January 16, 1997 - Uncovering Winter's Little Secrets..6A • The Suffolk Times • January, ,16, 1997
Uncovering Winter's Little'Secrets
It was late in the afternoon and a raw
winter wind was blowing as I stepped out
of my pickup in Orient last week just
before the snowstorm and spotted a bright
bit of yellow, almost buried, in the half -
brown, half -green grass below. When I
looked closer, it turned out to be a dande-
lion. Evidently the roadside mowing had
triggered in it an
impulse to keep Focus
low if it didn't
want to be cut On
down. This low
profile along the Nature
grassy roadside
and the insulating by Paul
power of the dan- Stoutenburgh
delion's cotton
down bud had provided the necessary
protection to keep life ready to burst into
bloom at the first warm opportunity.
Dandelions do not need the aid of in-
sects to pollinate them, as they are self -
pollinators. Therefore their only need is to
blossom to complete fertilization. While
some don't care for them in their lawns,
there are many good points to the dande-
lion. The first to me is its joyful yellow
flower. We sometimes forget the wonder
in flowers when they are thrust upon us in
great numbers. Isolated, a single flower of
any sort is something of a miracle, but
when scattered across the lawn and coun-
tryside we tend to ignore the flowers' hid-
den beauty. Another plus of the dande-
lions are the fluffy seed heads that give so
much pleasure to the young as they puff
away the silken parachuted seeds that drift
off into their youthful dream world.
Of course, the wonderful tasty culinary
side of the dandelion has been known
throughout the ages by the people from
Europe, from whence it came. To this day
we often see opportunists cutting dande-
lion greens along the roadsides. Today
store- bought lettuce and greens from far-
away places are readily available at the
vegetable counters and it's so much easi-
er to buy them than to take time out and
go cut them. We live in a world of instant
reward and many of the activities we
once spent time doing have been lost. In
some ways it has its advantages, but in
others I'm afraid we've lost some of the
hidden values that make us better people.
Dandelions are not the only wintering
blossoms. Some time
ago Margie Black
called me and said
she had a snowy owl
in her roof. In no time
Barbara and I were
scrambling across a
frozen field in hopes
of capturing this
famous owl on film
when we spotted what
we thought was a
blossoming dande-
lion. But no, on close
examination it had a
slightly different yel-
low flower.
It proved to be
coltsfoot, a plant long
known in the Old
World. I'm told an
extract of fresh leaves
can be used in making
cough drops and its
dried leaves can be
steeped for tea. To see
those bright yellow
blossoms on their
bare, scaly stems in
the frozen ground
stopped us in our
tracks and for a few minutes it kept us
busy photographing. Margie's owl would
have to wait.
And there are other wintering blossoms.
Just recently I walked back to the orchard
to do some pruning and there was my win-
ter jasmine blossoming alongside the tool
shed. Its simple, singular yellow flowers
bristled the whole side of the tool shed
with color. This shrub, that originally
came from China and was introduced into
this country in the mid 1800s, should be in
everyone's garden, for it flowers from
January to March, peaking in February. At
the slightest bit of warmth during the cold
winter, its reddish buds open to show their
golden yellow flowers.
Winter jasmine can withstand winter's
bite to 10 degrees below zero, so it is very
hardy here on Long Island. It loves full
sunshine and is not particular about the
soil conditions it grows in. If left unat-
tended, it forms a large umbrella -like
bush that expands ever outward, for
wherever a branch touches the ground in
Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh; inset photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh
JASMINE ON ICE —These dainty yellow jasmine blossoms can be seen on any warm
sunny winter day (inset). Here the blossoms were caught in one of winter's ice storms.
■ —ALI — IN _ -2— M - -2—
75 Years Ago
Jan. 20, 1922
Railroad Workers Dropped: Employees of the
Long Island Rail Road between the ages of 45 and 70, who
entered the company's employ since this country entered the
World War, are to be dropped from the payrolls by April 1,
according to an announcement made recently. Officials said
that the number of men affected is not large. This action, it
was said, was taken under a resolution adopted by the rail-
road's directors June 27, 1917.
Buy Lighting Stock: A meeting in the interests of
lighting the villages of Orient and East Marion with electric-
ity was held at Orient on Thursday evening of last week.
