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On a cold day in early spring, a pastel-colored sky overlooks an area of rocky mud outlined in snow. Seagulls cackle above. The clammer is wearing a dark blue sweater and bright orange rubber gloves. The frozen mud, which varies from green to black, is repeatedly flipped by the clammer as they jerk the mud back and forth, intermittently moving large rocks to the side in order to reach workable ground. The rocks vary in color from reds and blues to tans and grays and are covered in barnacles. Using a six-tine hoe, the clammer generally follows a pattern of scraping rocks off the surface, stabbing the hoe into the mud using their right hand, and then using their right hand to jerk the mud back and forth several times in quick succession. Sometimes the clammer uses their hands opposed to the hoe to sift through the mud, usually to sift through flipped mud in search of clams. The clammer often picks up clams one at a time, swiveling his upper body as his feet remain stationary, and drops the clams into the hod.

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