Geoducks

I have been thinking about our Davis family living in the Northwestern part of the US. Washington State brings back so many memories. My grandpa Davis and I would venture at low tide to collect "gooey ducks". Grandpa loved to teach me how to quickly dig for these mammoth mollusks.

For you guys who are not familiar with "gooey ducks", here is a brief lesson. Native to the northwest coast of the US and Canada (primarily Washington and British Columbia), the geoduck is the largest burrowing clam in the world, weighing in at an average of one to three pounds (0.5–1.5 kg) at maturity, but some weighing over 15 pounds (7.5 kg) and as much as 2 meters (over 6.5 ft) in length are not unheard of.
Geoducks are one of the longest lived organisms in the Animal Kingdom. They have a life expectancy of about 146 years, with the oldest recorded at over 160 years. Scientists speculate that the geoduck's longevity is the result of low wear and tear. A geoduck sucks water containing plankton down through its long siphon, filters this for food and ejects its refuse out through a separate hole in the siphon. Adult geoducks have few natural predators, which may also contribute to their longevity.

The unusual name of the clam is derived from a Lushootseed word gʷídəq meaning "dig deep", and its counter-intuitive spelling is likely the result of poor transcription rather than anything having to do with ducks. Alternate spellings include gweduc, gweduck, goeduck, and goiduck. It is sometimes known as the mud duck, king clam, or when translated literally from the Chinese characters 象拔蚌, the elephant trunk clam or "penis clam". As you can see from this fellow below, he is holding the clam in an almost an "X" rated position. Of course, I never staged any of these strange pictures when I was growing up!!

I really do not remember Grandma or Grandpa Davis cooking these critters. The memories of collecting is, however, still fresh in my memories.