My Enchanted Forest

I seem to have found a wondrous peace and serenity here on the East End of Long Island ... in a very special place ... where natural buffers of oaks and pines, 25- to 50-feet deep, surround my home ... A place where wildlife is abundant and old trees are respected ... where native species, both flora and fauna, fill my buffers. The beauty of the land is breathtaking ... the wildlife awesome ... After all these years, I have finally come home ...

East Quogue ... my little "hamlet" ... is almost in a time warp. The "ladies" still bring homemade cakes and cookies to the historical society meetings and have tea on the front porch. Sometimes if I'm out early in the morning, I might spot a kid actually riding a bike to school instead of taking the bus. There's a bulletin board outside of our tiny post office that the girl scouts decorate. It's a sleepy little town.

There's a village green with old-fashioned concerts every Tuesday evening in the summer and a really patriotic concert for the 4th of July. People bring their blankets and sit on the grass. Kids run around, dogs are part of the family and almost no one worries. There's almost no crime. Older gray haired couples sit on the park benches with their arms around each other. They call the rest of Long Island "up island".

June is breeding time here for the Eastern box turtle and the mothers-to-be travel far afield to lay their eggs, sometimes crossing Montauk Highway - which is sort of busy ... for here ... but still only one lane each way. Everyone stops to wait for the turtles to cross the road. No one honks, they just wait.

We are on the Atlantic flyway, so I've seen birds that I've only previously read about. I have Peterson's guides in all my rooms.

to be continued ...