The Office

The office has a nice land view. But really, being able to process the oysters on the float saves time and sanity. This time of year there are few people around and it is often a solitary experience to be at the office. I find odd music to listen to while I cull, wash, then bag. Sometimes there are odd people to listen to too. As the weather warms over the spring there will be increased traffic and visitors who will come up and ask what we're doing there: "What are you people doing?!" "Working," is one reasonable response, but sometimes we remember to say, "Living the dream."

But it is not all beer and skittles. For instance, yesterday was wet and windy. Squall after squall moved from the south, bringing along with it 15-minute periods of 30 knot southerlies and big raindrops (which travel at least 30 knots into my face...faster if underway into it). On the boat this weather makes working somewhat challenging as things fall over, waves crash over the transom, and hauling the oysters gets a bit dangerous (what's the water temp?... 45 to 50 perhaps). Back at the office (the float) things are a more stable in these conditions, but moving crates and things from the boat to the office, and vice versa, I might look like Harold Lloyd trying to scale rooftops.

Right now the oysters are coming alive as evidenced by some nice new growth along the edges. Just in time. The bay is also alive with fish (flounder, smelt, alewife, and some stripers). Gannets diving, hungry gulls fly about, and my bare hands don't hurt anymore when in the water.