Seven Years Full Time On The Island

Greetings from the island everyone. Hope all of you are doing well and enjoyed a nice Easter with family and friends. My intentions were to run in and attend Sunday morning church service with Mom, but mechanical problems with the outboard had the boat sitting at Sonny’s for repairs. So Barnacle and I just stayed on the island, gave our thanks to the Lord, and visited with Joe Monroe from Louisiana, who is on his eight-week Spring Island stay at his cabin.

Outboard motor break-downs are just a way of life with boats, especially those used on the salt water. It’s not a matter of if you will have problems, but of when those problems will occur. Salt water is such a harsh and corrosive element, that eventually mechanical issues will rear their ugly heads. And of course living on an island, when they do happen, creates an additional burden, in that I have to find a way back out to the island homestead and then a return ride when the boat is ready to go again. Thank you, Bubba and Kim, for helping me out during those times.

Well, Spring has officially arrived and the temps are beginning to show it. This month marks seven years that I have resided full time on Matagorda Peninsula Island. I truly have no regrets about making the choice to venture into this lifestyle. Granted, occasionally it has not been the easiest of times, but the positives far outweigh the negatives for me. I simply cannot imagine living back on the mainland again, and with the good Lord’s willing, I’ll never have to do so.

Spring is my favorite time of the year out here, but unfortunately it is also prime rattlesnake time on the island, as they are coming out from their winter hiding and it is mating season for them. Eyes constantly need to stay peeled for those poisonous little demons. (Three hours after writing this sentence, I killed a 42-inch rattlesnake near the house.)

This month also means that I can begin filling the composter with fresh grass clippings, chicken manure, coffee grounds, crushed egg shells and beach seaweed, which will begin washing ashore very shortly now. The warmer temperatures are required for the compost materials to begin breaking down (rotting), and turning into a rich nutrient filled soil additive for the garden.

The island tomato plants are doing well and looking very healthy thus far. I still have them covered with five gallon buckets that have the bottoms cut out. I place the buckets over the small plants and twist them down several inches into the soil. The plants are then protected from the late norther winds that blow through. The buckets also ensure that when watering the tomato plants, the water soaks down directly to the roots of the young plants, very important for strong and healthy growth. I’ve also got a few pepper plants in the ground, and will start the seeds for squash, cucumber, watermelon and cantaloupes very soon.

I must have forgotten, given the fact that I have done it so many times already, how labor intensive it is to get a good garden underway out here. With Joe helping me, we handled 1,000 pounds of cow manure fertilizer (20 bags @ 50 lbs per bag), seven separate times before that stuff left the mainland and finally reached the garden. SEVEN TIMES! What you would perceive as the simplest of tasks, become very difficult out here. Thank goodness for Aleve.

I want to take a few minutes to say a very happy 97th birthday to long time Seadrift resident Goldie Sanders. Born April 9, 1916 in Arkansas as Goldie Belle Mullins. She has resided in Seadrift, my hometown, for the past 88 years, and has been a devoted member of the First Assembly of God Church for 65 years. I can still recall as a child seeing Goldie sitting in her favorite spot on the church pew every Sunday morning. Goldie graduated from Seadrift High School in 1933 as Valedictorian of her class, and was awarded the Faculty Cup, also known as the “Loving Cup”. I wasn’t even aware that Seadrift once had a high school until Goldie’s daughter, Nina Weaver, my 2nd grade teacher, recently informed me. Nina was also my Sunday School teacher, so during that 2nd grade year, I spent nearly as much time with Nina Weaver as I did with my own mom. Happy Birthday to you, Goldie Sanders, and may God grant you many more to come.

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