May 01 2020
By Steve Hathcock Although sea-beans have been washing onto beaches for tens of thousands of years, most beachcombers are unaware of their origins. Most true sea-beans (numerous varieties of beans with hard outer shells that are long distance drifters) found on Padre Island come from the tropical forests of southern Mexico and Central and South …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/05/01/rio-history-sea-beans-2/
Apr 24 2020
By Steve Hathcock The ability to make fire by rubbing two sticks together was arguably the single greatest accomplishment made by our forefathers. The principle is simple: one wooden stick, called the drill or saw, was twisted or rubbed against another, known as the hearth. If done properly, enough heat is created to ignite dried …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/04/24/rio-history-fire-making/
Apr 20 2020
By M. Kathy Raines Special to the PRESS Mirroring traits of the quintessential Texan, the nine-banded armadillo is “a hardy, pioneering creature,” one possessing “deep respect and need for the land, the ability to change and adapt, and a fierce, undying love for freedom,” according to 1995’s Texas legislature. Armadillos’ migration to Texas roughly coincides …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/04/20/creatures-among-us-the-nine-banded-armadillo/
Apr 17 2020
By Steve Hathcock A woman called me the other day to tell me about her recent beachcombing trip to the mouth of the Rio Grande River. While exploring in the mudflats that lie directly north of the riverbank, she found shards of glass and several unbroken bottles. “One of the bottles is very odd” she …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/04/17/rio-history-the-torpedo/
Apr 05 2020
By M. Kathy Raines Special to the PRESS Painted buntings don’t know about the coronavirus. Oblivious to our fears and “shelter in place” orders, they, along with other exhausted, migrating birds, are stopping in South Texas in April and early May to rest and feed before flying northward, where they will merrily mate and nest. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/04/05/creatures-among-us-the-painted-bunting-a-joy-to-birders/
Mar 06 2020
By Gaige Davila editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com After three leap years—or 12 years—Paragraphs on Padre Boulevard bookstore shut its glass-paned doors after a retirement celebration in honor of owners Joni Montover and Griff Mangan, on February 29. Friends came and went from 10:00 a.m. into the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/03/06/paragraphs-bookstores-final-chapter-celebrated/
Mar 06 2020
By M. Kathy Raines Special to the PARADE The sloping forehead of this multi-dimensional fish ends in a tiny, puckered “o” of perpetual awe or surprise. This is silly, of course. All fish wear fixed facial “expressions”, so to speak. Still, given our propensity to personify our fellow creatures, scrawled cowfish look, well, adorable. Even …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/03/06/creatures-among-us-the-scrawled-cowfish-a-charming-gulf-resident/
Feb 28 2020
By David Lee Zamora Special to the Parade Based on the true story of William Hart Pitsenbarger’s fellow Vietnam War veterans and family’s thirty-year long fight to get him the Medal of Honor for his brave service during the Vietnam War, “The Last Full Measure” is a heartbreaking, yet great, film, Pitsenbarger was a United …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/02/28/movie-review-the-last-full-measure/
Feb 28 2020
By Steve Hathcock The oldest records of beer brewing date back 6000 years to the time of the Sumerians and the ancient cities of Babylon and Ur. Though they probably discovered the fermentation process by chance, (perhaps a piece of bread or grain became wet and a short time later began to ferment) they quickly …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/02/28/rio-history-a-brief-history-of-beer/
Feb 21 2020
By David Lee Zamora Special to the Parade Sonic the Hedgehog, a blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speed, hence the name, first appeared in 1991, in the video game Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic is the main protagonist in almost all of the games in the series, spanning well over 90 games and many …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/02/21/movie-review-sonic-the-hedgehog/
March 6, 2020
March 6, 2020
