Early Summer Begins To Arrive
Greetings from the island everyone; hope all of you are doing well. Please do not forget your wonderful mom on Mothers Day Sunday. Words cannot describe the love and admiration I have for my mother, Leona, and I look forward to spending the day with her and some of the family on the island Monday. Thank God for moms and Happy Mothers Day to all of you, including my second mom, Mauriece. And happy birthday to my sister, Sherry, on Sunday.
Well I’m slowly getting my island tan back after the mild winter months. The days are getting warmer and the sun brighter, limiting outside strenuous work to early morning and late evening times. I’ve got to constantly remind myself to apply sunscreen and wear a cap, neither of which I ever did in my younger years. I know of several old timers that are suffering from skin cancer because of their younger days of over exposure to the sun, so I’m doing my best to keep that from happening.
The tomato plants are doing quite well. I’m picking grape tomatoes from several plants that are just loaded down. I’m having to use three or four stakes on each plant to keep them from falling over, and they have a wonderful true tomato taste. I’m hoping for rain this week to keep the garden growing strong. I use well water for my garden, but it seems like a good drenching of rain really promotes great growth on all the vegetables.
Just this week I completed three raised beds using 2×12 boards and filled them with part island soil, top soil, chicken manure and compost made from seaweed. I’ve ordered eight thornless variety blackberry plants, and I’m hoping to get them started and do well out here. I just never know what plants will or will not make it out here until I try. Two of the blackberry plants will be the Doyle variety, advertised as one plant producing the equivalent of thirty normal blackberry plants. And for the price they cost they should do better; so we will see. The other six will be the Navaho thornless variety. It would be nice to one day walk out and pick fresh berries from the yard. Fingers crossed.
A few scattered flounder are starting to show up along the shoreline, returning from their Fall spawn migration into the Gulf. Always enjoyable to gig a few and have a delicious meal of fresh fried or blackened flounder.
A quick reminder to the boaters out there, especially the novice ones, to ALWAYS be prepared and exercise good judgment in crossing the bay, in particular during rough seas. Two friends of mine, Randi and Anna, (and the names have NOT been changed to protect the ill prepared), had a very close call while crossing a very rough Matagorda Bay in an overloaded pontoon boat with engine failure. Due to the high winds I could barely make out their cell phone call for help, but was able to race out and tow them to safety. The good news is that a valuable lesson was learned and they will not place themselves in that predicament again. All’s well that ends well.
Well that’s it from the island for now. Everyone have a great day and tell your mom that you love her.
Joy Fryou took this photo on the Gulf beach side of Matagorda Peninsual 4/25. The seagrass is coming in and the birds are finding all kids of critters to feed on! The big jetties are in the background.
