Cold Weather and Northers Behind Us

Greetings from the island everyone. I hope that all of you are doing very well and taking advantage of this nice Spring weather that we have been having lately.

As I sit outside on the porch this morning having my second cup of coffee, the sun is already shining brightly, and there is a cool easterly breeze coming across the island. A few days ago a hard blowing norther, with winds from the northwest, blew across Matagorda Bay onto the island. My dad has always told me that when the Spring northers begin having a westerly direction, then the northers are just about finished for the year. This latest one had gusts of 40+ mph and dropped 3/4” of rain, always a welcomed sight on the island. And as usual, the tides dropped really low for several days afterwards, until the changing southeast winds brought the tides back up
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One of the nice things about the low tides is the ability to drive along the gulf beach on the hard packed sand. This makes beach combing and looking for little washed ashore treasures much easier to do. The higher tides mean that the water is pushed up closer to the dunes where the softer sand is, making it more difficult to safely drive. But you can still certainly walk the beach without any issues, and slowly walking while looking for any beach find treasures and seashells, is always the best way to enjoy the beach. As is always the case, the number and quality of seashells that I find on the beach always changes, with some beach visits resulting in lots of nice finds, and other times there are just not many seashells having washed ashore with the tides and surf waves. You just never know from one time to the next what little treasures might be available to find, so the more frequent the beach visits, the better your chances are.

With nicer Spring weather upon us, and the school year nearing the end, a few more weekend islander families will be making their way out here. I always enjoy seeing everyone having a good time and taking advantage of the nice weather, spending time on the beach walking, fishing and just having a nice stroll looking for seashells and sea beans. Of course this time of year is unfortunately also the prime time to come across a rattlesnake on the island. The sunny weather makes them much more active than they are during the colder winter months, so the chances of coming upon one of them is greater. And they are not just in the grassy areas, as I have seen them up in the beach sand dunes several different times. You just simply have to be careful and always watch where you are walking and what you are doing.

Well, that’s it from the island for now. Everyone take care and enjoy this nice Spring weather that we are having. God bless everyone.