It could be the phase of the moon, or it could be the combination of the moon and the fall equinox. but no matter what the cause, people were really talkative today, Wednesday the 28th of September 2022.
We decided to journey off to Blanco because this small town, the ex-county seat of Blanco County is a friendly place and is the home of the Old 300 Barbeque shop. I call it a shop because it is not really a cafe nor is it a restaurant. It's just a place to buy barbeque plates or sandwiches and of course beer and the essential cobbler for dessert. Calling it a joint would be derogatory in our minds. We always opt for the pork loin sandwich that we share because one is too large for either of us. We bypassed the cobbler because we had also planned to visit the gelato place on US281 that we had prospected for the last few years.
We did justice to our sandwich outside on the front porch and made an offhand comment to an older fellow who was reassembling his leather get-up. We chatted with him for a while. I was curious about all the leather outfits he donned, thinking of the song Streets of Laredo, where the lyrics are "I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy". It was clear that he was a motorcyclist. He went off, with a comment to have a good day and we assured him that we would.
Off now to the gelato place where we learned that it had the name of Oro Bianco. Not until we were inside the shop that we learned that all their products, cheese, gelato, and the like are from the milk of the water buffalo. Holy cow, water buffalo in arid Texas? Well yes, they have a ranch near Floresville where there is a large stock tank in which they wallow to their heart's content.
We needed our cup of afternoon coffee and yes, they have that as well, not water buffalo coffee, but good coffee, nonetheless. We studied the cheeses in the case but did not sample any of them, but we did buy a small cup of pistachio gelato. A small cup is all that two people need as it is so rich.
In a long conversation with the manager of the Oro Bianco, we learned that the milk from the water buffalo contains three times the fat content of the typical dairy cow's milk. Each cow can produce about two gallons of milk a day, which is way below that of the Holstein or Guernsey cow. These dairy cows can produce as much as 12 gallons a day.
It was evident that the gelato was made from cream that was not from dairy cows as it was much heavier in texture and more flavorful.
The store gallery has windows that show the employees at work separating the curds from the whey and making the big wheels of cheese. These newly made wheels will then be aged in a big climate-controlled storage box for two years. The temperature is controlled at 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
After many minutes of conversation with the manager, it was time to move on. Since it was getting late in the day, we decided to head for home along our normal route past the big blue barn. It's tough to resist stopping there to see what our friends the Arnoskys are up to with their extensive flower gardens and to buy a vase full of cut flowers.
But first, we camped out in the rocking chairs on the back porch to relax and enjoy the scenery of the flower fields behind the barn. Not long after we sat down, a gentleman stopped by and we invited him to sit and chat. And chat we did, especially after his wife joined us. The four of us developed solutions to all the problems now encountered in our great country. It turns out that they came to Texas from California and wonder why they did not find Texas and its freedom long ago.
It was really enjoyable talking openly about all the interesting topics of today.
If the reader has not discovered the art of opening up a conversation with total strangers, try it sometime, it might solve a lot of problems.
On the road again to the grocery store where I was hunting for some goat cheese with truffles recommended by Hector and happened to notice two young women looking at the specialty cheeses. I thought, here's a chance to tell them about water buffalo cheese. They appeared to be interested in the topic to the extent that they could find Oro Bianca on their cell phone screens. I abandoned them as likely prospects for conversation.
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