Foraging for shellfish is one of Alex's great pleasures of vacationing oceanside. It's always happenstance when he comes across a bed of something tasty, so the method for digging is a bit untraditional. Here's how Alex, and later me, dug for clams yesterday on Planting Island causeway near Marion, Massachusetts.
1) Negotiate with the five year old for the use of her green plastic shovel.
2) Look for the telltale bubbles in sand that indicate something is breathing under the sand. Abandon the shovel and dig your fingers into the cold black muck.
3) Cheer when you pull up a quahog.
4) Be distracted when you find a whole conch, with dead animal inside. Try to remove animal because it reeks.
5) When your fingers are frozen, find a plastic sack in the car to hold your bounty. Make plans to cook chowder.
