Fall Weather and Island Rabbits On The Way

Greetings from the island everyone!  I hope that all of you are doing well and looking forward to the first official day of Fall in a few short days.  Autumn is a much more formal way of referring to the season between summer and winter, but being an off-grid island residing shorts and T-shirt kinda guy, it’s Fall to me.  But regardless, I’m so looking forward to the light northers, and cooler outside, hummer watching and coffee drinking mornings.

The island has finally received a few scattered showers this past month, thank goodness.  No heavy continuous downpours, but a 1/4” and 1/2” here and there have been a welcomed relief.  I am very conservative with my fresh water rain use out here, never knowing how many weeks or months I might go without rain to fill my combined 1,100 gallon tanks.  During the summer months all of my showers are taken outside using underground well water to conserve my rain water inside the house.  Even in July and August, that well water coming straight from the ground, no hot water heater, is cold!

I enjoy displaying some of my smaller beach and island finds, aka “treasures”, for visitors to see.   Two years ago I bought a large heavy duty metal display shelf to put on the porch and display my different little found treasures.  Well, in this corrosive environment, going with metal, even heavy duty, was a mistake.  Last month the rust finally took its toll and the shelves started falling apart. . . not a wise $300 spent!

Clint’s new Island Treasures shelf display

So I cleared the shelves of everything and finished tearing apart the old metal shelf. Over the course of my next two trips to the mainland, I brought back the lumber to build a bigger and stronger nice wooden display shelf unit on the porch. I have no doubt that thing will still be standing for years to come. And thank you, Susan, for help arranging everything back on the new shelf unit; it looks great. Now I need to find more beach treasures to fill the bigger shelves.

Well I’ve decided to expand on my island small farm animals endeavor. I just finished assembling two nice rabbit hutches for two Flemish giant and two dwarf rabbits that I’ll soon be getting. I call them hutches, but they are actually like mini condos for the bunnies. The rabbits will be for pets only, all females, and I’ll get them when they are 6 weeks old from Boling Bunny Farm. I’m looking forward to getting them and watch as they hop around the yard. I’m not sure how Corky and Jetty will react to them, hopefully NOT by salivating, but I’ll slowly introduce all of them to each other and hope for the best.

And speaking of animals, the 10 Indian Runner ducks are doing just fine and loving island life. They enjoy exploring the yard and playing/bathing in the two wading pools, and they love eating watermelon. They get along just fine with the chickens and guineas, and Corky doesn’t bother them. They always stay close together in a group, and I’m waiting for them to begin laying eggs, hopefully soon.

My younger sister, Darla, and her husband, David, made the drive from California to Seadrift two weeks ago, and we all had a great visit while they were here. Mom really enjoyed seeing and going to church with them, and we had several wonderful meals.

That’s it from the island for now. Everyone take care and enjoy the Fall weather that is so very near.

The Victoria Film Society and the Leo J. Welder Center for the Performing Arts will present a screening of the independent documentary “Seadrift” at 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 30.

Tickets are $9 for general admission, $7 for Victoria Film Society members and Victoria College and University of Houston-Victoria students, and $5 for children. Tickets are available at the Welder Center Box Office, Tuesday through Friday from noon to 5:30 p.m., or online at WelderCenter.org. The film is sponsored in part by the Museum of the Coastal Bend. A limited number of complimentary tickets are available to museum members. Members can call 361-582-2434 to register.

The 2019 film depicts the aftermath of the 1979 event in which a Vietnamese refugee shot and killed a crab fisherman at the public boat docks in Seadrift. What began as a dispute over fishing territory escalated into violence, boat burnings, intimidation from the Ku Klux Klan and other hostilities against Vietnamese refugees along the Texas Gulf Coast.

The documentary examines the circumstances that led to the shooting and reveals unexpected consequences that continue to reverberate today. A Q&A with film director Tim Tsai and a panel of Seadrift community members will be held immediately after the screening.

