Clint & Corky

Brutal Heat, Dryness and Rattlesnakes

Greetings from the island everyone. I hope that all of you are doing well and enjoyed a safe and fun Fourth of July holiday weekend. As expected, the island saw an above normal amount of weekend islanders enjoying the beach and celebrating our independence.

Well, a few weeks ago I only thought the heat could not get much worse, knowing all along of course that our south Texas summer was just getting underway. And goodness gracious, it has definitely gotten muggier and hotter! I’m talking about sweaty and humid sauna, breathing in hot scorching air kind of hot! Geez Louise, give me a break already.

When you hear me talk about between about 11am-5pm, just finding shade and having something cold to drink, unless it is something that I really need to take care of, that is exactly what I do. . . keep in the shade. I also have a little Dewalt 20 volt fan that I’ll sit on the kitchen table during the day, and another one upstairs on the bedside night stand when there is no breeze coming through the windows. And poor Corky is not a fan of this brutal heat either, but he has a dirt area in the shade under the hammock, and he will dig down to the cool soil and lie there, or on the shaded concrete stoop area on the porch. Of course I keep fresh cool water available for him and Jetty, the cat, all the time.

And speaking of fresh water, the island did receive about .9 tenths of rain a few weeks ago when that squall moved in from the Gulf, but it moved in much further north than I was hoping. I know other areas got several inches of much needed rain that week, but the island missed out this time. I’m certainly grateful for the rain I received, but definitely saying a prayer for much more soon.

I have been in ultra conservative mode on my fresh water usage for several months now. Of course my rain tanks, fed by a roof gutter system and into two holding tanks, is basically useless when there is no rain. This rain water supplies my inside-the-house needs, and my shallow 12’ well in the back yard provides fresh (for the most part), water for everything outside. My present concern is that the lack of rain, which is needed to replenish the underground fresh water, will cause the well water level to drop low enough that I will not be able to pull it up out of the ground. So I just continue to be very conservative and hope for the best.

Last week I killed my 29th rattlesnake since living full time out here 16+ years. This one was in the front yard near the porch, and I was only alerted to this demon when I heard the very distinctive sound of his rattlers buzzing away. I then looked over and saw my cat staring at the snake, within ten inches of his head! It’s a miracle that rattlesnake did not strike that cat, but for whatever reason it did not. So a quick grab of a .410 snake charmer (thank you, Britton ), put an end to that confrontation and that snakes head, 43” in length, minus the head. I cannot tell you how much I hate those things, and that they are probably my #1 medical emergency threat out here.

Well, that’s it from the island for now; everyone take care and please say a little prayer for much needed island rain.