Take a Short Ride to Long Pasture (or Just Visit Your Favorite BARS) and Get To Know Your Beach Creatures!

I remember taking our nieces out to find razor clams with the Barnstable Association of Recreational Shellfishing (thankfully shortened to B.A.R.S) several years ago. BARS are a group of spirited and passionate mid-Cape volunteers who do everything from protecting the Cape’s clean water (and establishing new and valuable “ways to water”), to awarding scholarships and grants in support of restoring and sustaining local shellfishing, teaching kids how to fish, and on this particular afternoon, showing us how to find those strange razor clams! Finding razor clams is as fun as it is, well, kinda cruel–but the fun part totally wins out. How do you find this long and thin razory beast? Look for small round holes in the sand. When you find one you take your liter soda bottle full of salt water and sqeeeeeeze the salt water into the hole. The clam thinks “Tide’s in, let’s eat!” and when the clam gets tricked into launching itself out of the hole, you’ve got a clam for your chowder–if you’re quick enough!

Sucker!!! The long, sharp shell of a razor clam who fell for the oldest trick in the book.

We here at the Lamb and Lion Inn love to dole out discounted whale watch and island ferry tickets to our guests, help them with how to find our favorite fried clams and tucked away beaches, get them tickets to the latest shows in town, and assist with all the other things Cape Cod is known for. But what WE really love to do is get our guests “out there”. Get off the beaten path and see what the Cape is REALLY all about! Before you head this way check out what BARS is up to on their website.

Mass Audubon’s Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary is located just a few minutes from the inn’s driveway and they have quite an extensive schedule of events. We’ve hiked and explored many areas of Cape Cod with their naturalists and even learned how to paddle board with them, but we think Long Pasture really shines when they take people out on tidal flat explorations. One of my favorite moments here at the inn was when I brought home the shell of a horseshoe crab and showed it to a European guest who had never heard of one. If you’ve never seen a horseshoe crab shell you might think that the beach you’re walking on is the starting point of some sort of weird alien pod take-over, and if you’re brave enough to flip the crab over, well, good luck sleeping that night! If you’ve never seen one, here’s a photo, and if you haven’t decided to hide in the basement after viewing, why not join these folks on a tidal flat exploration? Cape Cod is home to thousands of these prehistoric sea creatures, who are actually very docile, and take it from me, you get used to them (sort of).

 

Horseshoe crab (no, we are NOT checking out the creepy under carriage)

The Lamb and Lion Inn is proud to be ahead of the curve when it comes to getting their guests involved in culinary tours and “agri-adventures” but if EATING some of your favorite sea creatures is your thing you can now take an adventure with Long Pasture and tour an oyster farm! Join naturalists for a walking tour of Barnstable Sea Farms at low tide! This working oyster farm is right off the beach at Long Pasture. Enjoy a fun trip out onto the mudflats to learn about these amazing shellfish and find out what goes into growing a Sandy Neck oyster. Check out some dates here!

Want to find out more about beach tours or mudflat walks and talks? Just give us a call at the Lamb and Lion Inn at 508-362-6823 or email us!