Look at that pretty girl flashing her painted nails (claws) at us.
I know, I know, it has been a year since I said I was going to start this blog, I guess it is safe to say that I can be a bit of a procrastinator. It has been an exciting year with much to share with you, but I had such a charming interaction with a fine young man from North Carolina that I need to jump right in with this.
One of the cool things that has happened in the past year is that I have become a docent at the Coastal Discovery Museum here on the island, so look forward to more about this in future posts. This morning I was the co-leader on the Blue Crab Discovery Tour where we teach guests about the importance of the Atlantic Blue Crab, the crab’s life cycle, and their importance as members of the coastal ecosystem. playing a role as both predators and prey.
On our way to the floating dock on the salt marsh to pull some crab pots, we stopped to discuss other life in the salt marsh, including fiddler crabs. Male fiddlers have one large and one small claw; I asked if anyone knew what happened if the boy fiddlers lost their one big claw, expecting the answer that I usually get: that they die. Lucas, a young man of about 8 from N.C., guessed very earnestly, “they turn into girls?”
Everyone was silent a moment before bursting into laughter, both at Lucas’ reply and the surprise on my face. “Well, Miss Mary, ya got an answer for the boy?,” piped up the second docent, bringing another round of laughter. I explained how the remaining small claw grows to become the big claw, with a brand new small claw growing to replace the missing limb.
Pulling the crab pots.
Each tour ends with the guests learning how to collect, cook, clean, and eat a Blue Crab. And what did I do while the other docent was heating the water to cook the crabs? I took Lucas down into the salt marsh to play with the fiddlers. Happy day!!
This boy is playing his fiddle for us.
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