I don't know what makes me think of things . . . our resident pyschologist sometimes says I'm "manic" . . . but that's not an official diagnosis. It's that whole "Helen" gene . . . I start talking . . . get reminded of something else . . . so I just ramble. I'm trying really hard just to remember to write these thoughts down for blog subjects as I think of them . . . you know . . . rather than just rambling . . . like this one started out!
Hammerhead sharks are the subjects for today . . . hammerhead sharks!
Kind of a silly looking shark if you ask me . . . don't let THAT fool you . . . these guys are quite dangerous . . . grow up to 13' long . . . and sometimes run in packs!
In June of 1975 I watched the movie Jaws . . . 12 years old . . . and was so terrified by the movie that it took years for me to actually get back in the ocean . . . at least the deep part! But then I turned 21 . . . forgot all about the movie for a while (because there were no TV stations around that ran movies secondhand . . . or many repeats for that matter) . . . became bulletproof . . . moved to Florida . . . didn't give thought to much of anything really.
I spent a lot of time in the waters off the coast of Florida . . . near Crystal River . . . because I lived there for a while. Needless to say, I did a lot of fishing . . . learned to love fishing out there off the oyster beds. One of the guys I dated down there thought it was time I learned to catch scallops . . . a most delicious mollusk that some people refer to as clams.
Now I'd had scallops to eat in earlier years and loved them, but I had no idea where they came from. Someone once told me that most scallops weren't the "real" kind . . . some people just cut skate (that's like a stingray) into rounds and called them scallops. I just assumed that's what it was anyway.
No . . . scallops are actually like clams . . . a bivalve animal housed in a double-sided shell. Unlike oysters, however, you don't eat them raw . . . at least I don't.
So we were out in the Gulf one day, and he mentions the scallops, so I get excited about fresh scallops . . . there's just nothing like fresh seafood . . . fresh anything for that matter! Now I'm still thinking about the skate that's been cut into round pieces, so I don't really have a clue, and when he handed me the net, I was a little puzzled. I just figured we'd be using the spear guns. Of course, he laughed . . . said "You'll understand when you get down there. And just so you know, you're looking for shells like oysters lying on the sand underwater . . . not skate."
So, donning my fins and mask and grabbing the net, I swam off in search of the elusive scallop. The water was pretty shallow . . . about up to my chest when I was standing . . . but you can't see underwater if you're walking through it . . . so you swim with a mask and snorkel. Easy to do since you're mostly on the surface anyway.
As I was making my way through some sea grass, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye . . . then another and another. At first it scared me since . . . after all . . . I WAS in the ocean. But then I watched as this shell, about the size of my fist, sort of flew in front of me!
And I understood the net!!
Most of these shell-housed bivalve creatures make their way through the ocean by sucking in then squirting out a jet of water . . . opening and closing their shells.
That net was to catch them on the run if I couldn't pick them up from the bottom of the ocean floor. By the time I really got the hang of it, I had nearly filled my net . . . not paying a bit of attention to where I was swimming.
Then I stood up to orient myself . . . the boat was quite a ways away . . . I'd swum about 3 or 4football field lengths away from it. No worries . . . I was a strong swimmer . . . the water wasn't deep . . . it was mostly sandy . . . I could walk back if I had to.
The first fin appeared to my right . . .
. . . a small dorsal cutting through the water.
No big deal . . . one shark . . . it looked to be about 3 or 4 feet long. I could smack it in the nose if I had to. It was that funny looking hammerhead anyway . . . the shark with a small mouth.
I started swimming toward the boat . . . keeping my eyes on the shark . . . just in case.
The second one appeared out of nowhere . . . in my peripheral vision . . .
. . . I stood up to see where I was . . .
. . . still a long way to go!
Again, the second one wasn't very big . . . 'bout the same size as the first . . . but there were now two. I knew these sharks sometimes traveled with others, so I grew a little more concerned. Started walking toward the boat . . . watching their fins.
The water in that area was crystal clear, and the sun was shining, so I had great visual.
They disappeared into the distance, so I figured it was safe to swim again . . . and I headed toward the boat with my net still in hand . . . full of scallops . . . keeping an eye on the boat as I swam . . . trying not to panic and cause further commotion in the water.
Watched as another hammerhead crossed my path . . . and panic set in a little deeper . . . made it hard to actually breath. I stood . . . dropping my net in the process and started walking toward the boat . . . reaching it before before anything hit me . . . but without my scallops!!
Boyfriend nowhere to be seen! He appeared some time later . . . a huge cache of scallops for dinner . . . inquired about mine. I told him about the sharks, and he found it a little funny that such small ones scared me so bad . . . he'd seen a couple himself.
Dinner that night was scallops . . . of course . . . along with some fish we'd caught while out there.
It did take me a little while to actually get back in the water, but it didn't deter me for long.
Scallops are tricky to cook . . . you want a fine sear on the outside, but you don't want to overcook the inside! They are delicious when done right . . . little salt and pepper . . . some olive oil . . . the right heat . . . served with drawn butter. Yeah . . . I'm thinking that's what I'm having for dinner tonight!
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