Greetings from the island everyone! I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying these nice cool Fall mornings. Not having AC, it sure feels nice out here, especially at night, having the cool breeze flow thru the open windows. Sometimes, with the SE wind direction, I can hear the waves as they crash onto the Gulf beach, 800 yards from my upstairs bedroom. Natures sleeping pill.

Well, Corky is fitting in just fine to island life. I got him an outside kennel for when I have to leave him alone for a few hours, which is not very often. He and the cat, Jetty, are also starting to get along better. Of course, the feline has to occasionally remind him that she is the boss, and she accomplishes this with a lightning quick swipe of her paw to his nose. Hearing Corky yelp, you would think she took a chain saw to him!

It didn’t take me long to figure out that when he is on the boat, I’ve gotta keep him leashed and secured, at least until he gets older. Not having done so, I turned my back for three seconds at Clark’s dock, and KERPLUNK!, off the boat and into the water he went. Thank goodness he had a collar to grab onto and haul back into the boat.

A few weeks ago I heard Corky barking in the back yard, thinking he may have encountered a rattlesnake, (he can’t get his snake vaccine until he is six months old), I went back and discovered he had a big blue-colored crab cornered. It looked very similar to the common ghost crabs around here, except it was blue and much larger, and it had a huge claw. I later identified it as a Giant Blue Land Crab, of which I have never seen before. I put it in a small cooler, but forgot to close the lid and he made his escape, only for me to find him the next day in the yard. I released him inside the yard at the waters edge, and I hope that he stays around. His name shall be Toby.

A friend gave me several cuttings of Starfish Cactus plants in June, and a few weeks ago they developed buds and later opened up into beautiful large blooms, only blooming for a full day. They were absolutely stunning and looked exactly like a starfish. A very appropriate plant for me to have on the island.

The Fall sunrises and sunsets have been gorgeous on the island lately. It’s so nice to step out onto the back deck upstairs in the early morning and see the sun rising over the Gulf of Mexico behind the yard palms. And it’s just as beautiful viewing the late evening sunsets over the glistening Matagorda bay waters. Island life can be very good.

I’ve had to do some maintenance lately on my dock in front of the house, adding ten posts to replace those rotted away where they enter the mud bottom. Maintenance is simply a never ending chore out here in this harsh corrosive environment.

Some small mullets and minnows have been hanging around the pier lately, so I’ve begun throwing them some floating fish food. At first they just ignored it, but keeping at it every day, the small fish are starting to eat it. It’s fun to watch them gulp it down, and I hope they stick around.

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

Starfish Cactus

Giant Blue Land Crab