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Home My WebLink AboutSeptember 02, 2004 - Focus shares some favorites The Suffolk Times • September 2, 2004 ocus s ar es so me avo . ,��, rl e s W ry * y r IX x t j'. / .� t rii. �_ / � i/' H Y 7 / i Y M i�' l ✓r �� i �Y �/ � 4� �ti^ A�l� �� # �� l X � q k. �fi W� �'� '� ... h�il.� N� � 4W ,ui itiVlh�yr �� 1 � �r�� ;�sr�Fw4" ; ,_ . �'�� l ' �� ilp',� K� �r .�i� ��Ys'� ,�y� [!'pr� ' p, .,�Y� � � . Y � .i k�F�'A�� i��z,g. r" ,"wMYN��ain�.,v�� * y�'r� �" �J{ � � � �S � 4 �� u '��'r�"w`��,�i� m ,�, �:^"ga��, �4f„„�y �t � �,,, �K� � �� "� � �� ,� � � y r r��i 4 n � � "'�"_� � d�,� � :N�' w. ,, �, •"�. `� yi°. .. ' . ��. L �' ��"�'�"W(�� Y � �'W .!��ri'�ii� m, .��. � �'.� . .. I ��,1 I � F� �., r�. �y'4 � �, �y r �'P ,ll�^;. "� .' -� '�! /1 ,� x i.:,�m �:y, "�'+7" '� *,��r �., ,��,� �,i'�'�' i . . y .. .. �� s,1 v , • ..�, � b' ,�da .�W,rq M��V f�� a � ��„ i .r �„ a, .�� t �"�� , u�;,�,� i I�i�� y my ' �� „a��' � w , � � , ,� ,. �� '•�_.�' ,,� o� � . �._ �� 1 ., �� ' �t ..' :� '� Jr:'�.«r.� �"�j�iJ fM�p��,iy�"'S �� L ��, �� „.na�F �,/�r . �� }� �� _ { � � Q M � x � �S �'�� i. Y � �;n� 4y ��r� + �� r � �� , , n � y, v �� >��, w as 4�`� k H� �� b��'��tlF � � ��y � ?'�'�� a M� o> s �.,� . �� "�, f ry ��. , { , w� :'� a�` r�,�4 �r,� �� "tiii � � ��q� z r�� l�,`. w�A� . . � �. ,e'_ '� m +MS��^ � . � +n �s� �� w Times/Review photos by Barbara and Paul Stoutenburgh "�� ,��'�� %�" � "�� "�� "�� w�,,��< � �� Some Focus favorftes from years gone by: A newbom calf left • a � � )� ��.,;� , "��,; �"�� ;, �' " �,��"��,�.�y ��''��,��!� �rr beaver (above) that had washed up on the Sound shore; and a spiny box puffer fish (inset). W��r:ry wi; iin��n fami y get-togeth move s ow y a ong es� e er last week,we got to talking about W��> >n�� arch we found out it us.Interesting thing about some of the most unusual Focus sto- W<<s the black witch moth that often this fish is that they say it ries we could remember.My daugh- l'requents people's houses and in the eats jellyfish. Now there's a ter spoke of an occasion back in the South is known to be a good omen. welcome visitor. '80s,just after a tropical storm had In fact,the Mayan people call it Our son Roger remem- passed.She was standing "Mah-Ha-Na,"which means,"May I b�rs wllen he was out crabbing and by the garage with her borrow your house?" It is found saw a small,odd-looking fish t7oating mother and grandmothe mostly down south,in Mexico and on top of the water.He took his net when a big black bat-like the Caribbean,but occasionally is and caught it.It was round,like a creature flew by,then brought up here by storms. ball,but deflated when he caught it. turned a sharp right and Then there was the time Barbara When we checked it out later we went in an open doar of and i found a huge sunfish washed ��und it to be a spiny box puffer fish, the house.By that time I ashore in Orient.lt must have s�naller than a blowfish,with spines had been called,and we weighed over 600 pounds.It was the �i�l over its body. It was put in a salt- searched for the mysteri- very first time we had ever seen one. �'3ter aquarium in the local school, ous visitor.Then someone spotted it: 1'he next time we got to see one was �'here the students were able to a big black moth dinging to a cur- when we were sailing along the ohserve this unusual fish up close. tain. It had a wingspan of over seven Connecticut shore.One I recall one of the sad moments, inches.We later found out it repre- came so close to the boat and yet it was the first for Barbara sented tllc largcst m��th in the we got a good look at Chis and me,when we came upo❑ a huge United Statcs. odd,disc-like fish th�t turtle that had died and washed up on the beach in Orient.It was a mon- �� An� x ;� ,� ; n ��, nUN�, ��;� 4�, ,, �� ,is��, u �� , w `ya ��a� l� � z ^��w ' �„�'�*"u r� ,� ,� ,�, � �,! r�, � , ��'�i�' ��l ''d°�i �l��r A�l ri ' �4 .. d wr � l i "'l� � , ry��h� 4; i� `� 'tl +w � �""�/ �4 �M � x ,F �� .yy� . � �'� �� A �� ,:�� iii� �rrp�� fl ��+, ,�y d,� //' �M,��r '�"�y;LL�i 1t /'tl� °4w� ,y.