My cousins and I went clam-digging yesterday! Some of my family's friends were going, and they invited my family to go. None of my siblings went, though, because they remember too clearly the last time we went clam-digging. Under the heading of, "Clam-digging," in their mental file cabinets is inscribed the phrase, "Not Good," in cold, sandy, dripping letters. Noble remembers crying outside the car because it was locked and the wind was blowing. I wanted to go anyway, and Kimberly and Aimee had never gone before so they weren't prejudiced. My parents went because the company was good. :)

To fight off the cold, we cut holes in the linings of our hats (matching cousin hats!) and put little hand-warmer packs inside for our ears. We all wore three layers, including a layer of raingear to hold back the wind. Mr. G showed us how to find the holes, which side of the hole to stand on, how to use our shovels, which side of the clam to grab, etc.

You start out with a tiny dimple in the sand. Press your foot down gently next to it in order to make the sand a little drier there. If water comes out of the hole right after that, then you probably have a clam! Put the back of your shovel toward the ocean, and dig as fast as you can for a foot or so. If you don't have it then, throw yourself onto the ground and plunge your hand into the hole.  Dig frantically, casting sand everywhere as you grapple to touch the prey. Suddenly, if you were fast enough, your hand meets hard shell! Grab it quick. It wants to get away. It's tunneling to China! Then the tip of it is in your hand. Hold tight! With your other hand, you keep hauling away the sand. You practically can claim this clam, unless the ocean decides to enter the ring. If you suddenly feel the water swirling into your boots, your rain gear, and your hole, hold onto the clam! If you can keep it until the water recedes, you have it. Life is against you, though. Water stays in holes a fairly long time, and guess what your hand is in! You are even more likely to let go of the clam if your cousin reaches into the hole and touches your hand. Cousins do excellent impressions of Sand Creatures from the Deep.

Clam-digging is very good exercise...I hope that we like clams. We have 75.