The smell of Durians is driving me crazy!

I never thought I would say it - but I am sick of Durian. The smell is inescapable. Rich and creamy and a fantastic taste, but there is only so much you can eat. The crop is dropping faster than we can eat it, and they are now being stockpiled in the shed so that the smell is quarantined from the house. I have tried the Durian cake recipe, but it is not a success. Freezing it does not stop the smell and every time you open the door, the smell wafts out. The BIG question - what can we do with it to preserve it???

How to open a Durian

Opening a Durian, along the crack line - watch out for the spikes!

feasting on durian 

Durians are dropping!

The last week has seen 10 Durians drop from the trees ready to eat. We are now offering them in the fruit tasting, and reaction has been mixed. Western palates who expect crunchy and acid fruit are shocked by the creamy texture and the tast of burnt caramel and onions. But it is certainly a topic of interest - many visitors have heard about them but never seen one.

How wonderful to be able to eat fresh durian everyday!

Naming of the cottages firming up

It seems like the first cottage now has a name, apart from 'cottage'. I think we are going to call it 'Creekside'. Perched on a cliff with a verandah overhanging the creek, this is the best we can come up. So there will be 'Creekside' and 'Under Blackbean'.

Cassowary and chick return to swim

The Cassowary has returned and brought his chick with him - very grey and about 30cm high. They came wandering down the dry creek bed this morning while Digby was working at the B&B cottage.

He watched the two birds go past and then heard 'splash' as the large bird waded into the 'goose pool' - a small waterhole on the creek about 20 metres down from the B&B. The large cassowary kept wading in to the deepest part of of the pool which is about a metre deep, and then slowly sank and submerged himself up to his neck in the water. After a few minutes he stood up, shook himself and stepped out onto the bank to preeen for about 5 minutes. The chick followed.

Just magic! That's why we live here!

Lots of rain, and a great durian harvest predicted

The Wet Season arrived early last weekend, and the farm received 300 mm of rainfall over three days, with the creeks raging. The concrete causeway on the road near the farm gate was completely covered. Now we have great swimming holes close to the house, which is just as well considering how hot and humid it still is - work on the farm for a few hours then jump in the creek to cool down, then repeat.

A walk around the farm has some good news and some bad news for us. The bad news - the mangosteen harvest will be very small, probably less than 200 kgs. Many trees which had heavy crops last season have no fruit now. Never count your chickens before they hatch. The good news is that our Durian harvest will be the best we have every had. Digby counted 73 Durians on 5 trees. They have hung on despite the heavy rain, and that pungent smell that Durian lovers know so well is hanging in the air around the trees. Can't wait to tuck into this feast.