^'. � ,. "'�' ppl •� � A black witch moth. o �� u � �, �`�, �',;w' +rM, r �,,� � �u, yti, � u6 strous t �ng,as ig as our picmc ta� c ca �� orn,but the feet come out first. —no,bigger.We photographed it for Z,hen,sometime later,when we were the record,even though it had been all waiting in the hospital for a new on the beach for quite a long time.It member of the family to arrive,our was the largest of all the sea turtles,a young grandson,who had watched leatherback.They wander more than the calf born,spoke up and asked, any other turtle,are found around ��Haven't the feet come out yet?" the world in warm water,and occa- Another one of the grandchildren sionally come into our waters. lt remembered the Christmas when her Closer to home—as a matter of probably came from the Caribbean father and brother got ready to bring fact,right in our back yard—we by way of the Gulf Stream,but then the tree in the house,only to see a found a fish.It was a bunker,a sil- it probably succumbed when the mouse run up to the top of it.It very fish about eight or 10 inches colder water took over. long that ospreys feed on.It had the looked around wide-eyed,wondering Speaking of occasional visitors,I �,hat its world was coming to.They telltale claw marks of the osprey on remember seeing a tarpon,a i'ish of ��d Barbara and me,and we ran �ts tail.Evidently this particular fish sc�uthern waters,that had �vashed �hrc�u��h the woods with camera �'as too much for the bird to carry ashore in Riverhead. It was ready. Evidently the tree and it dropped it.Imagine a bunker at least five feet long, . ��, had been in the garage dropping rigl�t out of the sky into with scales the siie '° r �, your back yard. <�f c uarters.Likc �,,,,� . d ,, , , �� the mouse was � , �. ��- � ' �� in the tree,where Not in our back yard,but in anoth- t hc lea t her bac k. ��w�� .� � �„ `� he thou ht he er nearb ,we saw an unusual mush- it ��robably ful- ,� rfi;. ��'� ''a�. '"��` ' k'� g �� '�� ' � ��is safe and room—a very unusual mushroom. fo�ved the Gulf �° � � �� ,,-�,� a=, � � q � Strcam up,but �,,� �� ;,M��r� e� ��'�' ��und.Poor It was a morel.I'd never seen one then couldn't �� . �°�� hing diddt around here.In some countries they make it in the , , � � know what to use pigs to root out these prize deli- ' �, ,u;,� w clo when the cacies that an chef would be lad to colder water. tree be an to � g > One of the fw� g have on the menu. (Notice we didn t things we all move,so he ran say where it was!) remembered was up as high as he These are just a few of the things could.I bet that lit- we had fun talkin g g thc time when a man g and lau hin tle mouse will not for- about when we all took his sailboat out and, got together last when he got under way,a raca�on get that Christmas. week,so many unusual things we all emerged from down below.Now Then there was the stranger that remembered that we had seen or what do you do with a raccoon in visited our Sound shore.We received heard about over the years.It was your boat when you and he are alone a call from Rachel about a beaver— fun to reminisce with famil . out on the water?With some effort, Yes,a beaver.She'd seen a beaver at the man finaliy got the raccoon over- the edge of the water,floundering board.It was then he began to hear about.It was taken to Dr.Zitek,who some noise up in the bow of the boat tried to save it but was unable to.It and,when he investigated—you had been exposed to the elements guessed it—there was a family of Just too long and wasn't able to make �OCV$ baby raccoons.Now the man felt ter- it.What an unusual thing to find on rible,so what could he do? He went our Long Island beaches.Evidently it ON back to where he had just thrown the came down one of the Connecticut NATU RE rivers and somehow crossed the b Paul raccoon overboard,got out a net and Sound.I'll never forget seeing those Y brought the raccoon back into the big front teeth that it uses for cutting Stoutenburgh boat.Off they went,back to his dock, down trees. where he promptly let nature take its Dr.Zitek also came through when course. my son Peter climbed up and rescued Of course,the kids remember what an osprey dangling from its nest on a went on in the back pasture when nylon fishing line.After some reha- one of our cows gave birth to a wet h�litation,the bird was put back in and wobbly little cal£Now there s a the area and all went well. great experience for anyone to see.I don't know if an of ou have seen a