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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDecember 04, 2004 - Heading for the westward hillsThe Suffolk Times I Heading for the westward hills Top Stories Business Obituaries Police Reports Sports News Tips the *ffolh I*mes* Official Newspaper of Southold Town Heading for the westward hills Focus on Nature By Paul Stoutenburgh Editorials On one of those warm days last week, Columns Barbara and l wanted to take advantage Letters to the Editor of the special gift of good weather, plus Email us we wanted to get away from ralang Community News Waves, which had consumed us for most Subscribe Now of the week- Classifieds We decided to go for a drive, with MaLmd ducks are probably the best - Back Issues nowhere in particular in mind- We didn't awn ducks we have - Here at wading Digital Edition head east, as we so often do, but went River Pond they are fed by good- hearted west along what we call the North Road souls each day_ This feeding of mallards Community News Route 48)_ is cornmon everywhere, and the mallards Calendar seers to take the handouts with little fear Dining We passed Maitihicc, Laurel, Ja ofman- mesPorL Photo by Paul StoutenburghHealthAquebogueandthenRiverhead, where Real Estate we saw great expanses of sod farms that ran a chal up my back, for there is the East End Links possibility of having development take over this precious resource- How can we turn Site Help some of New York StaWS finest farmland into rows and rows of houses? Could this really happen? In sharp contrast, driving farther along Sound Avenue, we passed the Grantham - Reeve property to the north, now protected through the Peconic Land Trust These properties run from the road to the Sound bluffs and will be kept as farmland and open space in perpetuity- How generous of these families — no, that word is not The Suffolk Times among enough — how remarkable these concerned indivnduals were in saving this valuable resource. Staff Roster On we went We came to the stop light at Edwards Avenue and, just for the heck of it fumed right and drove leisurely along to the Sound- There, at the waters edge, were Rate Card fishermen waiting for the blues to pass by_ It would be their last chance to snag one of these fghtinig fish, for, like birds, fish migrate this time of year, heading for warier waters_ Few of us here on the East End realize what a hdty, up-arK down area this North Edwards Avenue is, and yet there are homes built cleverly into the hdis and The News - Review dales- To those of us in the flat lands of the East End d seems almost impossible to think of this hilly area being used fox homes- From here on we'd see more and more Shelter Island of this hill- and -stale countryside. Reporter We doubled back to Sound Avenue and continued our drive westward_ Down we The North Shore Sun went and then uP that well-mown Baiting Hdlaw Hill_ This lunge swath that runs north and south crust have been one of the washouts from the glacier as d melted some 10 to 12,000 years ago- (We were taken back to a winters day when 1 gave a lecture at The Wine Press Suffolk County Cornmu pity College_ V11hen we were ready to head home, we found the ground covered with snow- The Main Road was terriib e, so we decided to take the back road- That was al right until we h d "the big hdr at Baiting Holow- Once comindted, there was no tunvg back_ Down we went and then up_ VVe passed 21 cars off to the sides that had tried to make d but didn't And would you believe it, when we got to the top of the 1,f, there was the town sanding truck, just getting ready to sand the hill, and we had been kicky enough to make it al the way down and up-9 Farther a" we turned at Hulse Landing Road, just before you come to the huge Lewin Farm complex, with its orchards and warehouse_ Again we traveled north until Page 1 of 2 sahmday Ikon t'— LF: wsatFr Enter city c http_ / /w- ww2.timesreview. comb' ST /Community/295471384070709 -php 12/4P-004 The Suffolk Tunes I Heading for the westward hills Page 2 of 2 we saw the sign for Wikdwood State Park. That brought back memories of when we used to camp there with our kids_ It was there I photographed a bluebird that had nested in an apple tree; the only bluebird 1 ever saw nesting in a natural cavily. Most bluebirds today nest in manmade boxes put up specffically for them. We drove in to what seemed like acres of parking. A few people had parked their cars to take advantage of the hiking trails, one of which goes directly to the Sound. We cou ldnt help but think how busy this place must be during the summer. as evidenced by the quantity of stadked picnic tables in one section of the parking lot The nice part about this spi awfing state park is that it has dean, heated bathrooms that are open year- round. By the way, yod ll find heated bathrooms also at Orient Beach and Montauk state parks if you happen to be in one of those areas. AN have miles of bilking trails to erVoy and- down country. We took North Wadarg River Road out of the park and headed west, marveling at the Muses people had built in this hilly country. How do they ever manage to get in and out of these steep driveways with snow and ice on them? My hairs oS to them. We passed Little Flower Children's Services on our right and eventually came to the Sound, where we drove in at the public beach area. Here again we saw fishermen waiting for signs that bhretmsh were there. We got out our buxxxilars and were able to see 10 vAiite viuled scoters and three corrom loons enjoying the quiet, sunny umbers, ft was good to see people using the area far their noontime lunch, some walking, some just sittirig, enjoying our spel of rim weatim. Here to the west, along Creek Road, we could see eoftages squeezed together that were now mostly vacant but told of happy summer days at the beach. To the west of Creek Road we couldn't help but notice the monstrous Shoreham nuclear facility that dominated the area. it was built but rover put on line- Thank goodness. Thirty -five years ago when I was involved with The Nature Conservancy we worked to preserve the over 100 acre great marsh south of Creek Road (Be Edward J. and Dorothy C. Kempf Preserve). It seems so long ago. At that time 1 gave a lecture on wildklowers and birds of the area for the hishxicai society in VYWM River; it was armed at helping to preserve the marsh. As we sat there, we watched a great blue heron stalk its noonday meal in the Gfite Creek throat drained the marsh in back. It reminded us that we, too, were hungry, so we headed back on Sound Road, which led us to the unique li'n!e village of Wading River, with its twin ponds and white, steepled Church. We parked in the mum parking lot and went mho the deft, where we had mire of the best seafood bisques we'd ever tasted, Wong with a thin slice of extra fine pros W walked k through and watched people feeding the mallard ducks in looked well fed. the pond. With our stmnadm satisfied and our shopping done, we decided to head hone. We'd had a wonderfid %isk to Wading River, driving through its up arddoym terrain - You would never think you were on fiat Long Isl and, observing how the land here shifts from high to km at every turn. Our day was well spent, and we didn't have to go far to enjoy JIL Thank you, Wading River, for a lovely hate - November day. 2004 Times - Review Newspapers http: /hvw%v2.timesreview. combST /cammunity/295471384070709.php 1214/2004