“The Welder Center and Museum of the Coastal Bend have joined with Victoria Film Society to screen this film, documenting a little-known but important part of Coastal Bend history,” said Sue Prudhomme, executive director of cultural affairs at Victoria College. “Topics explored in the film are relevant today, and we’re especially looking forward to the discussion with Seadrift community members to learn how they moved forward after this event.”

The Welder Center is located at 214 N. Main Street in Victoria.

For more information on this event and others at the Welder Center, call (361) 485-8540 or visit WelderCenter.org.

Remembering one of the Founders of the Port O’Connor Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber of Commerce of Port O’Connor was founded April 7, 1964. Mr. Allan Berger was a Director from 1964-1972. Following his years as a Director, he remained active in the Chamber.
This man was there for everyone in Port O’Connor. He and his brother-in-law “Boots” owned the Port O’Connor Food Store from 1950-1982. If anyone was in need, they were there to help. These guys were the most honest and respected people you could find. Allan Berger was involved in helping the community in so many ways. Sadly, he passed on September 2, 2019, but will be remembered always in the history of Port O’Connor.

The Chamber has an upcoming event on October 26, 2019.Mary Francis Bauer joined the Chamber several years ago and offered to head up a TRUNK or TREAT event, that has become a real hit for the community. This year it will be held on October 26, 2019, following the Elementary School Halloween Carnival. The time will be 7:00-8:30 p.m. The vehicles will line up facing the road on Park Street. You can participate by decorating your vehicle and bringing plenty of treats. If possible, try to include some lighting in the decorating, as at this time it will be dark. It’s fun for all!!! The best decorated will receive $100.00.

Any questions call-361-983-2898 info@portoconnorchamber.com —– portoconnorchamber.com
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New & Renewed Members:
Coastal Improvements
Shorty’s Home Improvements
Jeco’s Marine & Tackle

Our next meeting will be on Monday, October14, 2019 at 6:30 p.m at the Port O’Connor Community Center. Come, join us!

I try to keep a presence of mind somewhere between logical thought and imagination, which is hard to balance at times, but I feel it necessary not to ‘lose’ anything that may lead me to see something from a different perspective.

During the month of August that just passed, my father had to go into the hospital, more specifically into the psych ward only to avoid going into a long term care facility and come home with tons of pills and tons of daily issues. Because the hospital had him on twenty-four hour watch seven days a week, his discharge plan included him having the same kind of round-the-clock care.

That meant me giving up my day job, not being able to really leave the house for any longer than a few minutes (especially as I have no family members to help me watch him) at a time, and all kinds of other situations that bring stress, anxiety, and sometimes depression to my doorstep.
Prior to the hospital visit, while I was away at work, my father, during a hallucinogenic episode where he opened the front door numerous times, lost the cat he had gotten to replace the cat he had previously had for over thirteen years, That cat was never found, but after he had come home  I and the one other connection he has, thought that another cat may be helpful in keeping him company besides my presence as well as possibly be of therapeutic value as well.

That is where we get to me trying to keep an open mind when ‘odd’ things occur.
When the family friend brought a cat over, it was as if I knew the cat before. It looked like a darker striped version of a cat named Lucy I had for years that was very close to me, but the person I was in a long term relationship with at the time had a kid who was allergic to cats among other things and we were in a middle of a custody case where having the cat at our residence would have possibly looked neglectful.

I had to give the cat up to someone and it was one of the most heartbreaking losses I have had in my experience with pets and animals in general.
But here this cat was, the same smaller size as Lucy, as if both might have been the runts of the litter, same gender, same attitude…I could not help but immediately make the comparison.

As the days went by, although the cat would indeed ‘hang out’ with my father and keep him company, the cat also seemed to have an almost instant bond with me. So much in fact then when the woman that gave her to us came by, she walked out, said ‘hello,’ and then came straight back to me.
So I asked myself, was this my old cat, coming back when she was needed the most?

The last month and a half have been rough, I have been here before, my mom had MS and I used to care and watch over her often at a very early age. But watching someone who is not in his right head space is different than someone who just has physical ills.

It almost like Lucy came home to help me get through these difficult times, and I am glad she is here, even if in the spirit of a totally different animal.