants into our socks and then spray the outside of our pants and shoes with a tick repellent. We. still check now and then in the field as ticks can be as small as the period at the end of this sentence. A lit- tle precaution is well worth the effort, for Lyme disease from ticks can be a serious problem. r • r w Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh The dry northwest winds make Ideal haying weather. Here John Tuthill picks up dry windrowed hay with his baler. The next operation Is picking up the bales and taking them to the barn. have good mechanisms to escape from our slapping, but not the deer fly. It flies around your head and lands, you swat it and it drops off. It is the most vulnerable insect going and yet how annoying it can be as it flies 'round and 'round your head and arms. As the season moves along, these annoyances pass on and we seem to forget about them or we learn how to cope with them. I often wonder if the birds and ani- mals have the same problems as we do with pollen, mosquitoes, no- see -ums and the other various forms of torture. I know my cows have problems with insects as their tails swing at a faster rate L.C. 11 D L,VVn 1014Lr1M 75 years ago June 8, 1923 News from surrounding towns: Southold — Southold Grange is getting there with both feet. Seems to be receiv- ing a new impetus and new members at the same time. A fine combination. G.F. Hammon and wife have rented their cottage at the Sound on the Long Island side and gone over to the Connecticut side to summer. "Fred" is recuperating from mental effect in writing "After All." Mattituck —We heard somebody say the other day that Mr. George Reilly had a new occupation. "What's that ?" asked a bystander. "Mattituck scene shifter," replied the wise person. Mr. Reilly has just moved the old post office to its new site, next to Harry's. We miss it on the corner. 50 years ago June 11, 1948 Classified: House for sale —To settle estate, a seven - room house on corner lot with $500 worth of furniture. This might be the place you are looking for. Income $65 a month. I still have those two bungalows on Wiggins Street, Greenport. I have had several offers but $2,000 for the unfinished one is the best the heirs will consider. Henry Booth Moore, Greenport. Miscellaneous — Follow up: Our Mr. Hart and Mr. basins here and there in my garden attest to that. My chickens play the same game. Like the birds, they find a dry spot of soft ground and wallow in it, picking up the loose soil with their wings and working it through their fluffed feathers. For a time they lie within the powdery dry dirt in and about them. Then, as they get up and walk away, they'll shake, leaving a cloud of dust and thus cleansing themselves. Watching rabbits and squirrels around our place, very once in a while I see one stop and, like a dog or cat, sit down and scratch its head and ears with its hind foot. They, too, fall prey to the mosqui- Darmstadt will call this summer on our customers who have bought plants from us recently. Their purpose is to see that the plants are doing well, and if they are not, to replace them or advise on their care. Present your plant problems to them. Hart's Nurseries, Lynbrook and Wading River. 25 years ago May 31, 1973 Free Town Hall sites offered: The Town of Southold is thrice blessed in the generosity of its citizens. It may have three sites to choose from for a town hall ... all of them offered free. Justice Martin Suter, himself a member of the Town Board, offered a five -acre site in Mattituck on Route 25 and Locust Avenue in a letter read at Tuesday's board meeting. The letter also spoke of another five -acre proper- ty in Mattituck on Route 27 and Cox Neck Road that the estate of James Norris is planning to offer the town. The third site, which had been offered by Greenport Village some months ago, consists of eight acres on Moores Lane with use of the village water supply and waste treat- ment facilities. And now there are four: The Southold Town Board authorized Supervisor Albert Martocchia Tuesday night to contract for an option to purchase 22 acres of land for $79,200 or $3,600 an acre on the north side of Middle Road It's hay time The dry northwest winds we've had recently made perfect weather for dry- ing hay and last week we got our winter supply of hay in from John Tuthill. Some years the hay becomes almost too dried out and if not picked up soon enough it makes poor hay. This year we hit it just right and the hay dried green and made beautiful- smelling hay. I won- der how many people know what fresh- ly baled hay smells like. It is a smell you'll never forget. Our problem is we just don't have enough room to store our hay so we usually wind up in the months of February or March having to buy more when it is twice the price. Now with the pasture so lush there's no need to feed hay during these warmer months. Talk about contented cows, we've got them. They eat and lie down to chew their cud, then up and eat until they're full again and the process starts all over. The pasture has gotten way ahead of them by now and much of the grass has already formed its seed heads. You can see this much more dramatically in the farmer's rye fields along the roadside. There the heavy grain heads have already started to form and within a few weeks the fields will change from green to golden brown and the harvest will begin. Just another sign of the passing into summer. Everything has its time. The farmstands started with rhubarb, then asparagus and now peas and spinach and, of course, strawberries. Each day another vegetable is found on these wonderful roadside stands. Just another reason why living out here on the East End is so worthwhile.