As we look forward to clam digging this October here on the beach, it seems like such a long time since the spring tides for some of us. Anticipating fresh golden battered deep-fried clams. Savory minced clam fritters and piping hot homemade clam chowder to chase away the onset of rain that comes with October.

Just when the long lines of tourists coming into the North Beach were becoming a memory, the clam tides will once again remind us we live in a vacation destination. Fall weather is sometimes peculiar at the beach. We can go from an extreme of sunshine and 73 degrees, to fog and drizzle the next day. Okay, maybe it doesn’t sound extreme to a non-local, but 73 and sunny is a warm day at the beach!

Clam digging is a tradition for us. Generations of families have passed down the clam shovel to the next eager digger. I remember moving into Ed and Betty Werner’s Oyehut home and finding the old hand crank mincer in the garage. At first, I thought it was one of Grandpa’s tools from the garage that had somehow ended up in the kitchen. But it was described in great detail how it was used to mince clams for canning, fritters and chowder. (It also minced game for sausage, but that’s a whole other story).

There were also much-loved clam net bags tied to faded leather belts, and a bucket of clam shovels with handles worn smooth over time. It was almost a rite of passage when you were old enough to have your own clam license to pin on your hat. But that also meant you had to dig your own limit.

My husband and family were born and raised here, and clam digging is in their DNA. It is impressive to watch them in the surf digging a limit so quickly. My son has inherited the talent and is an expert digger, counting the waves, not turning his back to the ocean, all of the true makings of a beach kid. And all though I was not born here. I learned to make an exceptional chowder. With the bacon grease left in — of course — just like Grandma Betty taught me.

Share your favorite clam digging story, memory or recipe with me for my series “Clam Chronicles” at onebusibee@outlook.com

The first weekend for digging will be October 6th and 7th.

Both evening digs. So, gather the family, get the net bags and shovels or clam guns out again for the season and enjoy rich bounty of life “On the Beach.”