Prep Time Begins For Winter Island Season

Greetings from the island everyone. Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying these brisk cool mornings lately. As I sit at the small kitchen table before dawn Monday morning, waiting for the coffee to perculate in my crusted and rusted camp-style pot, which my sister-in-law Mittie would undoubtedly immediately throw in the trash, the cool morning salty air feels wonderful. Of course, Barnacle remains upstairs fast asleep, no way venturing outside until he gets his normal 12-14 hours of sleep, especially if it’s cool weather beyond that door. Spoiled dog. I’ve also gotten nearly eleven inches of rain the past three weeks out here. The tanks are full and the ground water well supply is looking good.

It’s this time of the year that I have to begin to prepare for the upcoming winter weather. Even though the forecast shows a warming trend later in the week, the days and nights of the cold, windy weather getting here and sticking around for several months are fast approaching.

From now until Spring, there will be at least a dozen times or more that the winter tides will fall low enough that I will not be able to get off the island, as the narrow inlet that leads from the bay into my protected lagoon will not contain enough water to allow passage of my boat. And even if the tide would be high enough to leave, the strong north winter winds often times make it too dangerous to cross the open waters. Trust me, Matagorda Bay is not the place to be in 25-30 mph north or northeast blowing winds. Only a fool would venture out and challenge such rough waters in a boat not designed or capable of handling those turbulent seas. You simply risk becoming a statistic and side column in the newspaper that only family and true friends will bother to clip out and save. Okay, stepping down from that soapbox now.

I’ll begin stocking up on certain supplies and items in order to have them for those extended periods of time that I cannot make it to the mainland. This is when my propane freezer, even though they are very expensive, becomes invaluable to have. Being able to stock up and freeze extra meat, seafood, bread and even milk is a plus for the winter months. Having extra flour, coffee, corn meal, sugar, canned goods and normal household essentials is very important. Unlike on the mainland, I can’t hop in the car, turn the heater on high, and drive to the store to get whatever I might need, including chicken feed and dog food. . . heaven forbid Mr. Boxer miss a meal. Extra propane, gasoline, batteries and replacement parts such as water pumps and fittings are needed. Murphy’s Law ensures that something will go wrong or stop working at the most vulnerable times, including the cold winter months.

The bottom line is that you have to be as prepared as possible. It is this time of year that my preparedness mindset shifts from hurricane season to winter readiness and stocking up on needed supplies.

The Fall humming birds have begun their migration south across the island. I always leave one feeder up year round so I’ll know when the Fall and Spring flights are beginning. My sister Sherry believes they send out scouts searching for feeding locations, before reporting back to the rest of the group. I can see where that would make sense because shortly afterwards there are many more of them showing up. I then put out more feeders and stock up on extra sugar.

I want to let my mom Leona know that she is in my thoughts and prayers. A very serious eye infection is causing her problems that we all know God can heal. I love you Mom.

Well that’s it from the island for now, everyone take care and have a great day.