November 2008 The Shoreline Page 11
Garden Club Members Take Tour Of Trees Around Town Hall
Members of Pine Knoll Shores Garden
Club joined certified arborist David Styron
of Styron Tree Service on October 8 for
a most educational v^^alkabout
in the woods around town hall.
Styron not only identified various
trees, he shared vital information
on how to choose, plant and care
for a new tree to insure its healthy
life. He emphasized considering
the adult size of the tree and the
moisture content of the soil before
planting. A tree should be three to
four feet tall before it is planted in
the yard and needs much tender
loving care for three years before
it becomes established.
When identifying a mature
tree consider its size, leaves,
bark, flowers and seeds. He
recommended Audubon's and
Peterson's tree books. During the
walk he identified a dogwood, tidal
basin cherry, mimosa(silk tree), live
oak, loblolly pine, hickory, holly,
ironwood, black gum, birch and
weeping yaupon. He pointed out
very interesting facts about several
of the trees. The ironwood has a most
unique bark pattern and its wood has a
most firm 9 Vi degree of hardness. There
are many varieties of oaks, all of which
are spreading trees. Since this species
By Clare Winslow
crossbreeds, positive identification though all vines are not parasitic. Lichen,
becomes very difficult. He explained ivy and Virginia creeper are not parasitic,
that the strange spiky outgrowths on the but mistletoe is a voracious parasite!
Pictured with David Styron are Yvette Bannen, Mary Hudak and Lois Jean O'Keefe.
sweet gum result when this weak tree
undergoes great distress.
He recommends removing all vines that
are climbing up and choking trees, even
Lastly, he cautions against piling soil
around the trunk and installing asphalt
near the base of the tree. Both prevent the
roots of the tree from breathing.
PresidentCarolMcVittysadlyannounced
the resignation of two very special club
members—Joan Smith, who lovingly and
faithfully tended the Hereth Garden in
front of town hall since its installation,
and Chris Walters, who was responsible
for the magnificent Christmas Eve
luminaria for the last six years. Lois Jean
O'Keefe has volunteered to assume the
mammoth task of tending the garden,
and Yvette Bannen and Mary Hudak
plan to take on the duties of setting up
the luminaria for future Christmas Eve
luminations. McVitty announced that
Cherie Range will be the chairman of
the town's Christmas parade.
VivianMacDonaldremindedmembers
to keep lists of any new plants or shrubs.
These lists are forwarded to the state
garden club which keeps an accurate
count of every new planting by all
garden club members in North Carolina.
Nan Gildner, Betsy Hutchinson and
Clare Winslow were the goblins
who prepared the festive Halloween
centerpiece and the delicious repast
on the hospitality table. Guests and
visitors are always welcome to attend
garden club meetings, which are held on
the second Wednesday of every month
at 9:30 a.m. at town hall. Come and join
the club.
Fishing: Tips on Finding Fun in the Fall
By Richard Sede
As this is written, there are still smallish
blue fish and Spanish mackerel around
Cape Lookout. With water temperatures
dropping the flesh seems more firm and
tasty when cooked up nice and fresh.
In the sounds, the speckled trout are not
thick, but a meal can be caught by trolling
some of the channels or casting the edge
of the reed beds as the high tide starts
to ebb. One technique that several folks
have been finding success with is tying
a Clauser minnow fly so it trails about
10 inches behind a grub. It is worth a try
when other artificial lures are not getting
any hits.
An interesting fish tale came in from a
fisherman who wishes anonymity. Whilst
fishing on the west end of the turning basin
a funny feeling strike hit the bait. Striking
back to set the hook started a tussle that
just did not seem quite "right." When the
rig got to the boat, lo and behold, an 18
inch octopus was hooked through one
of its tentacles. Having never hooked an
octopus before our fisherman pulled the
line tight so the hook caught on the edge
of the boat. With the octopus writhing
around the hook, the fisherman carefully
made a small incision in the tentacle which
allowed the octopus to twist free from
the hook and drop back into the water.
Keep fishing and you never know what
might show up!
With the fall "mullet blows" coming in
from the north, it is time to think about stop
nets and speckled trout in the ocean. With
the many ocean access points now open,
getting to a stop net is much easier. Stop
nets are set by mullet fishing operations
to bunch up the migrating mullet along
the shore. These nets are left overnight
and in the early hours of the morning
the commercial fishermen launch a boat
into the surf and pull a long seine net in
a large semi-circle. Farm tractors haul
the net up onto the beach. Once the net
is ashore fish soon are flying through the
air into waiting pickup trucks.
However, before the seining operation
is started, speckled trout as well as mullet
are "stopped" next to the stop net, usually
on the east side of the net. Very nice
"specs" can be caught with mirror lures,
cast masters, and even spec rigs. It means
getting there pretty early, like while it is
still dark, and in the chilly air waders or
at least hip boots are not bad ideas. You
will not be alone, but it is a pretty friendly
bunch. If the trout fishing is not so good,
it is fun to see the mullet net come in. You
can fish with fairly light tackle as the fish
are pretty close to shore and it is a matter
of walking out a little into the wash of the
waves, casting and retrieving. Be careful
to see who is walking up behind you
so you don't hook a fisherman instead
of a fish! Treble hooks in the dark are
pretty dangerous affairs. You might even
consider using pliers to crimp the barbs
down so that in the event of an accident
the hook can be backed out since the barbs
are not there. Good luck.