Routine or Not?

I don't think you could hardly consider three blog posts in a row, routine. But the fact is I am making the attempt to come back and get to the writing again. Of course, though, life sometimes gets in the way of that. My DSs 3, 4, and me are heading out to go scalloping this week.

For those of you who have no idea what that is...I am going to leave you with a recap post (with a few updates) from a couple of years ago:

OK, I've had a couple of people ask, "Just HOW do you scallop?" Sooooo...for anyone who is not from the Gulf Coast of Florida, here's how:

1. You must have the proper "equipment". This includes a snorkel, mask, fins, and mesh net or bag. You must also have a red "dive flag". Water shoes are helpful for the "ewwww" factor when you step into underwater grassbeds--if you don't wear fins. We like to use "noodles" to float on as well occasionally. I also use a small net for "scooping"...but the rest of my family just grabs them by hand (I'm getting ahead of myself.).


The photo on the left is my Dad and DS 3 showing off their "scalloping gear". DS 3 was four or five years old at the time. He's now 6'2" and almost 15! Aren't they a fine looking pair?

2. In the Gulf, you cannot start scalloping until July 1st. The season ends Sept. 10th, but let me just say the waters are CRAWLING with people scalloping during the first week of July. The picture to the right shows my DSs 1, 2, and 4 in 2000 going out to the Scallop grounds in Steinhatchee which is Northern Florida.


3. We go about a mile or two out into the Gulf where the seagrass beds are in about 4 - 8 feet of water. The trick to catching them is to FIND them! On sunny days, the sun seems to shine on their eyes which are all along the inside of their shells. Otherwise, they can blend in with the grass pretty well. Once you see one, you scoop it up and put it in your bag. The bag allows you to stay under water for quite a while so you can collect several.

4. When you catch them, you put them on ice so they will open up. Some are more"stubborn" than others and open very little if at all. The limit in Florida for whole scallops is 2 gallons per day per person---or 10 gallons per boat. The limit for shelled scallops is 1 pint of meat per day...think about that...2 gallons with the shells is roughly equal to two small "school size" milk cartons! The photo on the left shows DS 4 "dumping" our catch into the cooler when he was probably 2 or 3 years old.


5. Now the "FUN" part is CLEANING the darn things! DS 4 loved exploring them as a child.

6. You can open the scallop by sticking a spoon or a knife at the back part near the hinges. You kind of slide the knife around the opening carefully and it will "lift away" the shell. If you hold the dark side up, you won't ruin the meat inside.


7. The "innards" look like this:


This is the "tricky" part. If you take your knife and gently pull the "gross" stuff ...that's the dark brownish/yellowish "junk"... away from the muscle that's in the middle of the shell...it's possible to pull it off in one fell swoop (as Grandma would say). And speaking of Grandma, the photo just above is my Grandma and me scooping the GUTS out of the scallops while DS 4 looks on. Doesn't she look THRILLED??


8. When you get the "goop" out, there is a nice white muscle left. It looks like this:



You just scoop it out and you're ready to COOK them and EAT THEM!



It's a lot of work, but it's a lot of fun, too. If you want to skip steps 5 - 8, and just do the "eating", then you can pay for someone at a dock to do them for you. They are FAST and sometimes it's worth it.



So, if any of you are in or near the Gulf Coast of Florida from Homosassa up to Steinhatchee from July 1st though Sept. 10th, you can go "get yourself some supper"!



{Note: I borrowed the close-up scallop pictures from this website. I just thought I'd go ahead and paste them here to preserve my directions for years to come! Plus that, I thought I'd send my extended family into total shock that I would post this little "how-to" manual!}

Until I return...

Stop #1 on our tour...

Homosassa Florida!

Here are the pictures from scalloping. For a picture of Danielle and me, head over to her post, It's All About Relationships where she so graciously cropped our picture! My picture of us is on my stepmother's camera. I'll have it later when she uploads her photos.

Scalloping 101

OK, I've had a couple of people ask, "Just HOW do you scallop?" Sooooo...for anyone who is not from the Gulf Coast of Florida, here's how:

1. You must have the proper "equipment". This includes a snorkel, mask, fins, and mesh net or bag. You must also have a red "dive flag". Water shoes are helpful for the "ewwww" factor when you step into underwater grassbeds--if you don't wear fins. We like to use "noodles" to float on as well occasionally. I also use a small net for "scooping"...but the rest of my family just grabs them by hand (I'm getting ahead of myself.).

The photo on the left is my Dad and DS 3 showing off their "scalloping gear". Aren't they a fine looking pair?

2. In the Gulf, you cannot start scalloping until July 1st. The season ends Sept. 10th, but let me just say the waters are CRAWLING with people scalloping during the first week of July. The picture to the right shows my DSs 1, 2, and 4 in 2000 going out to the Scallop grounds in Steinhatchee which is Northern Florida.

