A New Wardrobe!

  Today, Mark saw that a crab in one of the traps was "busting".  This is the term most folks around here use to describe a crab that is on the verge of molting.  This molting involves a good deal of work for the crab but does indeed make for a delicious meal for anyone lucky enough to find one immediately after the deed is done.  This stage of a crab's life is called "soft-shell" stage and it is during this time that the crab can be grilled or fried and eaten whole. (Whole being a relative term since the crab is "cleaned".  The innards and the "face" are usually removed.)   Since Mark was not going to be home for a few hours, it was to be up to me to be on "crab watch".  I would have to be there at the precise moment the crab exited his old shell so I could retrieve him and clean him.  Otherwise, the crab's shell would soon start to harden and become a "paper-shell".  While paper-shells are still edible, they are not as desirable as the soft-shells.

  Since I had to be on the pier watching that crab anyway, I decided to make a record of the process.  I figured that it could be a learning situation for anyone who has never seen this before. This took a lot of patience since crabs are not the fastest critters in the world at doing anything and this molting is sort of in slow motion even for them.  It took nigh on an hour for the crab to break free from his old shell.  

  Needless to say, Mark was extremely happy to come home to a nice, cleaned soft-shell crab in the refrigerator.  It did not take long before that crab became lunch for a hungry man!