Winter Lingers On The Island
Greetings from the island everyone. I hope that all of you are doing well and adjusting to this back and forth weather that we have been experiencing. My island clothing has gone from shorts and a T-shirt for several days, and then bundled up in sweats and a jacket for the next week. It has been from one extreme to the next this winter with our weather. Come on Spring!
And speaking of Spring, I’ll soon start getting my tomato seeds going for my Spring and into Summer crop. Over the years I’ve dwindled down the number of tomato plants that I’ll get started from seed, so that I can focus and better tend to those that I do have. I enjoy trying a few different varieties and maybe one new one each year. Unfortunately, once again, the seaweed did not wash up on the beach as it used to in years past, so I won’t be able to compost any for my garden fertilizer. I enjoy seeing those that are getting into gardening for the first time, and the enthusiasm that they have. My friend, Leroy Smith, just started last year with his raised beds in town, and is already doing a wonderful job.
My chickens finally finished with their molting and are back to laying nice large brown eggs. Yay! The guineas have not started yet, but I think they will when the weather starts staying warm. Every Fall the chickens molt, dropping a lot of their feathers, in order to grow new ones and get ready for the cold winter temps. They stop laying when they do this so that all of their energy can be directed to growing those new feathers. Out of my 15 Red and Black Star hens, I’m getting 10-12 eggs a day now, so I’m happy with that.
With all the rain that we have been having lately, the chicken pen started becoming a terrible yucky mess, transferring that into the nests and all over the eggs. I don’t mind the eggs being a little dirty, and I normally don’t wash them, because doing so removes a protective membrane over the shell that allows them to store longer and stay fresher over time. But when the eggs are filthy to a certain point, then they need to be washed. I was finally able to go in and bought a bale of hay at Melstan’s, and spread it out all over the chicken pen ground, and that has helped a lot. It’s like having an island farm out here, but I love having chickens and the fresh eggs that they provide.
I rarely get sick out here, and I contribute that to not being around a lot of people that are sick. Of course for the past several months I have been spending time with Mom at the nursing home, so I am around people more so than normal, and I must have picked up a bug somehow, because I can’t seem to shake a cold and congestion and yuckiness that I have. I’m popping Sudafed and drinking Theraflu and NyQuil like nobody’s business, hoping to get rid of this mess. And these drastic temperature changes are not helping.
My island life continues on out here, some days better than others, but I continue to have no regrets about my choice 13 years ago to become a full time island resident. I enjoy living beyond the sidewalks, and for me the positives far outweigh the negatives. I thank God everyday for the opportunity and strength and perseverance to live such a life. And thank all of you for being a part of this journey.
That’s it from the island for now, everyone take care and have a great day.
