Oyster Blog — News from Here

but don't worry, snow is still a long ways off. Several weeks ago we lost our camera's battery charger. Since then, we've had to rely on our friends for blog photos. Today we finally bit the bullet and ordered a new charger online, so we'll have current photos to share with you soon. But in the meantime, check out this beautiful shot that Chris shared with us last week. It's a photo, taken last winter, of the Hamma Hamma valley. You can see the metal roof of our live tank storage building along the shore.

Noctiluca, the dinoflagellate that caused a red algal bloom in the Canal last month, courtesy of Pete Becker. Oyster larvae, courtesy of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

Yesterday was the hottest day in Washington State's recorded history, and we celebrated the 100 degree weather by water skiing. We don't ski very often, so we had to improvise our equipment: We used the farm's 16 foot Boston Whaler for a ski boat, and tied a broken axe handle to a rope to create a ski rope. Luckily, we have a couple of pairs of legitimate water skis left over from the 1980s. Everyone agreed that water skiing is refreshingly fun, easy enough to pick up after a decade-long haitus, and really hard on the lower back. A north...

...aka pickleweed, glasswort, salicornia, marsh samphire, sea asparagus. Sea beans, a crunchy, salty sea vegetable, thrive in estuaries up and down the Canal.  But even though they're ubiquitous, they're not part of the Lilliwaup food culture. Most people around here don't even know the plant is edible. A field of sea beans on the HH delta: And up close: These pictures were taken a few days ago, and the beans are already in bloom. They're best when young and tender, in late May and June. You can eat them raw, fried, steamed, or pickled. We prefer them pickled, but also...