“A Blue Crab sheds its exoskeleton while taking shelter in a shallow Eelgrass bed in Tangier Sound. Watermen look for indicators on land to help determine what is going on in the water. A seasoned waterman on Tangier told me that when the locust trees are in bloom, the ‘Peeler’ crabs will start their spring run to shed in the shallow grass beds. The highly anticipated first run of crabs in the shallows around Smith and Tangier will set off the crabbing season for the crab scrapers and peeler potters. This photograph is included in the chapter on crab scraping in ‘Island Life.’ I will start taking pre-orders for signed copies of the book on April 9th.”
“Signs of Spring” by Jay Fleming, Annapolis, MD
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