3. We go about a mile or two out into the Gulf where the seagrass beds are in about 4 - 8 feet of water. The trick to catching them is to FIND them! On sunny days, the sun seems to shine on their eyes which are all along the inside of their shells. Otherwise, they can blend in with the grass pretty well. Once you see one, you scoop it up and put it in your bag. The bag allows you to stay under water for quite a while so you can collect several.

4. When you catch them, you put them on ice so they will open up. Some are more"stubborn" than others and open very little if at all. The limit in Florida for whole scallops is 2 gallons per day per person---or 10 gallons per boat. The limit for shelled scallops is 1 pint of meat per day...think about that...2 gallons with the shells is roughly equal to two small "school size" milk cartons! The photo on the left shows DS 4 "dumping" our catch into the cooler.

5. Now the "FUN" part is CLEANING the darn things!

6. You can open the scallop by sticking a spoon or a knife at the back part near the hinges. You kind of slide the knife around the opening carefully and it will "lift away" the shell. If you hold the dark side up, you won't ruin the meat inside.

7. The "innards" look like this:

This is the "tricky" part. If you take your knife and gently pull the "gross" stuff ...that's the dark brownish/yellowish "junk"... away from the muscle that's in the middle of the shell...it's possible to pull it off in one fell swoop (as Grandma would say). And speaking of Grandma, the photo just above is my Grandma and me scooping the GUTS out of the scallops while DS 4 looks on. Doesn't she look THRILLED??

8. When you get the "goop" out, there is a nice white muscle left. It looks like this:

You just scoop it out and you're ready to EAT THEM!

It's a lot of work, but it's a lot of fun, too. If you want to skip steps 5 - 8, and just do the "eating", then you can pay for someone at a dock to do them for you. They are FAST and sometimes it's worth it.

So, if any of you are in or near the Gulf Coast of Florida from Homosassa up to Steinhatchee from July 1st though Sept. 10th, you can go "get yourself some supper"!

{Note: I borrowed the close-up scallop pictures from this website. I just thought I'd go ahead and paste them here to preserve my directions for years to come! Plus that, I thought I'd send my extended family into total shock that I would post this little "how-to" manual!}

Wordless Wednesday--Water Fun

Face Your Fears

DS 4 is a "fretter". He frets over things long before they happen. I don't know where he gets it...maybe his Mother...but he does it nonetheless. I have tried to help him see that what we worry about usually doesn't happen. We went scalloping this week. Some combination of my family usually goes to join my extended family at "The River" to go on this adventure in July each year.

Last year, DS 4 went, but he decided that he did not want to go "out"...so he stayed at the house and fished off the dock. He was not a confident swimmer then and has only begun to develop into a more able swimmer recently. Still, he has been fretting over scalloping for this year since early Summer. We have been talking about this trip for quite some time.

So, as the week rolled around, the fretting escalated. He told me on the way up there, "Mom, I don't know if I am going to scallop or not. I may just fish." Knowing that sometimes you have to push them past their fretting, I told him, "No, this year, you are going to go scalloping. We have "noodles" to float on and there will be a lot of us out there. You'll be fine." The first day out, he got right in the water fins, mask and all. Once he discovered the undersea world, he really didn't want to come back into the boat. He had a ball swimming around the boat hunting for scallops, sponges, crabs, and starfish.

After about four hours of searching for scallops...only to find about 20 (see Greg's Blog about this)...we returned to shore. On the way back in, DS 4 was sitting in my lap with the wind blowing in our faces.

He was quiet as if he was trying to soak it all in. Then, suddenly, he turned to me and said, "You know Mom, you were right, I should have scalloped this year. It's kind of like Dad said yesterday."

Not really understanding what he was talking about, I asked, "What did Dad say yesterday?"

He replied, "You know, he said, 'you've got to face your fears.' And I have plenty of fears to face."

I was suddenly reminded that DH preached on the story of Jonah and the Whale during church the day before. He talked about Jonah being afraid to go to Ninevah and running from God. His point...you have to face your fears. You cannot run from God or your circumstances.

I called DH at home that night to tell him that at least "one little person was listening to his sermon yesteday."

I sat reflecting on this 7 year-old boy who has grasped such wisdom...He's right, you know, we DO have to face our fears!

It's Fishin Time!

I got a call from son #4 today. He is with his 2 Grandparents, 2 brothers, 1 Uncle, 2 Aunts, and 2 cousins at the "river". They are fishing and scalloping on this holiday weekend.

He dropped a line last night and caught a fish. He made sure to tell me that it was a catfish and his was 18" while his bigger brother's was only 14". He also made sure that I understood that he picked up the pole again at "2:27 today and there were no fish out at that time." But, he's hopeful that things will change around 4:00 and they'll come around again.

It's all in the details, you know?

I learned some things from him today.

• Size matters when you're six-years-old. (For that matter, it matters when you're 40!)
• Success one time doesn't mean you'll have success in subsequent attempts.
• We have to trust that things might be different at a later time and date and have the faith to try then.

And, I suppose the biggest lesson of all:

• NEVER fish at 2:27!

Have fun, son!!!