Loading...
July 10, 1997 - He's Sittin' on the Dock of the BayJuly 10, 1997 • The Suffolk Times • 7A' He's Sittinno' on the Dock of the Bay The sun has almost set and I am down by the dock where we keep the boat. All day there's been a wonderful northwest wind with its drying air and cool temperatures. I've been sitting here for the past half hour soaking up the splendor we so often pass by in our hurried lives. By now the rich green thatch grass (spartina alterniflo- 'ra) is well on its way to maturity. It's been nurtured by each tide as the nutrient -rich waters flow in and about its tall green stems. Much of the silt that colors our local waters will be trapped on the mul- titude of collecting blades of this all- important grass. This rich silt Focus will eventually fluff off and settle 01M around the roots, making and adding to the black muck of the Nature bog below. This filtering is just one of the many important ser- vices our salt marsh performs day $tOptepb11tgh in and day out. A female mallard swims into the narrow waterway as she feeds along the bank. Probably her first clutch of eggs was raided by a raccoon or other predator and now she's off her second brood of eggs for a quick refreshment of food and cleansing. Her nest is well hidden and lined with down from her body, which she uses to cover her eggs to keep them warm while she's away from the nest. The males, the more gaudy, usually go into hiding during nest- ing time or at least find a place they can remain unnoticed while they lose their flight feathers and replace them with new. In this condition, during their brief molting period, they are very vulnerable to predators, since they cannot fly. Mallards have become the most common duck in our lakes and creeks, many becoming so tame we hardly think of them as being wild as they once were. Occasionally we'll find a pair of black ducks but they are a much more secretive bird and one that stays away from man as much as possible. The females of the two species, the mallard and the black duck, are somewhat similar in appearance so there's a lot of inbreeding with them, so much so that many biologists think in time we will no longer have the king of ducks, the black duck. Gnats Have Arrived The sun has set and now the gnats are out. How one tiny little pinhead of an insect can raise such havoc on man is hard to figure out. I know man is pretty great, what with his technology and science, but I challenge any one of them to create a gnat and have it perform all its various functions of irritation, flight, reproduction and the whole realm of unknown miracles that are far beyond our wildest imaginations. Way up in the marsh there is an osprey platform that has had its first osprey this year. I know the female is about for she occasionally calls in her high - pitched voice letting me know of her displeasure at my being here. But I have rights, too. After all, my son and I put the platform Let's Look Back 75 Years Ago up so she could have her nest in seclusion in the mid- dle of the marsh and, after all, I'm not bothering her a bit. The waters in front of me have now flattened off and have taken on the reflection of the clouds above, giving the surface a pinkish after- glow. The boats, moored out in the creek, all face into the fading breeze that signals the no- see -ums to come out. I'm afraid I'll have to give in to them but first I'll try a bit of bug spray my wife handed me as I went out the door. It's a pumping type that puts out a fine spray. I'm hopeful it will do the trick ... So far, so good. Off in the woods to the west I hear a robin singing. Is he call- ing for a mate or is he serenading a mate? I prefer to think the latter. It's a joy- ous thing to hear. Soon it will quiet as the world set- tles into sleep. Off in the distance I can hear the rum- ble of traffic. It's the begin- ning of summer and the busy life of vacationers has started. Seems each year there are more and more people, more and more cars and more and more boats. Everybody wants apiece of our East End pie. I only wonder what will be left when the pie's all gone. The tide is going out and great clumps of green cab - b9ge (seaweed) float out, eventually heading into the bay. Usually we see this lettuce -like algae on the bottom but in the warm waters of summer the creek creates gases that get under the algae and float it to the top. Then all that is needed is the right wind and the right tide and the clumps move to a new location, taking with them their little world of organisms. The wind has now completely gone and even the bug spray is not holding off the ' maze of no- see -ums that sneak out every bit of exposed flesh, particularly in among the hair on my head. I guess maybe I'll eventual- ly have to give up and retreat to the car. Before me in the Suffolk T NIGHT HERON —Durir night stalkers of the water the setting sun. Then they grounds and slowly and their favorite food of killies abound in the shallows. July 7, 1922 Out of Sight ...: Infidelity for years has been the only ground in this state for dissolution of marriage, or divorce. A bill, fathered by Senator Swift of Buffalo, which Governor Milles signed last week, provides that five years' absence by either husband or wife is cause, on the assumption that the absent party is dead. The party seeking the marriage dissolution must present to the Supreme Court proof of five years' absence and that a diligent search has been made for the absent husband or wife. A notice of the petition directed to the absentee is then to be published for 20 days and if the court is satisfied of the truth of the statement in the petition it may order that the marriage be dissolved. This measure takes effect immediately. 50 Years Ago July 4, 1947 Catpower Does It: A small but vigorous cat is said to have made possible the installation of 500 feet of tele- phone cable through winding drainpipe of the Grand Coulee Dam. Engineers, at first puzzled on how to get the cable through, had the right idea when the cat turned up. They tied a string to her and with the aid of a strong blast of air from the rear, urged her to tow it through the pipe. When this was accomplished, the rest was easy. The installers pulls through with the string, and then pulled the cable with the rope. 25 Years Ago July 13, 1972 Crowd Tours Moores Woods: By the end of the first week that the Greenport nature study area has been open to the public more than 600 people have sauntered through its 78 acres of trails. At the same time, contributions to the fund for summer guides have risen to $800, according to the Greenport High School principal Richard Manwaring, chair- man of the Moores Woods project developed by his high school students during the last year. Club Marks 70 Years: Fifty -three guests and mem- bers of the Seagyan Club gathered on Saturday, July 8, at the club house at Indian Neck, Peconic, to celebrate the found- ing of the club. The club was named after the last Indian who lived in the area, or so the legend goes. In 1902, 20 families banded to together for sociability and recreation and built a club house on the bluff of Peconic Bay on the west side of Indian Neck Lane. In 1922 the group incorporated, pur- chased land about one -half mile west and built a larger meet- ing place. Eight memberships are now held by families of charter members. In recognition of the anniversary a history of the club was read. come. Free Kid - Printing JAMESPORT —The Children's Fin- gerprint Identification Program unit sponsored by the Suffolk County Cor- rection Officers Association will be on hand on Saturday, July 19, at the Jamesport Fire Department's annual carnival. Children can be fingerprinted for free between 5 and 10 p.m. The carnival is held at the corner of South Jamesport Avenue and Main Road. Parents will receive a folder with their child's fingerprints and identifi- cation information. Thursday means The Suffolk Times.