Chicken Leg on a String (Crabbing on Cape Cod with Laurun) or Better Yet, Gathering for Bruises!

Yesterday I awoke at dawn and wrote a short article about a turtle laying eggs...it took some patience on my part because the turtle was not very cooperative with this egg laying business and we had several false starts.  Little did I know that the patience I achieved would later pay off the following day when I went crabbing with Laurun.

Laurun had emailed me several days before and and said she had Wednesday off from work and wanted to  know if I wanted to go clamming... without hesitation I replied yes.  Digging for clams sounded like a great adventure.  But then a day later in a phone call, Laurun mournfully said that due to the tides, digging for clams was out but would I like to go crabbing the old fashion way with a chicken leg on a string.  That sounded like that could be fun too and so I agreed to meet her at her house at 9 A. M. 

Arriving a 8:54, I was surprised that coffee was brewing and her van loaded with our crabbing supplies...Laurun is one of the most organized people I have ever met.  After a tour of her eclectic home and the grounds on which it resides, I met her son Joe, a budding 22 year old artist.  

Loved her bathroom with all kinds of quotes on the wall.  Mighty fine reading when you are sitting on the john. 

Laurun at her workstation. 

Besides clamming, crabbing, cooking, gardening and boating, Laurun when she isn't working or going to school, is a painter.  She showed me some of her fine watercolors. 

With freshly brewed coffee in our hands, we headed out for Laurun's secret Crab Creek.  I promised her that I would not divulge the whereabouts of this hidden place...though it's off Route 6A...someone close to Hyannis where she resides.  First stop was a bakery to buy fine breads to nourish us.... 

and then a quick stop at a grocery store to buy a package of chicken legs. 

Twenty minutes later we arrive at our destination....a small creek that runs into the sea.  We park our car near a bridge and proceed to unpack our gear:  buckets, nets, chicken, string.  Laurun shows me how to tie the chicken on the string after I read the crabbing rules that are posted.

Then it's into the creek we go.... 

I am a novice at handling a net. 

We do this for probably over an hour....Laurun has some success, but I have little. 

Then Laurun decides to go over on the other side of the bridge...the platform  that extends over the creek  has been vacated.  I, on the other hand become entranced with some Chinese folks from Hong Kong.  Though I know not a word of Chinese, I can understand their excitement.

After watching for awhile, I too, join Laurun on the dock.  Soon, we are joined by a Grandfather and his two grandbabies from Florida.  Grandmother is on the shore  under a tree  sketching.   I decide to take a picture of Gram...and that's when I fell into the creek....bruising my leg...huge scratches all up and down my  right leg...but you'll have to go to Lauren's site for those pictures!

  Back to crabbing....

Crabbing from this dock we meet with huge success...the crabs are just grabbing the chicken legs.... 

Laurun netting a crab..... 

In the end, we capture 20 blue crabs.....

Arriving back at Lauren's we put them in a pan and steam them. 

At 4:30, I head home....exhausted, bruised but feeling quite positive about the whole adventure...crab salad tonight and perhaps some crab cakes!