Habitat

I grew up on the southern shore of Long Island, New York, in the town of Freeport. There was a swamp a block from my house, which we neighborhood kids of about age 10 used to play in. There was a stream which flowed through the back of the marshy area. We would "explore" and follow the stream to an inland bay which eventually led to the Atlantic Ocean. We saw sea gulls and mallard ducks there, and many red-winged blackbirds. I was proud that I could tell a female mallard from a male. I liked the many cat-tail plants and other marsh vegetation. It was our own special place that grown-ups didn't go to. When I was in high school, the land was bull dozed and filled in to make way for houses. Now a block of houses sit on that land, and the stream must be underground. I suppose that is progress, but it is sad for me. Present day kids won't have that wonderful experience of freedom to play and explore a natural, beautiful setting.