My first Thanksgiving

Bivalves, poetry and deep thanks

There is a bit of before and after Thanksgiving in this post… and today’s post is mainly about oysters! That is my most abiding Thanksgiving memory.

My first celebration of Thanksgiving in the US. Today there is barely a breath of wind and the jagged tops of the Cascade mountains are suspended above a roll of dense white cloud that seems to be reclining on top of the valley below. A wide band of brightly illuminated sky lights up the snowy peaks making them gleam while above that a band of fuzzy edged grey cloud reaches up almost unbroken to the heavens. There’s the odd spot of lightness. It’s like a stage curtain that got stuck, revealing the scenery behind.

We’ve been invited to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends close by and we’ll head off middle day to join the preparations and celebrations. The first course will be oysters. I had never eaten oysters until I started visiting this area.

Taylor Shellfish Market and Oyster Bar

Yesterday we took a spin out to Taylor Shellfish Market and Oyster Bar on Chuckanut Drive in pursuit of some oyster shucking gloves. Don’t you just love the word ‘shucking?!’ And I’m not the only one, that enjoys the word, take a look at this super cool indie book store in Edison.

Book Shucker, indie bookshop in Edison

I digress. Oysters.

Oysters you can buy are mostly farmed. Washington State is the US’ largest producer of farmed oysters, clams and mussels. The shellfish industry is a cornerstone of Western Washington’s rural economy. Thank you Wikipedia.

Shucking oysters (getting the oyster out of its shell) is a skill I haven’t attempted but Paul is quite adept and has volunteered to sous chef at the Thanksgiving Dinner. The shells are hard and bruising if you slip. There’s a specific oyster shucking knife to prize them open. The gleaming polished inner of the shell becomes a beautiful, fully sustainable serving platter for these tiny bivalves.

Oyster shucking

Today, Monday, as I come back to complete, edit and publish this newsletter, I was reading the information boards I photographed and reflecting more on the oysters and their lives, after eating them at Thanksgiving.

To my surprise, the language of oyster farming beguiles me. I’ve always enjoyed being in the presence of those with a deep well of knowledge and appreciation for their chosen subject. I am irresistibly drawn to the way they light up as they get into their subject. Something of that passion rubs off.

I tend to surface dive into diverse subjects, enjoying splashing around in the shallows for a while before moving on to something else, often led from one to another by tangential connections. Though one subject has had me captivated from a young age: the human condition. I think I will be exploring this until my last breath.

Where was I? Oysters. Yes. I made a poem out of the wondrous language of oyster farming.

Bivalve Life Cycle

At the hatcheries ,
broadcast spawners,
spawn in late Spring.
The seed,
no bigger than a
grain of sand.
Eggs and sperm release
into the water column.
Nature sees to fertilization.
Free-swimming larvae,
with mouth-like 
ciliated appendage,
named velum, 
go swimming.
In just two weeks
Oyster grows.
First a
straight-hinge veliger,
more swimming,
then a late veliger,
now swimming and crawling, 
a pediveliger appears.
Spat settling, 
Attaching to oyster shells.
1-3 years to adulting.
At 6 years
harvested
sold
shucked and
chucked down 
a human gullet.

© Juliet Fay, 2024

The scaffolding for the poem were the phrases I enjoyed from the Information Boards. Thanks and a shout out to poet, Elizabeth Austen whose love and sharing of poetic improvisation recently, inspired this poem today.  
Also thank you to Taylor Shellfish for your generosity in creating the information boards and sharing your specialist knowledge:-

Taylor Shellfish Information Board.

As ever, I look for parallels between South West Wales and Skagit Valley. Some I am learning about after leaving. For instance I didn’t know there has been an oyster trade in Mumbles in Swansea, Wales, UK since Roman times. It all but died out in the 1920s because of a dirth of oysters due to pollution. Recently there have been efforts to restore the oyster beds with oysters from Scotland. You can read all about the history of oysters in Mumbles here.

Here are more Taylor Shellfish info boards for those who like to learn more about oyster farming in the Pacific Northwest.

Taylor Shellfish Information Boards

Processing machinery also fascinates me. A one time organic poultry farmer and vegetable grower, I am intrigued by the systems and machinery we’ve dreamt up to grow and harvest nature’s bounty from land and sea. The after harvest processing machinery also captivates me, often showcasing incredible engineering and design prowess. At a vineyard tour in Italy, I was pouring over the bottle labelling machine!

Taylor Shellfish

This innovative business combines sales of fresh shellfish with one of the coolest bars around. Enjoy a beer and oysters on the deck, commanding stunning views across Samish Bay. The dark light day with showers blowing in, had the seascape monochrome and dramatic.

