PHOTO BY BILL FAVM
FUNGUS MATERIAIS in the winter woods help break down materials for reuse in the energy
cycle.
Winter In The Woods
BY BILL FAVER
Just a quick glancc at the winter woods reveals an
abscncc of much activity. Most of the hardwoods arc
bare of leaves and the evergreens
seem to stand silently in the winter
season. Birds are about, but many
OI lilcm appeal uj i?i>i Quietly GO a
bare limb, soaking up the sun.
fl v Broom sedge and some seed heads
? ^ * from grasses offer rich brown tones
to the gray fields of dead plants.
What we do not see with
that quick glance is the miracle of
winter in the woods. We do not see
FAVER w^al js happening on the moist for
est floor as the fungus, molds, and bacterid help break
down the leaves and twigs and decaying animal matter
from seasons past. We do not see insects and spiders
within a decaying log helping to reduce the materials
fr\r ro urn in iKa Annrnti nunlA \l/n na/> t Ka cmoll
?v> ivua' us us', wjw >v. ?!v uwti I ovv utv. jiituti
animals in hibernation and the egg cases of insects
waiting to emerge in warmer weather.
Sometimes we do see mushrooms and fairy rings
revealing where underground stumps are located.
Sometimes we see skinks and anoles on a rock outcrop
warming in the winter sun. Close examination can
show us buds on the hare limbs of trees and shrubs,
getting ready for spring when leaves will again form.
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the ground for some plants and we can expect to see
shoots and stems before long.
Winter in the woods is also a good time to find last
season's bird nests since they are no longer hidcicn by
leaves. Rabbits, field mice, raccoons, and opossums
may have carved out tunnels through the briars, grass
es, and underbrush along hedgerows and at the edges
of the woods. Fallen branches and even trees can tell
us of winter storms and the "pruning" down by nature.
Winter in the woods is a good time for a stroll on a
warm afternoon. Though everything may look "dead,"
there is much more real activity than a quick glance
can show. Take time to look for the signs of the com
ing of spring and enjoy some invigorating exercise in
the great out-of-doors!
ikrrirv/
liui vi i y
(Continued From Page 4-A)
What if the commissioners decide
to build the library somewhere else
and sell the land'' Or put a dinky
building on part of the land and sell
the rest?
The restrictions were placed on
the land by the previous council to
protect the interests of the people of
Leland. These restrictions gave the
town the right to approve the design
and to buy the property back if it
should ever cease to be used for a li
brary. We still need to protect the in
terest of the people of Leland.
1 am surprised and disappointed
that the new council would act so ir
responsibly in ?'?is mallei and give
up our rights of protection I am as
tonished that the new town attorney,
A. A. Canoutas, would let them do
il.
Is there no one on the new coun
cil who knows how to protect the
town's interests in matters of this
IV1IIVJ.
Francis B. Jacobs Jr.
Rt. 3, Leland
vt-.,
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The Fun Part Is Getting The
Door Open
At a rcccnt Carolina basketball
game, the public address announcer
said there was a car in the parking
lot with its lights on. That's nothing
unusual.
But this car's motor was also run
ning and the doors were locked, he
said. That brought a round of laugh
ter from the tense crowd. Someone
was in a hurry to get inside the
Smith Center.
No, it wasn't my car.
1 am always fearful of locking my
keys in the car. I've done it once,
and it was a painful experience. I've
probably reached the point of being
obscssivc-compulsivc about
it ? checking for my keys once,
twice. 1 check again before slam
ming the door shut. 1 want my hands
on the keys when that interior light
goes out. I want to know where my
keys arc at all times.
That's why 1 can relate to the ner
vousness and frustration seen on the
faces of those we occasionally meet
in shopping center parking lots who
arc the latest victims. The person is
standing there, red in the face from
embarrassment, as someone jabs a
metal bar down the window to try to
flip open the lock.
When I was in college, my room
mate and I were on our way back to
campus in Chapel Hiii to return a
basketball to the student gym. We
stopped to get a Pepsi from a local
store and, for some reason, decided
to lock the car. It may have been to
protect the basketball.
With the gyrr crowded, wc had
taken the ball back to the apartment
? <-? - ?-?? n nnnl in ?????!? 1mm ImI
IU JIIVA/i cat U ?VSU1 til U IV |HlI Mll^ IVSL.
The wrath of the university would
have come down on me had I failed
to return such valuable sporting
equipment. They had my student
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identification card as collateral.
When we walked from the store, I
suddenly realized the keys were still
in the ignition. Talk about a sick
feeling.
Long ago, the automakers got rid
of one use for the common coal
hanger. It would not work on this
Japanese model either, for the lock
was a sideways job situated way
down on the door panel.
The rear windows were those silly
kind that you could push out about
two inches. One was open, only- it
was about 10 feet from the lock. I
tried with a broom handle, but that
wouldn't work.
There was this wrecker service in
town that came to the rescue, for a
fee. Male pride finally gave in and I
called the place for help. The guy
used one of those illegal devices that
slips down the edge of the window
to spring the lock free. They arc
considered illegal when in the hands
of the wrong person.
It took him longer than usual, so
he said.
"You've got this little rod that it
has to catch hold of," he kept say
ing, reassuring as that he had never
faiieu. He gave us a detailed account
of how he had successfully opened
Pontiacs, Chcvrolets and Fords. It
had also worked on some foreign
models.
For a while il didn't seem as
though it would work. He tried both
door;. ! r.turtcd lo ssk if he hsd 3
hammer in his truck. That would at
least open the window.
Finally, he found the right spot
and the driver's door popped open.
Saved, but hold on just a minute.
After leaving there, we stopped at
a hamburger place and locked die
car doors again. Boy, were we
dumb.
"Have you got the keys this
time?" my roommate joked.
Yes, 1 had the keys.
However, when we relumed to
the car the key wouldn't open the
door, either door. The device the
wrecker service had used knocked
something loose inside. He was
apologetic, but it took another hour
for him lo find the right spot again.
Later I had to lake the door panels
apart to fix the locks.
It took about five hours to get that
basketball back to the gym.
A lot of police officers carry those
handy devices around to help out
stranded motorists. 1 don't know if
that was true or not when 1 needed
help, but it may be valuable infor
mation to remember today.
Hearing of how that car was left
locked and running in the parking
lot made me think of the afternoon 1
learned my lesson.
If the driver heard the announce
ment. I wonder how he reacted. I
wonder if he gave up the game to at
tend to his mistake. Or whether he
wailed for the game to end and the
cars to clcar so no one would see
him in the parking lot shaking his
head and hoping like everything that
the man with the illegal device
would find the right spot.
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March 5
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Village Pines. Shallotte 91 9-7 54-9949
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