"Pegmatite Pocket Lobster"
Dinner!
Thursday, June 4th
| "Pegmatite Pocket Lobster" Dinner! Thursday, June 4th | |
| For those who have signed up for meals, on Thursday we will be having a special lobster feed for dinner. If you did not sign up for meals, but would like to come for this dinner, let me know and I'll give you a price for the evening. "The Story Behind the Meal!"  Pocket Lobster live inside pegmatite pockets, chambers and vuggy areas. For the years (ever since we decided to hold the Maine Pegmatite Workshop) we have been setting out our traps at many of the major Pegmatite Quarries in Oxford County, Maine, to catch enough of the elusive and rare Pegmatite Pocket Lobsters to have a Lobster Feed during the Workshop.Often call Quarry Crayfish, Cookeite Crabs or Sill Spiders, these creatures live in total darkness all of their lives. They feed upon the gemstones found in pegmatite pockets. Scientifically, this is why so many pockets are devoid of any gemstones and explains the material we call cookeite - cookeite is actually Pocket Lobster droppings. Normally these lobsters run away when they hear the approaching miner or rockhound, but we have learned the secret methods to capture these delicious critters. |
 Once trapped, one has to sedate freshly captured Pocket Lobster by gently kissing them in a secret place. This technique was passed down to Maine Pocket Lobstermen by their forbearers and kinfolk. Geologists don't even know how to do this! It was taught to me by Dudy Groves (PMC owner), with the threat of death if I ever divulged the secret! Without this secret technique, these crustaceans will fight to the death before letting themselves be caught and placed within a live holding tank, never mind the cooking pot. Fresh fishing grounds have recently been opened at Mount Mica, which hasn't been available for decades. Our traps have been productive all mining season, so we will have enough of them for the Lobster Feed on Thursday Night during the Maine Pegmatite Workshop. We will keep what we have trapped fresh by creating a simulated gemstone pocket out of an old milk truck and loading it with quartz, beryl and tourmaline crystals which they can feed upon. It seems they don't like feldspar at all and only use mica to clean their teeth with (yes, Pocket Lobsters have teeth). We have been mining continuously to find enough gem tourmaline, beryl and amethyst crystals to keep them alive and healthy in their holding tank, fattening them up for the Feed! | |
 To guarantee our needs, we have also enlisted the assistance of a few locale miners to catch more pocket lobsters the old fashion way. The miners drill a hole into the pegmatite and fish for them using gemstone bait. Hopefully our miners will catch enough before the lobsters head off to the Great Spawn in the granite pluton on Memorial Day Weekend. (Note the interloper trying to learn this secret technique!) Registrants who are taking your meals at Poland Mining Camps are entitled to the Pocket Lobster Feed! Those with bibs are encouraged to bring them and some people like using a geologist hammer to get at the difficult bits! Mica books will be supplied to clean your teeth with.  Never had Pegmatite Pocket Lobster? Well you are in for a special treat! Now doesn't this look good! The celery looks like tourmaline to them and is used to keep them still on your plate. The rubber bands around their claws are strictly a defensive measure.If someone doesn't like Pocket Lobster or can't eat it, let me know! I'll get an extra can of Tunnel Tuna or Maine Mine Mystery Meat (it comes in a can, but that's all we know)! |
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