Clint & Barnacle

Spring Northers Just Won’t Quit

Greetings from the island everyone. Hope all of you are doing well and were able to spend some time with Mom on Mothers Day last Sunday. Barnacle and I went in, and the siblings and I enjoyed a nice lunch with Mom at Red Lobster, and then I stayed over until Monday for my sister, Sherry’s, birthday.

Are those dang northers ever gonna stop blowing? The end of April and start of May saw several hard blowing northers hit the island, with sustained winds 25-35 mph. The poor tomato plants, even though I tried to protect them with plywood, got beat up pretty good. Hopefully they will take hold and perk back up.

The hummingbirds are flocking to the feeders I have hanging under the deck. Early morning seems to be their favorite feeding time, with about a dozen of the little winged wonders fighting over the sugar water. It’s very relaxing watching them buzz around and chirping, with usually one dominant bird trying to chase away all the rest. I’ve also noticed several migrating Baltimore Orioles hanging off the feeder, trying to figure out how to retrieve the sweet nectar inside the feeder.

The next several months are Texas sea turtle nesting season along the Gulf Coast. Mike Burnett from Port O’Connor, and Alan Rammer, visiting from Washington state on the Pacific coast, came out to the island last week to beachcomb and look for turtle nests. If located, the turtle eggs are usually documented, gathered and transported to the Padre Island National Seashore incubation facility in Corpus Christi, to ensure a more successful hatch rate. Mike brought me a Texas Sea Turtle Manual so that I’ll know what to look for in regards to locating the nests, and the proper procedures to follow. I’m excited about possibly locating a sea turtle nest. . . What can I say, I’m a little on the nerd side.

I’ll tell you what has not started washing ashore yet is the seaweed along the beach. Usually by now that stuff is several feet deep along the entire beach. I’m guessing that maybe the late Spring northers are delaying the process as the water has not yet warmed enough for the seaweed to release from the Gulf bottom and begin floating. The tons of seaweed make for an ugly and smelly beach, but it’s natures way of helping with beach erosion, plus it provides a wonderful composted organic fertilizer for my garden.

I realized a few weeks ago that I wasn’t getting any younger, and had not stepped foot inside a doctors office for about 15 years, so a physician friend kindly made a referral for me to see Dr. Richard Leggett in Victoria. I cannot tell you how nervous I was walking into that office for my first visit, but the staff and Dr. Leggett himself quickly put me at ease with their kindness and professionalism. I’m happy to say that other than needing to shed a few pounds, I’m in great health. . . must be that salty island air.

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