The 2011 Children’s Art Contest is currently underway and the Texas General Land Office is looking forward to receiving artwork from the children that expresses what they love and treasure most about our beautiful Texas coast. The contest ends on Tuesday, March 1, 2011.
Details are at:
http://www.glo.state.tx.us/adopt-abeach/artcontest.html

Greetings from the island everyone. Hope all of you have thawed out from last week’s ice-over, and the short cold spell this week.  It has not been much of a mild winter as the so-called experts predicted.  Who actually makes those predictions anyway, that furry groundhog rodent?   Sometimes I think so.

The chickens fared just fine during the freezing nights of last week.  I used heat lamps in their roosting areas the first night, but wasn’t thrilled with having to refill the generator at 3:00 a.m. when it was 27 degrees.  The next day I boarded up all the wind drafts and they were fine without the heat lamps the rest of the week.  Of course I had to use boiling water to thaw out their frozen drinking water each morning.  I have found that given some basic shelter, chickens are very hardy and tolerant animals.

I’m so glad that I made a trip in the Monday prior and filled extra propane tanks for heating.  Because of the brutal north winds, I had to keep heat going for almost four straight days and nights, a first for me out here.

Last week was the coldest temperatures I have had to endure in nearly five years of living on the island.  But as long as I’ve got plenty of propane (my electricity in a bottle) I’m fine.

I did not have any problems with my water pipes outside because I disconnected the well pump and opened all the faucets so that the expanding freezing water left in the lines could escape.

Last Friday waking up had an almost eerie feeling as ice covered everything on the island and a light haze hovered just above the frozen ground.  Anything facing north really had a thick layer of ice, including the outside stairs that had to be very slowly maneuvered to eventually reach the bottom.  It was almost comical watching Barnacle trying to walk on ice for his first time.  You wonder what goes through a dog’s mind during things like that.

I’m glad that I decided to hold off on starting my tomato seeds until next week.  I normally start them on January 15 each year in the little hot house, but this freezing spell would have presented a real challenge in keeping the small plants alive until spring planting in March.  For those who enjoy fresh tomatoes from your own plants, the Dolphin Talk issue on February 25th will have an article that I’m writing on Tomato Growing Made Easier, focusing on growing in containers and raised beds.  I think you’ll enjoy it.

It’s a common occurrence during hard freezes such as last week that there will be large fish kills.  I cannot speak for other areas of the bay, but the only dead fish that I have seen along the shoreline from Pass Cavallo to the Big Jetties have been hardheads.  I’ve heard of big trout floating in the Port O’Connor area, but I don’t know exactly where.

Well, that’s it from the thawing out island for now. Everyone stay warm and have a great day.

This has been a very exciting week for our Church! It really takes a lot of people to produce a Port O’Connor affair such as the annual “Sweetheart Banquet”. For sixteen uninterrupted years, the Church has sponsored this Banquet. The first “Sweetheart Banquet”  was in 1995 and held in the Church Fellowship Hall. It was very successful and we had a total of 55 people in attendance. Six years later, in 2001, it was necessary to move the Banquet to the new Port O’Connor Community Center, and we had an attendance of 208. The Church then made the decision to limit ticket sales to 200 to accommodate everyone for the seated dinner.


One of the features of the Banquet is the Church’s presentation of the “Annual Port O’Connor Citizen of the Year Award”. This prestigious award began in 1999 with the first award going to Doyle and Bernice Adams. Awards following:


2000    Fire Chief Ed Lambright & EMS Tech Brenda Smith
2001    “Dolphin Talk” Margaret Jennings & Joyce Rhyne
2002    Evelyn Lewis
2003    Lucille and Edna Whittaker
2004    Kenneth and Grady Jean Clark
2005    Marie Hawes
2006    Kathy Yearwood & Wanda Redding
2007    Agnes Valigura
2008    Tom and Pat Eksrom
2009    Naomi Albrecht and Bob Allen
2010    Sylvia Martinez


During the Banquet program, every couple married 50 years and longer are recognized and a prize is presented to the couple married the longest time. Recognition is given to those married the shortest time and a prize is given to them.


A full report of all the awards and pictures of the entire Banquet will be published in the Dolphin Talk February 25th edition.
See you in church Sunday! 

