Foraging for Treasure on Fire Island
Volume 49, Issue 7
By Brian Kerr and
Grace Corradino

It is blueberry season! Blueberries are in abundance this year and picking them is one of the things that almost any Fire Islander can enjoy. If you have never had the good fortune to enjoy something straight out of nature, blueberry picking on Fire Island may be it.

There are so many things on Fire Island that you can enjoy which you may not know about. So many of us are foragers of one type or another. Shopping is one of my favorite ways to forage, hunting for what I need or want. Here on the beach there are yard sales and community bazaars which are great places to find things for your Fire Island home.

Recently Brian installed a wall of shells for a customer of his in Saltaire. When he told me about the project, I was alarmed. I was alarmed because I thought that he was single handedly going to ruin the façade of one of the prettiest renovated homes in the village. Once installed, there was no way to get the shells off the house since they were going to be cemented in place.

My first thought was about all the shells that children bring home from the beach and pile up as the season wears on. Everyone loves shells, the issue is what to do with them so that they don’t junk up your house. This was the picture I had in my mind when Brian announced that this project was going forward. Adding to my anxiety was the fact that I really like the people who wanted this work done and I was certain they would never speak to us again.

The project was scheduled. Brian located the shells he wanted for the project. He found some of the classic shells online by Googling, "Seashells" and added to the assortment with some clam shells from the bay as well as some scungilli shells he had collected over the winter.

The best time to kayak from Fire Island is in the winter. The recreational boaters have left, the winds are predominantly quiet and the bay is oftentimes like a sheet of glass. Brian kayaks over to East and West Island, tromps around a bit, and fills at least one knapsack with scungilli shells. During the winter months, the inhabitants of the shells have either died or been eaten. The task of cleaning the shells remains but it is a job well worth doing.

Combining the clam, scungilli and shells which he purchased for his customer, the wall project began. I must say that no one was more surprised than me about how it came out. It is nothing short of spectacular and adds a dimension to this already wonderful house.

As far as I am concerned this is what Fire Island foraging is all about. Taking something and using it in a way that is beautiful and useful. Opportunities to do just that abound on the beach.

The real foragers, those serious treasure seekers, find goodies almost every day in nature or those treasures left behind by their Fire Island neighbors. We have a friend who has a virtual hardware store in his shed. Any kind of screw, nut or bolt you may need, he has it. And it is a badge of honor to have this collection. In the real world, this family wouldn’t think of amassing all of this hardware because the hardware store is a car ride away. But here on Fire Island, you never know when you will need an extra wheel for a wagon or a shopping cart, a stainless steel nail or a door knob. You just never know. If you need it, then he has it for you. And it is free.

Vegetable gardens afford us a way to share nature’s bounty. We grow beets, lettuce, arugula, sugar snaps, asparagus beans, raspberries, tomatoes and peppers. The crop changes a bit each season. The pleasure comes with the sharing and the notion that at some level we are living off the land.

There are people who clam and people who set crab pots. The guys who fish are really foraging and lucky if they bring food home. Gregg Weisser of Kismet caught the biggest striped bass I have ever seen. The whole town must have feasted on that fish.

Years ago, my family owned a home in Lonelyville. We had some really nasty looking furniture in that house. My parents inherited the furniture from the previous owners, who no doubt inherited it from the owner’s before them. Passing by that house not too long ago, I noticed that some of that furniture was out on the street awaiting pick-up by the carter. Imagine my surprise when one day not long after, I was in a friend’s home and one of the pieces which had finally been tossed out of my parents’ former home, now sat proudly in the center of the house I was visiting. It must have been picked up by my friend and added to the existing furnishings. I did not say a word!

Happy hunting.

Grace Corradino is a year-round resident of Saltaire. She is a NYS licensed real estate broker and the owner of Fire Island Living Real Estate.