Boxing Day, and hangdog shame strikes. No updates to On The Farm since April. Plenty of effort at the other place, but naught here since the pinot harvest (which went well, thanks to help from friends). We have a barrel of pinot and a half barrel of syrah to bottle in a couple of months time. Nick the winemaker, pushed by me to give me some idea of the quality of the wine, said that if it had come from his vineyard he’d be pleased. So… we wait. Might have some to sell.

Bad year for truffles. Nothing at Limestone Hills or our neighbours in Waikari — a poor season in Canterbury generally, brought on (my theory) by a marked drop in temperature in mid-February. Add to that an early start to winter (I picked the syrah in May, with snow on the grapes), and I think there just wasn’t enough heat over late summer and autumn to get the truffles going. Fingers firmly crossed for this year.

And so, as we drift towards a new year, there is (as usual) a lot for me to do on the farm, cleaning up the trees and getting the irrigation system primed for any dry spell, plus shoot thinning and sulphur spraying in the vineyard. I’ll be on RNZ National’s Summer Report (morning news show) at 7-50am on New Years Day, talking truffles, and I’ll be duty Sciblogger on Noelle McCarthy’s morning show at about 10-30am on Jan 6th. Then there’s the new book. I need to spend more time writing it. Finishing it. Publishing it. If all goes to plan (ha!), then I’ll post a draft of the introduction and first chapter here before the end of January. But don’t hold your collective breath…

And, before I forget, nadolig llawen!