Surviving the Island Heat

Greetings from the island everyone. I hope all of you are doing well and are surviving this scorching south Texas heat that we have been having the past several weeks. And to make it worse, the island has not had any measurable rain for the last two months, causing my garden to really suffer. I’m trying to keep the tomato and melon plants watered, but I certainly need several inches of rain. This is probably one of my poorest tomato crops in several years, and I believe it is because of the heat and lack of rain. But I will never give up, I love to garden and grow delicious island tomatoes.

Warrior’s Weekend was a great success a few weeks ago in POC. I spent some time at the sand sculpture display out at the Community Center, and met the highly talented sculptors as they began and completed the most beautiful displays, made entirely from 250 tons of sand. I treated the sculptors and volunteers to shrimp salad that I brought them at lunch from J&H Shrimp in POC; that stuff is so good. It was a pleasure being a small part of this amazing Warrior sand sculpture display that was created in the Warriors’ honor. It truly was a beautiful sight, and can still be viewed at the Community Center.

On the Warrior fishing day on Saturday, I helped out by giving golf cart rides to the volunteer boat captains that had to park their trucks far away, and then I enjoyed watching throughout the day as the Warriors brought in lots of fish that they caught. Later that evening, I attended a delicious bbq dinner that was held for all of them and anyone that wanted to attend. I hope to be a part of this wonderful Warrior’s Weekend for years to come.

On Memorial weekend I was at the Front Beach for the POC Chamber of Commerce sponsored kids fishing tournament and kite flying contest. It was fun watching the kids fish and have such big smiles on their faces, seeing them catch an assortment of fish, from tiny to actual legal keepers. And later that day, I counted 16 pretty kites being flown by the kids, filling the Front Beach sky with beautiful vibrant kite colors. Thank you POC Chamber of Commerce and Donnie Klesel for sponsoring these events.

One of the ways I’ve been cooling off in this heat, not having AC out here, is to occasionally drive down to Pass Cavallo and enjoy a nice cool swim. I usually meet there with friends after they venture over across the bay in their boat. It’s a great way to visit and relax, and enjoy God and nature’s liquid AC relief.

The dreaded “H” word season is upon us, so I always have to begin making preparations and plans for possible hurricane landfalls near me. Last year Harvey was a brutal reminder that it could happen to our area, and you simply have to be prepared. I know that my boat trailer is in dire need of some axle repairs due to the always present corrosion. In case I need to pull my boat out of the water and leave it somewhere on the mainland, the trailer must be ready, and evacuation plans need to be made in advance. Prepare for the worst, and pray for the best.

Maintenance is always an issue out here on this barrier island, not only with house related issues, but also my boat. My Haynie Bigfoot, which I purchased new in April 2000, sits in the water 24/7, so barnacles and algae attaching to the bottom of the hull are a constant problem. Every 6-8 weeks, especially during the summer months, I have to physically get into the water and scrape the barnacles off the bottom of the boat. If this isn’t done, the barnacles create a terrible resistance drag on the boat as it’s going through the water, making the outboard work much harder and using much more fuel. Just part of island life residency.

I want to thank the Dolphin Talk Island Life readers that continue to approach me at different places to say how much they enjoy reading the articles. Jimmy Berkovsky from Shiner, Susan Pair from Ganado, Phyllis Brisker from Houston/POC and Kevin at POC Speedy Stop, I appreciate all of your kind words.

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

A precious little girl watches as Warrior sand sculpture volunteer Susan Braudaway writes the name of the girl’s Warrior dad on the Wall Of Hope”. -Photo by Clint Bennetsen