Enjoying the Fall Island Weather
Greetings from the island everyone. I certainly hope that all of you are doing well and preparing for a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. My California sister, Darla, is driving down, so Corky and I will make the trek across the bay and spend a few days with the family next week in Seadrift. Hoping for lots of leftovers to bring back to the island!
Fall is now in full swing on the barrier island, as indicated by the time change a few weeks ago, and the cool breezy northers making their journeys across west Matagorda Bay. I’m still trying to adjust to this time change, as always, and finding myself literally going to bed with the chickens, and getting up with them at first sunlight, or 3:30 am sometimes!
I always hear people talking about having to change the time on all of their clocks in the house, not an issue for me at all. . . I own ONE clock in the downstairs kitchen, and the battery went out in it about two years ago, roughly the same time that an approaching storm caused me to lift up my fridge, with the help of Leo and Dakota, and set in on top of an 18” tall 70 qt Yeti cooler, to keep the fridge safe from the surge. Doing this blocked my view of the clock anyway. And for some reason that fridge is STILL sitting on top of that Yeti! So I have a $400 fridge riser and unusable cooler. . I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer.
These late Fall and Winter northers always cause the tide to drop in the bays, making it difficult or impossible for me to navigate out of the narrow lagoon entryway and into the Matagorda Bay shoreline. Heck, often times my boat is sitting on dry ground next to my dock after these northers, so I’m not going anywhere anyway. But these low tide times are the perfect opportunity for me to put on my white Seadrift Ropers and gather a few oysters. Love me a batch of fresh fried oysters!
The low winter tides also have a tendency to wash in and expose seashell treasures on the beach. Many times the first gut in the surf is completely without water, leaving visible seashells, sand dollars and other finds that would normally be hidden from view. And the sandbars separating these guts are under only a few inches of water, making beach combing a real treat. It’s very peaceful slowly driving in the golf cart or walking on the beach and finding treasures of the sea, you never know what goodies or unusual things might find their way onto the beach.
Well, that’s it from the island for now, everyone please take care, have a wonderful day and give thanks for what you have on Thanksgiving.
