Monday, September 14, 2026

A crabby situation


"A crabby situation"
Blue crabs are so plentiful around our gulf coast.
Although the people who crab frequently may say the numbers are down.
I've been crabbing and frankly I'm scared of them.
When we first got married, we went to a pier with our daughter in a playpen.
We went to go fishing and crabbing that night.
We did catch crabs that night and Chris told me to grab it from the back so it couldn't claw you.
I grabbed it just like he said and the darn thing reached under and grabbed me on the finger.
I threw that thing so far, we didn't catch it again that night.
I also didn't ever pick up one again.
I reserve my "crabbing" to eating them and painting them now.

I researched the habitat for the blue crab and found it in several places.
Sandy bottoms, but those leave them out in the open.
Seagrass and sargasso seaweed seem to be their favored places.
They will also frequent rocky places as it offers protection from rear attacks.
They are found primarily in the Western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
Their range is from Nova Scotia, Canada, all the way down to Argentina!
Most of the time, people don't realize we have blue crab here.
When they look at my works, they think they are Maryland Blue crab.
I tell people no, these are blue crab from the Gulf Coast.

You can crab year-round in Alabama, there is no closed season.
The best catching activity is from March through November.
July through September brings the biggest crabs.
They must measure 5 inches across from point to point.
You can catch a bushel a day per person.
If you catch a female with eggs, you are to immediately release them.

"A crabby situation" Acrylic on wood, 18.5 inches
Day 77 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2026

 

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