Dumas Island

 Coronavirus reached the Houston area, not really very long after it first surfaced in the United States. It was a stealthy beast at first. As I mentioned in a previous post, the first person officially infected with the virus was a deputy Sheriff from Brazoria County, (part of the Houston metroplex) who attended the Livestock Show and rodeo BBQ kickoff and this caused the entire event, which grosses millions of dollars in revenue and sprawls across the Houston NRG stadium and its surrounding area in a gigantic miasma of people, exhibits, vendors and carnival rides to shut down. 

The shut down was sudden and abrupt. Overnight, things were shuttered and dismantled in a surreal exhibition of what was to come. 

As the City entered it's initial lockdown, it was clear that a sort of fearful calm had descended on the place. Traffic, normally, well, Houston traffic became lighter and most people stayed home. We went to Seans parents house each day to share a quarantine dinner, and a sort of routine evolved. We ordered groceries (still do), went virtually nowhere, and if that was absolutely unavoidable we'd go very early in the morning before people started to go out

Things seemed to be going good, the infections were pretty well being contained and hospitals weren't overwhelmed. 

Since the infection rate was pretty low, Texas' current governor, Greg Abbott decided that, in keeping with Washington's demands, it was time to open Texas back up. People literally went wild. Americans, and especially the people around here don't take well to social isolation and other things that would've made a difference, would have kept the transmission rate low and instead resumed their normal pattern of pachangas, parties and social interaction. The results were quickly apparent as infection rates skyrocketed. Now, it has become very sketchy to go anywhere because it seems that almost every other person is infected. 

So we belabored our island here, planting crops and carving out a niche behind a heavily draped chain link fence, our grotto of sorts. That's where we've been since we got here.

In March I made a big pot of butternut-leek soup (I'll follow with the recipe). Saving the seeds, I germinated them and now we have too many. Guess it's time to do some canning. Maybe I'll do a canning video on our Youtube channel....

Herbs, tomatoes and peppers in containers. I feed them Alaska Fish Fertilizer, of course. During this time of turmoil, a few veggies among the backyard ornamentals are a good call

We even planted some corn, as much for cover as for food. It's now early August and we're harvesting and enjoying our garden with really, minimal work involved. Basil pesto, pickled peppers, salsas, fresh herbs for seasoning coupled with the venison we were so fortunate to harvest while Sean was with us and we're essentially about 85% free of the grocery stores if we choose to be. we do put together weekly or twice monthly store orders, as much of an excuse to make a little drive out as the need for the food.Life on Dumas Island goes fast and we generally are busy on projects of various kinds until late in the evening when we finally retire, exhausted. Life has changed, but now so much for us that it feels foreign. We're country folk after all.