Twice a year, on the third Thursday in May and October, men gather for lunch. They have met for the past 184 years, On my 78th birthday, I decided to attend their biannual clam and eel chowder lunch.It took place deep in the Pine Barrens of Southampton north of route 51. A long dirt road leads to a clearing. There is no running water nor are there bathrooms and therefore, no women. The association has a truck which holds boards for tables and seats. A small group of men set up the cooking area. A railroad rail holds five cast iron cauldrons. The lead chef directs the cooking. Two kettles are used for the clam chowder and three for the eel chowder. A garbage can propped over a fire was used for coffee.
Mark Harrington gave me a basket full of nature objects that he collected. I’d never received such a gift before. I rummaged through it and left it until I decided to write this post.
I don’t have my collection of nature things in a basket. They are here and there. A turkey skeleton and sea robin head on my nick knack shelf, bottles or garnet and magnetite sand in the garage and scattered here and there.
Of the 45 items, one of these was Florida shells. I could only remember the scientific name, Fossor donax. A google search produced the AH Ha…Coquina. These tiny shells accumulate by the millions in Florida and become combined by lime which glues them together. They have reached the Long Island shores.
I’ve seen lots of water go over the dam this past year. Projects come and go. Some actually reach completion. There have been droughts, deluges, and cracks in the dam. I am holding up, maintaining sanity, enthusiasm, and outlandish pranks.
I am still very much focused on the natural world. I recently found a huge patch o Honeysuckle vines which I collected for my basket making class at the Gallery North Community Art Studio where I am on the faculty. I found beautiful little fruits on the Honeysuckle, collected some, sketched them, and will try to germinate them (new project)
A frozen stream from
A magnesium rim
Meandered on the ground
From the scorched hulk of a car
In Santa Rosa, California.
Abandoned when a wall of flame
Rushed in and past
They ran to safety
Just in time
It only took about ten seconds for a herring gull to snap up a crust from my sandwich. Ten seconds later, two more gulls winged in. Things are tough for sea gulls. The alpha gull chased the other always and waited. I tossed another peace. Bingo! In less than a second, the gull grabbed and swallowed. There’s no time to wait. This is survival. The bird was ultra patient. It hung around for a half hour before it left. No more bread I’m outta here. Looking head on, gulls have huge mouths. They are swallowing machines.
Both hands and their fingers
And thumbs
Can drum on a hollow surface
When boredom wants something to do
Those vice grip thumbs
Ready to help their partners
Eight fidgety fingers
Each with their own little brain
So many things they can do
How about make a basket?
Train your fingers to make something useful
Keep up the good work
Keep those nails clean and trimmed
Don’t forget your fingers
Where would you be with even one missing digit?
You are incredible
You do a thousand things
Without us even thinking
They are so automatic
Good job fingers
Good job
Tom Stock – basket and mat maker
Four birdwatchers perch on an elevated platform observing and counting migrating hawks. The air is clean and cool. A gentle sea breeze lazes north. Balmy full afternoon sunshine – a fine early fall day.
The bay is flat; the ocean casts 12 inch breakers on the sand. The sand is glistening light tan and fine. Robert Moses is one of the finest beaches in the world.
I guided Nancat down Sampawams Creek toward the Great South Bay. This creek is one of seven that form the Necks in the Town of Babylon. Suffolk County’s south shore has about 75.These creeks were formed about 5,000 years ago when a breach in the Ronkonkoma Moraine, The Terminal Moraine is a deposit from the glacier. This linear ridge along the island held back glacial melt water until it forced a breach in the Dix and Half Hollow Hills area. A huge volume of water rushed through a low spot and flowed south creating seven shallow valleys. Sampawams Creek is the easternmost creek of those seven. In recent years it was designated as a boundary separating the Towns of Babylon and Islip.
“There are holes in the bottom of the creek. One is 35 feet deep just south of the three boathouses on the Islip side. Fishermen know about these holes because fish congregate there.” Roger Holzmacker commented. He sailed the creek as a youth and has witnessed many changes. He is a neighbor who helped me restore and launch Nancat four years ago. I hauled her out for two years and with his encouragement, and have launched again for two months of sailing. “September and October are the best sailing months of the year.” I refer to him as Saint Roger because without his help and encouragement, I would not be sailing. He helped me restore the boat and his encouragement and generous spirit gave me the confidence to try. I have no outboard motor and this limits my distance. He is my nautical angel. My goal is to sail to Oak Island and sail around it and go clamming. The distance is about 2 miles across open water. Without an outboard motor, I’m tempting fate.
I had been waiting for such a day like this. The wind was right. I prepared the boat to sail. This time I learned about kinks.
While hoisting the sail, a kink in the halyard stopped the process. I found a knot, which I am calling a “kink” that stopped the line from sliding through the block. I removed the kink, with the line free, I can continue hauling the sail. I tie down the halyard line. Loosen bow and stern line’s and am free of the dock. The wind is light yet enough to carry us south on Sampawams Creek.
ANTIQUE SUPERSTORE
We visited a huge mill operation in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. It was turned into an antique business with 350 consignment booths. As my wife went happily on her way, I stumbled from booth to booth, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material. I began out trying to be mindful of item after item. I began gulping whole booths with occasional stops to actually look at a few items like a old pair of wood skis. I remember how I used a pair to ski down the slide in Como County Park.