One of our neighbors, Brian invited us to accompany him on a "clamming" trip and we gladly took him up on it. Our education on life by the sea continues. The timing revolves around the tide - it has to be out so that the clam beds are exposed. We traveled to a rocky beach in beautiful Deep Bay and walked out to the waters edge. Brian prefers digging clams in the rocks because the clams are hampered or limited in their escape routes by the very rocks they live in and around. On a sand flat they are too hard to catch. How does something with no arms and legs escape through dense wet sand anyway?
We picked a spot, carefully removing some of the rocks and started to dig blindly in the sand and water. It's all by touch. Sometimes you get rocks or shells full of sand, but you also get clams.
There were 3 varieties found that day; Shortneck, Manilla and Butter clams. You have to have a saltwater fishing license to dig clams and the number you can take is limited. On this particular day Brian was the licensed "clammer" and his limit was 75 Manilla clams and 12 Oysters.
Clams collected and rocks carefully replaced, we moved on in search of the oysters and Brian knew where to look. In no time we had collected 12 large shells. No digging blindly for these guys - they're totally exposed.
I can't help including a couple of scenic shots. The snow covered mountains inland and the starfish that were everywhere. Beach outings are always a feast for the senses.
And speaking of feasts, back at Brian's the oysters still in their shells went into a pot of boiling water and then partly cooked they're pried from their shells. A quick rinse and saute in butter and garlic - yum! Roy and I enjoy shellfish, but to go out and actually catch them fresh is double the treat. We now have our own fishing license and are loving life by the sea.
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