Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/04/26
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]It's a nice time of year here. I spent the weekend in the tropics sweating myself into a frenzy, but it's cool, clear and sunny in South Australia. In the nineteenth century some idiot brought radiata pines to Australia and they continue to be grown as a plantation timber. They are invasive here, changing the soil chemistry and playing havoc with native animals. But a nice hitch hiker came with them: Lactarius deliciosus the saffron milk cap http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/freakscene/Randomness/L1005422.jpg.html appears with the first Autumn rains and will make an amazing dinner with fresh tagliatelle, onions, a little pancetta and creme fraiche. The pocket knife belonged to my grandfather; the bone on the other side was replaced with a piece of Australian red cedar by my father in the 1940s. I like using it. In the garden, the Hachiya persimmons are ripe: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/freakscene/Randomness/L1005438.jpg.html - I'm never sure what to do with them, particularly since we also have a hundred kilograms of grapes to deal with at the moment. I'll skin, seed and reduce them and freeze the paste. Some will go into jam, some into sorbet. There are thousands of them on the tree. In a few weeks I will trap some rabbits and slow roast them with persimmons. It's just an idea. I hope Spring in the Northern Hemisphere is as pleasant. Marty