A family of geckos...

On my favorite sailing forum, my friend Timm (after I posted something about the rain here) posted...

"Torrential rains ,flash floods ,hurricanes and spiders big enough to open the screen door themselves . You want us northerners to believe you have it better down there ?
Jim Cantora (sp?) couldn't find Wisconsin with Google Earth. I feel a whole lot safer right where I am thank you."

I posted...

"Every part of the country has something to deal with.  As you are aware, Timm, we wander a lot. Ever hopeful that we will be immersed in that "perfect weather." Not always successful, though.

As a kid, I remember floods on the Big Sioux and Missouri Rivers (on the Iowa/South Dakota border). Filling sand bags. Every spring. It was part of my youth. Oh, and snow drifts up to my waist. As the only male in the family, shoveling the snow was always my job. I really hate shoveling snow.

As the popular bumper-sticker states: I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as soon as I could.

Yeah, crap weather happens. On occasion. What we don't have: an end of the sailing season. The average daytime high in January is 70º. Summers are hot and humid... not so different from my Iowa upbringing.

You don't have to like it here or choose to move here. There are lots of great places in this country. One thing to consider, however: most people don't think about retiring to a place where they can sip a margarita while sitting in a snowbank. "

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Yeah, we've had some crap weather the past couple of days.   Not as bad as much of the state.  Living on an island has good points and bad.  In times of big rain, the water has a place to drain off; much of south Texas (mainland) is flat... there is nowhere for the water to go.  And that is what is happening right now.

The wind kicked up yesterday.  The "not a wind event" has been blowing more than the weasels forecast.  No big surprise.  Gusts approaching 40 mph overnight.  We had plans to meet friends Mike and MJ for breakfast on South Padre.

The rain has mostly stopped (occasional spits), but the wind is still blowing in the upper 20s.  Some branches down around our neighborhood...

Driving across the causeway, the Laguna Madre is brown and choppy; quite a fetch with the wind coming from the north northwest.  We met Mike and MJ at the restaurant - a good meal and some catching-up conversation.  MJ ordered her breakfast "happy size"...

Yeah, that looks pretty happy!  When we parted company, we decided to take a drive by the beach.  You can see the palm trees blowing in the wind on the way there...

The Gulf is not friendly looking...

There is definitely going to be some beach erosion with this storm - the high tides have the water covering most of the beach.  Back on our side of the causeway, some of the Halloween decorations the city puts up in the parkway on the main drag have not fared well in the wind...

There were a lot of things blown out of the spiderweb; the skeleton leaning on the tree mid photo lost its head; there are a few "bones" scattered here and there.

Coming across the bridge on the way back onto our island, we find the swing bridge a couple feet above level.  Yep, we are feeling the effects of the higher tides.  Here's the boat ramp...

The sidewalk that runs along the right side is starting to go under water.  Well, the water is rising to go above the walkway.  There is normally a couple feet from that walkway to the water.  In our canal, the water is lapping at the lowest level on our dock.  Again, that is generally a couple feet down to the water.  The high tides are expected to be with us for the next several days.

On the bright side, I think the rain is mostly done.  It was in the 60s when we went to breakfast this morning - that's a first since we've been home; the lowest temperature we've seen has been 77º.  Truth be told, the cool feels nice.  The a/c didn't have to run last night.  Since we've been home, there has been about an 8º temperature swing from day to night (moderating effects of living by the water).  We put on long pants, for the first time in a while.

So, "What does any of this have to do with a family of geckos?" you ask.  Thanks for asking.  Geckos are considered a "sign of good luck" around here.  My buddy, Timm, may not like geckos, but they eat bugs.  We don't have a "spider issue" thanks to the family of geckos that lives under our front steps.  Plenty of good luck, though.  They are kinda cute - really aren't a nuisance, other than occasionally trying to sell us insurance.

;-)