About $40,000 worth of stock had been bought. The com-
mittees with the representatives of the company are still at
work hoping to secure $100,000 worth of stock before the
good work begins. Try to do your part. You will never regret
it when your streets are beautifully lighted and you have the
many conveniences in your homes. Don't hold back. Why
not be an up -to -date village?
50 Years Ago
Jan. 17, 1947
Editorial: The movement under way, sponsored by the
Greenport Chamber of Commerce, to have a large fleet of
I t! ♦ P♦ l 4
time a new plant will take root.
Many years ago I transplanted just such
a branch from my son's place. It was
alongside a barn structure that had fallen
down and near a defunct hand water
pump. I wonder who planted it there and
if it gave them as much pleasure as it has
given me. Perhaps it was planted near the
barn, where it would be seen by those
tending the animals each morning and
evening during the cold winter months,
but then some might say farmers are
much too busy with chores and much too
practical to waste time looking at flower-
ing winter jasmine — but then I wonder.
Another winter blossoming shrub that
is a true native and not from overseas is
the witch hazel. Here again the color is
yellow. There are many more showy vari-
eties from other parts of the world, but
our native witch hazel offers the outdoor
enthusiast a wonderful surprise when he
or she is hiking through our winter
woods. The blossom is not spectacular,
for it is made up of small, twisted spidery,
party fishing boats make Greenport their headquarters will
bring thousands of dollars in revenue to the local business-
men. This action on the part of the Chamber of Commerce is
a step in the right direction. With all of its natural facilities,
with its wonderful location of one of the finest harbors along
the whole Atlantic coast, Greenport should make its plans to
attract more and more yachtsmen and boatmen to our com-
munity.
25 Years Ago
Jan. 20, 1972
The Sleepy Village: [Editorial.] Recently while
watching the evening news on TV, we were surprised to see
the distinguished features of the Mayor of Greenport and
hear the dulcet tones of Rodman Pell's voice coming out of
the magic black box. The scene was Stirling Basin and the
subject was clams. Only about 10 million people watch that
show, so we did not think that it would create too much of a
stir. Now we understand that the same cast will appear on a
morning show next week — this time CBS instead of NBC.
The thinking seems to get bigger all the time. A new sum-
mer excursion boat costing $80,000 is joining the Greenport
fleet this summer. They talk about a $10,000,000 Aquaseum
as though it were nothing but a healthy challenge. Five new
businesses are slated to open before summer. Some sleepy
little village.
yellow blossoms that hang on the limbs
of the small trees or bushes.
As often is the case names get twisted
and turned around when they cross the
seas. The witch hazel of England was
associated with the elm called "wych
hazel," whose leaves were similar. Over
here the old name was ignored and "witch
hazel" was adopted mainly because, like
the true witch of witchcraft who did
everything contrary to the norm, the
witch hazel tree seemed to do the same:
blossoming in the winter when all other
plants were lat rest.
On Divining Rods
In the mining regions of Old England it
would be unheard of to sink a shaft with-
out first consulting a hazel wand, or dig a
well without first consulting a divining
rod. This idea of holding a forked stick
(divining rod) to determine where to dig
has been carried over to this country and
still has its followers here. Harold Evans
of Sound Avenue, Riverhead, practiced
this ancient art and I remember seeing his
wrists shake and tremble as he held the
forked stick to demonstrate how this
divining rod worked.
Probably witch hazel is best known for
the extract of the hazel wood bark and
leaves that are still used as a rubbing
lotion for bruises and sprains. Here, too,
how much truth there is in its great heal-
ing power is up to the individual. I must
say, Harold's divining rod action was
most convincing, and I'm sure there are
many who still swear by the powers of
witch hazel as a lotion. It all goes to show
that if you look long enough and hard
enough you'll find some good in almost
everything.
Diving Permitted
Those interested in sport diving can
now utilize all areas at the Orient Beach
State Park to do so.
An annual permit is required and may
be purchased at the Regional Permit
Office at Long Island State Park Head-
quarters in Babylon, A valid registration
and divers "c" card must be presented
upon purchase of the $39 1997 permit.
��1! 669 =1904 ext,2 •- - - - - - - -