26:52 Dear Clam - a photo on Flickriver

26:52 Dear Clam

            For four years, I’ve been walking these beaches and never knew you were there.  Occasionally, I would see oblong golden shells scattered in the sand, but I didn’t really know who had occupied them or where.  Not until Blanca discovered you the other morning.  I came over to see what was holding her interest, and to my supreme astonishment there you were sticking out of the sand, moving and even squirting water!

I stood there staring at you in total amazement, trying to figure out what you are, and I felt exactly like an astronaut meeting the first alien life on another planet!  It’s a compass experience, such an encounter, a reconnecting as a whole to the magnetic north of life itself.  My mind was as blank as the smooth and shiny beach, completely free of any preconceived concepts about you.  The only thing that existed in that moment was what my fully alert senses could gather about you.

I began to recognize you as the inhabitant of those shells I had seen and understood that presently 90% of you was buried below.  Not only do you live inside a fortress, but then you also hide in the sand.  Actually, to tell you the truth, I strive to be a clam, shut tight and buried deep, until no one even knows where I am.  Still, even you need to show your tender parts sometimes and interact with the world to sustain yourself.  Beneath that quiet morning sun, I was deeply moved to witness the secret unclamming of a kindred spirit.

Be a pale and unsung traveler in golden armor!
Claudia

Taken in: United States / Oregon / Nesika Beach (show map)

Taken on: June 24, 2017

Tags:

Oregon

Pacific razor clam

coast

low tide

bivalve mollusk

Siliqua patula

live

siphon

bivalve mollusc « less

Sets appears in: • Oregon wildlife • Love Letters 2017

Camera: Nikon D750, f/2.0, 1/4000 sec, 35mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D750
Lens:	35.0 mm f/2.0
Aperture:	f/2.0
Exposure Time:	1/4000 sec
Focal Length:	35mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Manual
Light Source:	Fine Weather
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 13.0 (Windows)
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