Island Summer Heat Continues

Greetings from the island everyone, hope all of you are doing well on this summer day. And what a scorching summer it has been. I’m sure it has not been any hotter than our previous south Texas summers, we simply forget from one year to the next just how sultry and miserable it can be. And with the absence of air conditioning, I can tell you first hand it has been hot!

I can remember a time about eight years ago when I did use air conditioning, having a window unit downstairs in the kitchen, and one upstairs in the bedroom for nighttime use. Oh yes, I’ll admit, it was wonderful having a nice comfy cool room to sleep in at night, but I simply got tired of having to deal with, and feed fuel to and listen to a loud generator to power the AC. So I slowly weaned myself off it, keeping all the windows open and hoping for a nice nightly summer breeze. I haven’t used any AC in over eight years now, and look, I’ve survived!

Even with the heat, the beach has been beautiful to walk on these summer mornings and evenings. I’ll start from my house and make the exactly half mile trek across the island “prairie”, over the dunes and to the surf waters edge. I’ll then turn either northeast towards the big jetties, or southwest and head towards Pass Cavallo, alternating which way throughout the week. I so enjoy seeing the gorgeous morning sunrises over the Gulf of Mexico, the water glistening under natures beauty. And the late evening walks afford me the opportunity to see the stunning sunsets over Matagorda Bay.

I’ve come to realize since my island life days, that the amazing beauties around you in life are what matter and bring smiles and happiness. Whether it be special people or nature’s wonders, it’s not WHAT you have that brings joy, but WHO you have and what you notice and appreciate around you. The saying, “stop and smell the roses”, is so true. Enjoy life.

And for when I return from those beach walks, I built a nice enclosed outside shower, to rinse off and feel human again. The shower uses my underground well water, which means it is pretty cold, but it saves on my stored rain water for inside the house use. I’m decorating the shower with various nautical stuff, including island beach finds; it’s looking great already.

For the second consecutive year, and only the second time in my nearly 17 years on the island, no seagrass, or sargassum, has washed ashore this summer. Even though the seagrass makes for a yucky and smelly beach for a few months, it is nature’s way of helping with erosion after the grass filters into the sandy beach. So it’s a good thing that the sargassum washes in, but one or two summers without it should not create any major problems, and it makes for a nice clean surf and beach.

I’ve got some baby tomato plants started from seed for a small crop to enjoy in the Fall. I did very well on my Spring tomatoes, so I wanted to grow a few more for friends to enjoy during the Fall season. Nothing better than a vine ripened homegrown tomato.

Well after 1 1/2 years with no dog after Barnacle’s passing, as you are reading this, I should have just returned from picking up my new puppy, Corky. I’ll leave out on the morning of August 17, heading to Saginaw, TX., to bring the little guy back to the island. He will be a black and white boxer, and I am so excited for him to be here. The cats, on the other hand, will surely hate both of us for awhile, but they will adjust. No dog will ever replace Barnacle, but I know that he wants me to have a companion, and he will be watching over us to make sure I give Corky the love he will deserve. So next month a new picture of Corky and I will appear at the top of the monthly articles.

Well that’s it from the island for now. You kids enjoy your last remaining days of summer vacation before school starts, and have a wonderful school year. Everyone take care and have a great day.