Kiwanis Bug Awards

Students receiving the Kiwanis Bring Up Grades (BUG) awards at Port O’Connor Elementary School for the 3rd six weeks are:  1st grade – Jordan Blevins, Joseph Diaz, Harley Albrecht, Maddie Hawes, Jessie Lashley & John Rosenboom. 2nd grade – Collin Branch, Ronnie Carriles, McKaelyn Carriles, Kali Gregory, Logan Hobbs, Ally Luna, Faith Peeler & Chloe Ragusin. 3rd grade – Javier Ayala, Kaleigh Diaz, Trey Hagler, Thomas Hawes, Dillon Hobbs, Riely Hughs, Brianna Lashley, Clayton Maraggia, Sierra Posey, Oscar Resendiz, Carlos Sanchez, Paige Satterfield, Shayleigh Sprague, Sam Thumann, Hannah Tucker and Gavin Vasquez.  4th grade – Marshall Arlitt, Mitchell Arlitt, Adriana Carriles, Zoila Garcia, Gavin Gosnell, Cierra Harper, Madison Posey & Gillian Vasquez.  5th grade –  Javier Guzman, Parker Luna, Hailey Mang, Justin Munsch, Kevin Resendiz, Jerry Satterfield & Wendy Solis.  6th grade – Will Ragusin, Juan Resendiz, Luis Resendiz and Trevor Williamson.

The sixth grade class will host the traveling lady bug mascot in their classroom for the next six weeks.  Congratulations to all these students for their efforts to improve their grades.

Have you  heard about the adoptive parents who are in trouble with the Russian government for making their son drink hot sauce when he spoke a bad word? Perhaps hot sauce is too harsh, but in when I was young, it was soap. I can still remember the foamy mouth that seemed to leave a deposited film that I could taste most of the day. That bitter taste of the consequences of my sin helped me to watch the words that I heard at school from exiting my mouth. The reason it was so important that I remember is that I have often read that my words are expressions of my heart. When my heart is clean, so is my language, but when my heart is dirty, my language follows.

A friend wrote, “Occasionally words are spoken so plentifully that they far outstrip clear thinking.” At our home, it was called “diarrhea of the mouth and constipation of the brain”. When we allow this to happen, we most often will say things we later regret. It is easy to speak beyond clear understanding – to go beyond absolute certainty into speculation, exaggeration, and self-commendation. Often our words will allow us to offer opinions about others that fracture relationships. Often we will engage in a word joust and then are forced to retreat to our castles alone – having lost another friend.

Most of us do not realize how powerful our words are. The Bible says that the power of life and death are formed in our mouths with the help of our tongues! Unchecked, this power of “death” can accelerate and quench the life of those around us.

How often have we disclosed something that should not have been spoken, and then end it with a disclaimer! “Just reporting the truth!” “Just between us!” It is as if we believe that our reporting of someone’s  faults or sins gives us the right to say what we know will defame and wound another. Never! Whispers can be just as slanderous as broadcasting the message over a megaphone.
Allow me to provide some guidelines to watching our speech:

First, we must avoid talk that destroys. Lying, smooth talking, gossiping, recklessly speaking, harsh words, too much talking, quarrelsome words, and hasty words all make up a dangerous use of our tongues. This type of tongue is without the proper check on it.

Second, when we speak negative things, we get destructive results. Sin, destruction, betrayal, piercing of hearts, ending of friendships, calamity, and even death can be the result of the careless speaker, who could rightly be dubbed “a fool”.

Third, when the tongue is under check, it will produce speech that builds up! It will produce words that are true, just, fitting, and wise. It will know when to keep secrets. It will speak words that are weighed adequately before being spoken. It will bring words that protect, that cover up wrong so we do not expose the failure of others to those who do not need to know. It will produce words that will drop a matter. It will produce gentle spirits that avoid unnecessary strife.

There is an interesting verse of Scripture in Proverbs 22:15 which says, “A gentle tongue can break a bone.” In cultural context, this is talking about persistence in godly speech and a gentle answer. In time, like water dripping on a rock, such words can penetrate even the hardest, resistant, argumentative person and result in a gentle and civil outcome.

Keep this in focus: The words we speak are an index of the condition of our souls! When our heart is right, everything that overflows from our lips will be right. Think and pray about what you might speak. Learn to put the brakes on in any situation immediately when the red light of our heart tells us that danger is ahead.

Learn the wisdom of not talking. Learn to keep confidences, protect relationships, walk in the freeing humility and clear spirit of a tongue in check.

The Apostle Paul wrote that our talking must always be filled with grace and timely, balanced, life-giving, preserving, nourishing, desirable, and relationship building. May my words be so chosen! May our words be so chosen! Our community will be a better place with words that bless!