Buried Treasure!

Today's Wonder of the World is...Buried Treasure!

Not so much this kind

Though I do love those little aquarium treasure chests! When I was in college I had two goldfish, Goldie and Hawn, just so I could have a reason to buy one of those cute things.

I'm thinking of more personal treasures.
You know the saying, One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Or dog's.

I would have shown you a picture of Tanner digging up a bone, but I'm always too mad when he brings a bone in the house, all covered with mud. (Remember why we have our garden on a tabletop? No? Look HERE. It's because Tanner loves to dig. And dig. And dig.) I'm never in the mood to take his picture when he's digging. I'm in the mood to throttle him.

Have you read this yet?

It's one of my favorites. The main character, Lily Owens, buries a bag of her mother's things. They are a treasure to her, and she doesn't want to ever have them taken away.

Here's another underground treasure.

One day I hope to see some baby turtles leaving their eggs behind, crawling out of the sand. I'd consider that a treasure.

Beaches are great for treasure hunting. And not just for pirates.
When I was little I always wanted a metal detector.

Not this kind.

That's airport security, by the way, making sure my baby isn't a terrorist. I'm the headless person in the black skirt--I was in my French mode then, wearing a skirt. And I loved that pair of shoes. Boo hoo. Tanner chewed up one of the straps.

Back to metal detectors.
I wanted this kind.

Cute boots, shirtless man.

There's no telling what treasures you might find buried under the sand.


Or halfway under the sand.

Yes my friends, that is a monkey.
Don't you LOVE flickr? Where else could I find a picture of a monkey up to his waist in sand? With a girl helper and a group of people behind her that don't even care. That are so used to seeing people bury a monkey halfway in sand that they don't even turn around and smile for the camera!

To find a treasure you might need a map.


If you don't have a map, why not use a pig?

A polka dot pig, even! This one hunts truffles. Truffles are definitely a treasure.
Do you know about truffles? They look like this.

They're a fungi that grows along with the roots of trees. At least that's what Wikipedia says. You can find them between the soil layer and the leaf litter, that is, if you have a truffle pig to help you.
Truffle pigs sniff them out because truffles contain a chemical similar to a male pig pheromone. No wonder they show such enthusiasm.
If you're not careful, the pig will snarf down the truffle before you can snatch it out of the dirt! Why? Because she's such a pig of course!

Before I moved to France I didn't know about the fungus kind of truffle.
I had heard of truffles, and I knew they were treasures...


But treasures for the sweet tooth.


This is what I was picturing. They're called truffles, or les truffes, in French, because they look so much like the real thing.

The first time a neighbor brought us some, Ben tossed one in his mouth the second she was out the door. Then he started coughing and spit it out! He didn't expect it to be coated with bitter chocolate.
Woo hoo! More for me! I thought, because they are amazingly good.
Would you like a recipe? Go HERE, and enjoy! You won't believe how easy they are--only 3 ingredients, plus whatever coating you choose.

And enjoy this well done video about a truffle pig and it's owner, Gaston.
Don't let the mama pig at the beginning offend you--she looks slightly...uh...I'll let you decide for yourself!

Here's wishing you treasure, either buried or not!
I'll be back on Saturday for a tag post.

CORRECTION: Todd and the big kids just returned from a week away, so I'm abandoning my computer for the weekend. Look for the tag post on Monday.
See you then!

Have a Wonder-full Friday!
Love, Becky

PS. