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October 15, 1998 - County park shows shades of fallOctober 15, 1998 • The Suffolk Times • 5A County park shows shades of fall Since we try to squeeze out every last bit of enjoyment we can from our camper, we headed for the county's Smith Point Park for the grand finale of the season. We know the area well from the Focus days when I ON worked for the National Park NATURE Service at the by Paul Fire Island Sea- Stoutenburgh shore that lies just west of this big county complex. Most of our gear was already in the camper so it was just a matter of a box or two of food stuff and we were off. We took the North Road to Edwards Avenue and then onto the Expressway west. At exit 68 we turned off and headed south on the William Floyd Parkway, which ends up at the ocean and is the start of both the National Seashore and the county park. With our "Green Key" pass we paid our $8.50 per night and headed for Site 27 overlooking the bay. To the south were the dunes and the endless rolling ocean. Our day was a bit chilly but the sun was out and with its warmth our camper was tight and cozy. We had our bikes along so they were soon pressed into service as we set out to explore the mostly vacant campground. The black - topped camp road stretched out to the east and west and then dropped down to a lower road that paralleled the bay. Smith Point Park gets its name from William Tangier Smith of England, who in 1686 secured the land from the Native Americans and set up a whaling station here. In 1920 Robert Moses envisioned a road down the whole of Fire Island for development, but this grandiose idea was put to rest in 1950, when Dr. Robert Cushman Murphy, one of Long Island's great naturalists, championed the cause to preserve the area. Later, in 1964, the National Seashore and the county park were established. After getting settled in we decided to reward ourselves with an early lunch, seeing the chilly easterly wind had dropped off and the sun had warmed the picnic table outside, thus inviting us to stay. Our meal consisted of 12 big blue -claw crabs we had brought along. The previous night my son and I had gone out "firelighting" and caught a nice mess of "Jimmies," those big male crabs that are found only at the end of the season. That night was perfect for crabbing as we watched a huge harvest moon rise out of the east. In its fullness it had created the lowest of low tides, which made crabbing conditions just right. If you don't take advantage of these special times, you miss out on the spoils our bays and creeks provide. With a delicious lunch of crabs under our belts we were ready for anything. We wanted to reacquaint our- selves with the National Seashore area to the west so we biked west for about half a mile. There we headed for the boardwalk that was already busy with school- children and other visitors exploring this behind -the- dune area. We passed the two - story octagon building that marks the east entrance to the seashore. During Suffolk Times photo by Pain stoutenburgh hawk migration, Bayberries are an Important winter survival food for wildlife. They are the its second story same berries that are collected and boiled for their wax to make bayberry makes an ideal candles. When burned the candles give off a fresh and pleasant scent. observation plat- form for watching this spectacular event. Some days 500 hawks will pass within an hour. Most of the flights have already passed but in their place thou- sands of cormorants were passing up the inland waterway that lies between the barrier island and the mainland. We are seeing more and more cormorants in our local waters, so many that some are concerned they are helping to deplete our fish populations. Nevertheless, they're a grand sight as they fly westward in long strings and Vs of a hundred or more. One string I fig- ured was over a quarter -mile long. Once on the boardwalk we couldn't help noticing how fall had already started to paint the Swale area. Hud- Sonia, or false heather, that blooms in carpets of yellow in the spring had now turned to a deep gray - green, and scat- tered throughout the area were the bright ' faces of goldenrod. The most colorful and bold is what I call seaside goldenrod. It can be found all along our own beaches whether it's on the bay, creek or Sound. It blossoms late into hold the sand from being blown and washed away. It's this ability that makes them the champions of the barrier beach. Without dune grass there would be no dunes along the barrier beach and therefore the mainland would have no protection from the raging sea. Dotting this array of fall colors were the bright button -size red rose hips of the delicate pink rose (Rosa Virginiana) found in the Swale. Then there was the best showing of bay- berries I'd seen in years. Their small, light gray berries stood out against the dark green of the bayberry