“Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.” Julia Child
I’ve been dithering over writing Ganymede’s next (long overdue) blog. I have many valid reasons for prevarication but it really boils down to living a chaotic life, or perhaps, a life lived chaotically!
And now the 2020 truffle season is inexorably galloping towards me. So to make this task – which would’ve daunted Hercules fresh from his phenomenal labours – easier I’m breaking it down into manageable, bite-sized, (truffle speak alert) extra grade pieces ….
2019 Truffle hunts
Memorable! From one extreme to another. The Straight to the Source tour with Pork Stars (check out their visit to GanymedeTruffles on Facebook) where I tried pork tomahawk for the first time, died and went to heaven and Bodhi Restaurant, where I met Heaven and very nearly converted to veganism. In fact, you can join Bodhi as they go on their truffle hunt and share their recipe for the perfect vegan cheese and truffle toastie.
Climate
Looking back over the latter half of 2019 what leaps to mind is the weather, the climate, the environment, and the flow-on effect it had.
From snowing in September to bushfires (nightmarishly close) and hellish heat in summer. We were incredibly fortunate. Australia’s high summer fates directed their ire mostly south and east of Ganymede’s valley in the Southern Tablelands, this time at least.
Perhaps even more amazing was that in the hellish smoke-laden heat we spent a surprisingly fun Boxing Day toiling in Ganymede’s parched back paddocks, picking up tractor loads of rocks exposed as the drought forced our grass to retreat.
Our cunning plan was to position the rocks in strategic places across the sloping back paddocks to slow run-off and prevent further erosion from the rain we prayed would eventually arrive. So we reformed our tons of rocks in the perishing heat and against all apparent odds, less than a month later, the rain it came!
Australia’s landscape never fails to amaze me; from despairingly arid desert landscapes to almost seemingly overnight, joy filled green.
Truffle hound, Zazu
We’re still marveling at our truffle hound Zazu, especially as we discovered we hadn’t broken him in the intervening months between seasons (thanks to Nathan’s foolproof training at Oz K9 Detection and Training.
Social Media
Whilst I’ve been predictably sporadic on Instagram and Facebook, I’ve been appalling on updating our website. Speaking of which, our most-liked Instagram post hasn’t changed – how many truffles do you think we packed in this box?
Although this comes a close second – T marks the truffle dog!
My Animals and other Family
We’ve been seemingly hand-feeding our horses, cows, and emu for years now but this has eased somewhat with the rain. And yes, we still have our first cow, Tiny aka DNEM!
L-R Fessica, Tiny, Tiny and Alba’s calves, Alba and Fessica’s calf
