Life Beyond The Sidewalks
Greetings from the island everyone. Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying the extra daylight in the evenings.
Well, I’m definitely in a conservative mode on my rain water usage right now. There have been times when rain looked promising, but no such luck out here. It’s kind of ironic that I’m surrounded by billions of gallons of salt water, but can’t use a drop of it.
Being low on fresh water is one of the many obstacles to be dealt with out here. Rain water is a necessity for me as it provides all my inside cabin water that is used. Inside toilet use is for women only; island rules dictate that all guys do their liquid business outside. How does the saying go, “if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down”. Kinda crude, but true.
Living beyond the sidewalks, away from the conveniences and comforts of the city life, whether it be on a barrier island or out in the country, is no easy task. That said, I’d be willing to wager that all who have chosen this lifestyle would not have it any other way. And with today’s economy and continued rising gasoline prices, you may begin to see those old ways of living, even surviving, come back into play.
Having a small garden, learning to grow from seed, getting a few chickens for meat and fresh eggs, these are but a few things on the track to becoming self-sufficient. I, by no means, know all there is to being self-sustaining, but out of necessity I’m taking steps to slowly get there. I read all I can to give me pointers and suggestions, and I ask a lot of questions of elders. Never underestimate the knowledge that older people have; they’ve been through the toughest of times and, in all probability, will fare much better through the difficult woes than many of the yuppie younger generation. Slowly try to adjust to living life beyond the sidewalks, even if it’s only on a small scale backyard garden level. You may be glad you did.
Well, the thirty chickens are back on track laying eggs now that Spring has arrived. I’m averaging about 115 eggs a week now, so I’m at least on the positive side of expenses with selling them after the cost of feed, which continues to climb. I’ll get one more full year of laying from them before they basically stop, and then I’ll replace them with fifty new ones this time.
All of my tomato plants, a total of forty started from seed, are in the ground now, along with yellow squash and sweet corn. The cantaloupes and watermelons will be planted about mid May, and I’ve got a few new varieties to try.
I killed my first rattlesnake of Spring two weeks ago. I heard the chickens making a loud commotion and saw them staring into a corner inside their pen. A .22 slug to the head put to rest a thirty-three incher, actually small for island standards, but still very capable of causing major medical problems.
Well that’s it from the island for now. Be sure and look for next month’s Island Life article; it will be much longer and detailed, covering my five years of living full time on the barrier island. Everyone have a great day.
– I helped carry the casket of a great man, to the final resting spot in a beautiful wooded cemetery this past week. My ex father-in-law, Ed Knopp, no doubt the hardest working man I’ve ever known, is now looking down upon the rest of us. I’ll miss you Ed.