Growing up in the UK, I associated oysters with fancy London restaurants. They were not part of my experience. Here at Taylor Shellfish, people eat raw or lightly cooked oysters while wearing hiking shoes and woolly hats and drinking pints.!

Thanksgiving on the face of it, is a very cool national celebration: non denominational, centred on gathering with those you love to share food and give thanks for life’s bounty. The origin story of Thanksgiving celebration is taught in elementary schools in the US. It comes from one particular perspective, so I won’t repeat it but you can read more about alternative perspectives here. Traditions of gratitude criss cross our planet. I like to think of it as a living breathing web, gently inhaling and exhaling. When we rest in gratitude, I believe the world softens, gets a little more beautiful, a little more friendly.

It is fitting that I am finishing this Substack publication in the La Conner Swinomish Library where a group of of school children are enjoying the children’s corner. It is getting dark, not yet 4.30pm on this Monday afternoon. These children are exploring books and reading opening a world of possibilities for them. It starts with noticing, paying attention. This takes us deeper into the richness of whatever we pay attention to. Adventure. Nature. History, Stories. As we lose ourselves in wonder, gratitude inevitably rises, filling us with the warmth and love we all crave. Then, it is easy to share.

Gratitude

Thanksgiving is a time for reflecting on what we are grateful for. When I grasp at gratitude it feels rote. Have you ever noticed that trying to count your blessings when you’re feeling low is counter-productive? Real gratitude is alive, spicy and has the capacity to overwhelm you. Sitting at the table opposite my beloved as I get quiet and contemplate what I feel most grateful for, it is the chance to be in this life, with all its ups and downs. How miraculous is it to even be born? Death is close in and perhaps that has me feeling ever more grateful to be alive, to have consciousness and the gift of the power of thought. I am so grateful to feel overwhelming love and gratitude for my life today. It has not been without hardship and losses I thought would break me, and yet, my capacity for love deepens year on year and for that I feel profoundly grateful.

And I am so grateful for all the people I know and love and who love me. Friends and family I toast and celebrate you today, especially today. May your hearts fill with love through all you encounter, wherever you are, whatever you’re up to.

When you look out with a grateful heart, life itself is the miracle.

I am grateful to you, the readers. Your presence encourages this writing. If it inspires you, go do what helps you express gratitude: run, play, sing, sit, weep, cook, share, rest, work. And drop me a message, or leave a comment. I love to know how it lands for you. What threads inspire you.

Links

Rethinking Thanksgiving, American Indian perspective

Elizabeth Austen, poet

Mumbles Oyster trade

Threads that pull me

Book: Nurturing Neurodivergence - the late identified adults guide to building healthy relationships with self and others by Jasmine K.Y. Loo - I am having so many insights reading this book. Some years ago I began reading about neurodiversity in support of my work. I generally prefer fiction: stories, films and TV shows to help broaden my understanding of areas new to me eg the experience of being trans but in this case, I am blown away by the gaps in my knowledge from this brilliantly written book by Melbourne based author Jasmine K.Y. Loo. If you move in the world you are likely to encounter people who are neuro divergent. This book had me reading late in the night as I recognised traits in myself and others. I can see people who know me well nodding and smiling! I’m not a huge fan of labels and yet when you recognise something of yourself in a character, a description or an explanation it can further help you embrace your unique expression. Expect more quirkiness!

Netflix: Joy - The Birth of IVF, a British film, directed by Ben Taylor. The screen play was written by Jack Thorne, his wife, Rachel Mason and Emma Gordon & Shaun Topp. It is produced by Wildgaze and Pathé for Netflix. It is the story behind the birth of the first ‘test-tube’ baby in Britain, Louise Joy Brown and the research and experiments that preceded that historic and miraculous event. It particularly follows the story of Jean Purdy, whose contribution was only recognised in 2015. She died from cancer at the age of 39. The details of the research alone are fascinating but I also loved the feeling of the film. The pursuit of something just out of reach, beyond what was thought possible at the time, the reactions of fear and desire that greeted their work. Was it ultimately a positive for humanity? Who can answer that question? Did it bring joy to individuals? Certainly.

Netflix; A Simple Favor, a delicious 2018 American film, directed by Paul Feig, screenplay by Jessica Sharzer. The film is based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Darcey Bell starring Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Linda Cardellini, Rupert Friend, and Jean Smart . Part thriller, part crime caper. Two fabulous female lead characters play out an enthralling tale of friendship, secrets, lies and vlogging. I didn’t see the twist coming.