Clint & Barnacle
It’s Shade And Iced Tea Time
Greetings from the island everyone. Hope all of you are doing well and enjoyed your July 4th long weekend. As usual, Barnacle and I stayed put on the island, having no desire at all to tackle the crowds and misfits around the dock and mainland. I enjoyed watching the POC fireworks display from Leroy and Karen’s cabin, after they hosted a great little BBQ island get-together with fellow islanders. And my broccoli salad, along with Leroy’s great brisket, was a big hit. The nice holiday weekend weather meant more people coming out to the island, but then Sunday evening came and they all left. . . double yay!
Well the gulf breeze has kept the beginning of summer at a tolerable level out here. As long as there is a little wind during the heat of the afternoons, along with finding shade and a glass of cold sweet iced tea, all is well. Of course, come mid to late August it will certainly be a different story. The wind normally goes thru a 2-3 week stretch during that time where it pretty much disappears, creating a sultry and humid day from about 11-4 pm. Those days and times are definitely meant for an after lunch, cool shady nap in the good ole hammock.
Not getting much rain at all this summer has not helped matters with the heat. There was a two day stretch a few weeks ago where 1.7 inches fell on the island, but everyone else seemed to have gotten 3-6 inches. For some reason the heavy rain cells just seem to miss the island by going entirely around it. I’m happy with the rain that I have gotten, but I sure could use more, as my rain tanks are down to about 500 gallons, which might sound like a lot, but I can assure you it’s not when you use it every day.
The seaweed is still washing ashore on the beach, with this summer possibly being the largest amount I’ve seen out here in my 14+ years. Most of it is at the rotting stage right now, so the beach is not at it’s most pleasant sight or smell at the present time. But no worries, in several weeks, hopefully, the seaweed will stop washing ashore and the leftover grass will be covered with beach sand and disappear, leaving the beach nice and clean.
It’s about this same time that the gulf winds die down and the surf water turns a beautiful emerald green, indicating that it’s time to tie on a Corky lure and bring a few trout back to the house. Other than walk floundering, my favorite fishing is wading the surf guts in the summer. There’s just something about stalking those big trout, while wading in crystal clear thigh deep water, that is very satisfying. Fishing usually alone, I make myself to not venture out any deeper than that, always mindful that bull sharks are very abundant and patrol the surf.
Well, the Spring garden is at the tail end of production now, the heat and lack of rain causing everything to pretty much play out. I’ve got maybe 75 medium tomatoes left on the ten remaining plants, and I’ll keep them watered until they are all ripe and picked. Another six nice watermelons and the same number of cantaloupes are still on the vines, and I’ll let them mature before pulling all the plants up. I’ve got a dozen watermelon seedlings started in the greenhouse, hoping for at least a few sweet melons for a small Fall crop.
Well that’s it from the island for now, everyone take care, stay cool and have a great day.
