Background: clams like mud and the Fundy Bay has large areas of red, sticky mud. One tee shirt shop will sell you a white tee shirt that you coat with this red mud in a barrel on the store porch and they guarantee it won't wash out.
I headed down the rocky beach and into the mud. Keep moving and it is not too hard to walk through; however, stand still for a couple minutes and you get trapped. More on this later.
Success was immediate! It ain't rocket science. Find a small hole in the mud, stick the shovel in 6 to 8 inches, flip the mud, and find the clam. Of course a shovel full of mud is heavy and the clams are mixed in with rocks, plus your feet are sinking.
The long shot of the beach with me starting my dig.
His parents had questions about clamming and using my vast knowledge and experience acquired over the previous 45 minutes (I failed to disclose the depth of my experience) I answered their questions. I have long known that being considered an expert is all about presentation.
By this time both the little boy and I had settled into the mud. When he started to panic I reached over to help free a boot. He fell over and acquired a generous coat of the famous Fundy mud. I returned him to the safety of the beach in a condition unsuitable for car travel. His parents took things with good grace. I suspect it was not his first foray into grime. I packed it up and returned to the car which De Anne had stocked with plastic for this eventuality. Sometimes there is difficulty distinguishing between boys and men.
As we departed we watched the parents searching for a water spigot.
If you kill it, you eat it
Note to Lee: knife is still being put to good use.
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