OysterMom tales of raising premium nurtured oysters

Somewhere along in the 1960's, my grandmother Anna Keller bought a shinny new white Chevy Impala with red leather interior.  She saw it on the car lot and bought it right then and there.  The thing was, she had never driven a car.  It had just gotten to the point in her long independent feisty life that she wanted her own transport.   She enlisted help from a neighbor to teach her the basics and a few days later showed up at our house that was 100 miles to the west.  This was not the first time Anna had surprised us with her strength as a single mom.  She had raised her 12 brothers and sisters and my dad with firm ear pulling and fine example. Last year at the start of my own Oyster Aquaculture operation, husband Jack informed me his boat was NOT a working boat and would not be available to me for oystering nor would he be dedicating his time to serve as captain. I scrolled through Craigslist and other boat classified ads each night u...

I noticed him in the fall of 2015.  He came to an oyster meeting and stood out from all the rest because of his interest and aptitude.  He is tall, young, cute and ready to be an oyster farmer as his main occupation.  He started working for Sharon over on Alligator Harbor and I was sad -- because she nabbed him first. Then he had a car accident. A very bad accident.  I followed his recovery on his fathers Facebook page.  It was heart breaking.  We all wondered if he'd ever walk again.  But this was Reid. And Reid masters everything and overcomes obstacles.  He has recovered and is walking and is so amazing. I met him and his father at a Wakulla Environmental Institute event in the spring -- and asked if he would help me.  We exchanged numbers.  Months later -- in July, Reid started working for me.  It was like a dream come true.  His youth and vitality. His knowledge of the water - his boat - and the oysters is such ...

It is true.  I have crabs.  Blue Crabs. Stone Crabs.  Some are as small as a lentil seed.  And the ones I found this weekend, hunkered down in my diploid oyster baskets were 5inches or more when they were flailing their claws at me.  They managed to eat enough of my oysters to grow to that enormous size inside the basket.  They bullied out all the other crabs so they could have it all to themselves.  One crab per basket. So what kind of life is that for a crab?  They have a bounty of food - until they consume it all. They are protected from crab eating predators. They are alone.  No mating if they've pushed all the other crabs out. And how do they survive the 24 hours the baskets are lifted to de-foul every week?  As I opened each basket and dumped the contents into a bin, the crab would scurry to a corner, claws spread wide ready to attack.   I would flip it into the water after giving...

It is official.  OysterMom is a Certified Shellfish Processor and open to sell my - or anyone else's farmed oysters!    OPEN FOR BUSINESS!  Thanks to Frank and Anne Ashcroft, I have a corner behind B&B Sporting Goods at 1139 E. Tennessee Street in downtown Tallahassee in a place we fondly refer to as Oyster Alley. Cooler in place. Binder with page after page of records I must keep, WIFI, remote temperature gauges to monitor the cooler's every temperature shift, hand washing sinks, paper towels, toilet paper and hot water all in order as required by the State of FL Division of Aquaculture. I'm out peddling my oysters and taking orders. Come see me.  We'll shuck a few and tell tales of the sea.