It sure sounds like they’re having a good time up there, squawking, chirping, and whirling in the air some 50 or even 200 feet overhead. The ospreys that is. It seems they’re happy to be back, if we may indulge in a bit of anthropomorphism for a moment. We’ve been cheered out of our winter doldrums listening to them frolic up above. What would it be like to be able to fling yourself around just below the clouds, then come careening down into rippling water to snatch a fish just stretching out in warm waves after a long winter’s snooze?
Ah, the life of an osprey. Whether it swoops over the Cove Deli or above Otter Pond, or cruises along Long Beach or over some other local waterway, it suffers no worries over the daily market report, harbors no fear of foreclosure, or unemployment woes. At least we get to pause from the same and enjoy these beautiful creatures who once again spend a few months with us as we sort through the remnants of our pulverized portfolios.
Those of us down here on the ground eagerly await even the slightest glimmer of economic recovery. To help it along, shop owners and restaurateurs have gotten creative, offering discounts, prix fixe meals and early bird specials. Members of Save Sag Harbor have added their voices to the “shop local” chorus in a recent e-mail when they cited a New York Times article by Peter Applebome titled “A Bookstore Closes in Chappaqua, and a Town is Poorer for It.” The article makes the point that the perceived benefits from saving a few bucks buying online instead of down the street could cost communities a lot more than they bargained for. Fight wallet freeze and spend a little downtown, they urged.
Real estate agents have noticed a decided drop in summer rental activity, and some worry about what kind of tourist season we can look forward to. Some businesses, already stretched financially, wonder if they’ll make it to tourist season at all.
How to help? Put your money where your community is. Support those small shops and restaurants that you want to continue to be part of your neighborhood. Now, more than ever, folks, it’s time to shop local. For more information, check out savesagharbor.com.
It’s time to start fashioning something flamboyant for the Easter Bonnet Parade set for Saturday, April 11. Gather feathers, felt, and finery and get creative with a glue gun to be sure you’re ready to step out in style this year. The parade begins at 1 p.m. at the laundromat on Main Street and ends at the Garden Center where a petting zoo will be set up. Children, adults, and even pets are welcome to join the parade, sponsored by the Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce.
If the phrase “bus bars” makes you think of sipping a cocktail while nibbling party mix on your way to Riverhead on the S92, think again. Check out the John Jermain Library’s home page and click on “10 things you don’t know about the library.” Let no one tell you the ordinary can’t also be fascinating, and, yes, beautiful, too. Just type in “John Jermain Library” and you’ll get there.
Also check out a new photographic exhibition in the library’s stairway gallery. “Daniel Gonzalez presents Long Beach” is the title of this show on view through April. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, April 4, at 2 p.m. All are invited. For more information, call the library at 725-0049.
on Apr 1, 2009