leaf. Whenever we pass this bayberry plant, we have to crush one of its leaves to "whiff" its fragrance. From now on these bayberries will play an impor- tant part, like the rose hips, in wildlife's survival for the winter. Al- ready we were see- ing their berries utilized by the many yellow - rumped warblers that were always in sight. We watched one of them pick some of the berries right before us. Getting your binoculars focused on this ac- tive little warbler is not easy but when finally we did we could see it feasting on the berries. Besides the bayberries and rose hips there were the dark blue berries of the Virginia creep- er and the almost black berries of the catbriers, all of which make up wildlife's survival menu for the winter. It surely looks like it will be a "berry good year" for wildlife. As we leisurely walked the winding wheelchair - accessible boardwalk we came to an elderly couple looking closely into the shrubbery nearby. We stopped and chatted and found out they had spotted a golden crowned kinglet, one of the tiniest warblers that sometimes stays through our winter. It, like the yellow - rumped warbler, is always on the move and it's a rare time when you'll get them to stay still so you can make out their top notch of yellow. Scattered throughout the wet areas was the groundsel bush, sometimes called high tide bush. We see this all along our creek edges and sometimes in open fields. This white, fluffy, cot- ton- flowered shrub grows six to eight feet tall. Actually there are two plants: the male with its dull, brown, unassum- ing male flowers, and nearby the female bush with its showy white blos- soms. Look for it and when ripe its seed -laden down will be drifting in the air throughout our East End. As I write I look out our window and see the monarch butterflies drifting by, a phoebe (flycatcher) perches on a post nearby, every once in a while flying up and catching an insect. As the weeks roll by all this activity will pass and we'll settle into winter's cold. It's . part of the cycle of things, one we all have to adjust to whether we want to or not. LG ! = LVVr% loH4i1 75 years ago Oct. 12, 1923 Basketball at opera house: The Greenport Boys' Athletic Association has leased the Opera House hall for basketball purposes. In the past few years they have been renting from individuals who have had the first lease upon this hall and they have found that the rent was mounting higher each year until last year it was about three times what was charged them during the highest peak of war prices. Now that the boys have the first lease on it, perhaps the parties who formerly controlled the hall will want to play basketball. They will be welcome. Southold news: The Arshamomaque Inn is deserted now as Mr. DeBeixedon has closed up and gone back to his business in Brooklyn. Southold is quite without any hotel accommodations now. The center of our village is now well lighted by an elec- tric lamp of high power hanging over the street, near the front of the post office. A much needed and great improve- ment. 50 years ago Oct. 15, 1948 A fair trade ?: England has traded some 6,000 tons of automobiles for 7,200 tons of Argentine beef, indicating that British automobiles cost more than meat. In the the fall and is a robust growing plant. Everywhere the quiet fall colors had already started to paint the seascape. Virginia creeper's splash of crimson and the deep reds and browns of poi- son ivy lay in garlands about the pitch pine and beach plum that dotted the Swale area behind the dunes. By now the foot -long, thick seed heads of the dune grass stood up throughout the pri- mary dunes. It is the plants' deep roots and tall blades of grass that capture and United States, the opposite is true. Here, a new car retail- ing at $1,500, including accessories, weighs 3,150 pounds, or 47 cents a pound. Classified: Veteran's opportunity — 4 1/2 -room bun- galow, large plot, garage, oil burner, price $6,300, cash $400, interest in amortization $37.57 monthly. 25 years ago Oct. 11, 1973 Brasby's preparing banquet hall: A thousand -pound chandelier and 60 tons of blackstone are but some of the materials going into Bill Brasby's banquet hall on Mattituck's Main Road. Brasby's, which will cater wed- dings, benefits, dances and other special occasions, is locat- ed in the former A &P building. Renovation has been under way since September. Bill Brasby is not a newcomer to the food business. Owner of Brasby's Restaurant in Aquebogue, he had pre- viously been commissary superintendent of a steamship company, ordering as much as $1 million in meat yearly. In eastern Suffolk, where there are few places that accommo- date large numbers of people, he has high hopes for the new catering venture. Advertisement: Mitchell's Restaurant, Front Street, Greenport. Complete hot lunch, $2.50. A la carte menu available at all times. Our specialty: fresh local seafood.