Clint & Barnacle

Spring Northers Just Won’t Quit

Greetings from the island everyone. Hope all of you are doing well and were able to spend some time with Mom on Mothers Day last Sunday. Barnacle and I went in, and the siblings and I enjoyed a nice lunch with Mom at Red Lobster, and then I stayed over until Monday for my sister, Sherry’s, birthday.

Are those dang northers ever gonna stop blowing? The end of April and start of May saw several hard blowing northers hit the island, with sustained winds 25-35 mph. The poor tomato plants, even though I tried to protect them with plywood, got beat up pretty good. Hopefully they will take hold and perk back up.

The hummingbirds are flocking to the feeders I have hanging under the deck. Early morning seems to be their favorite feeding time, with about a dozen of the little winged wonders fighting over the sugar water. It’s very relaxing watching them buzz around and chirping, with usually one dominant bird trying to chase away all the rest. I’ve also noticed several migrating Baltimore Orioles hanging off the feeder, trying to figure out how to retrieve the sweet nectar inside the feeder.

The next several months are Texas sea turtle nesting season along the Gulf Coast. Mike Burnett from Port O’Connor, and Alan Rammer, visiting from Washington state on the Pacific coast, came out to the island last week to beachcomb and look for turtle nests. If located, the turtle eggs are usually documented, gathered and transported to the Padre Island National Seashore incubation facility in Corpus Christi, to ensure a more successful hatch rate. Mike brought me a Texas Sea Turtle Manual so that I’ll know what to look for in regards to locating the nests, and the proper procedures to follow. I’m excited about possibly locating a sea turtle nest. . . What can I say, I’m a little on the nerd side.

I’ll tell you what has not started washing ashore yet is the seaweed along the beach. Usually by now that stuff is several feet deep along the entire beach. I’m guessing that maybe the late Spring northers are delaying the process as the water has not yet warmed enough for the seaweed to release from the Gulf bottom and begin floating. The tons of seaweed make for an ugly and smelly beach, but it’s natures way of helping with beach erosion, plus it provides a wonderful composted organic fertilizer for my garden.

I realized a few weeks ago that I wasn’t getting any younger, and had not stepped foot inside a doctors office for about 15 years, so a physician friend kindly made a referral for me to see Dr. Richard Leggett in Victoria. I cannot tell you how nervous I was walking into that office for my first visit, but the staff and Dr. Leggett himself quickly put me at ease with their kindness and professionalism. I’m happy to say that other than needing to shed a few pounds, I’m in great health. . . must be that salty island air.

Well that’s it from the island for now. Everyone take care and have a great day.

Warrior’s Weekend

This edition of Dolphin talk is timed to be in concert with what we have established as “Warrior’s Weekend”.  That is a wonderful way for any community to recognize and thank those often unsung heroes. These warriors have contributed to the wellbeing of our today.
Most of us know that a warrior is one who has been a soldier and contributed in a war.  I might prefer the little less specific definition. That definition is a person who has shown great vigor, courage or aggressiveness in his endeavors. Anyone who has gone through boot camp or battle understands vigor and courage. To have been involved in defending our country shows courage.

As one reflects on this time of celebration of those wonderful warriors it does us well to remember that the term warrior comes from medieval England back in the 13th century. So it is not only the United States that has warriors.  That caused me to wander through history and see what others have said about warriorship. My first encounter in this was with the Shawnee Indian chief Tecumseh.  Now, he was a war opponent of the newly formed United States and allied with the British to be sure. However, to be honest he was here first and to him it was defense of his homeland.

His quote was a simple one:  He said “Let us form one body, one heart, and defend to the last warrior our country, our homes, our liberty, and the graves of our fathers.”  It doesn’t take much imagination for any of us to be able to say amen to that thought for ourselves. We often have similar instincts.

The next quote comes not from a real war but from the battlefield of sports. Sports are often a metaphor for war or battle. Who has not heard an announcer talk of the teams weapons and other elements of war. Like wars most sport events are zero sum events, someone wins and someone loses.  Pat Riley the basketball coach had this to say about warriors.  “Each Warrior wants to leave the mark of his will, his signature, on important acts he touches. This is not the voice of ego but of the human spirit, rising up and declaring that it has something to contribute to the solution of the hardest problems, no matter how vexing!”  Now isn’t that a description of the warriors you have known. Aren’t they proud of what they contributed?  For sure, they deserve a pat on the back and a big thank you for that contribution.

The best is saved for last. It comes from Ronald Reagan. He described why our warriors are the best.  He said, “Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today’s world do not have.”

Not only in a conventional war but in this war we have with terrorists that still rings true.  I say to all warriors have a wonderful weekend and to some who couldn’t come, I sure wish you were here.

For many years now the Dolphin Talk has devoted space to honor all those young people who have completed their education and achieved graduation, We want to do so again in our next (June 21) issue.

We ask that you contact us before our next deadline (June 14) to answer just a few questions so we can include you in this special graduation tribute. We would also like to print your graduation photo. College and trade school graduates may also be included.

Email us at: dolphin1@tisd.net or phone 361-983-4667.

Parents, please remind your graduates to contact us. We want to honor them on this special milestone in their lives.

CCISD Baccalaureate – June 5 at 7:00 p.m.
Graduation – Hope – June 7 at 6:00 p.m.
Graduation – CHS – June 7 at 8:00 p.m.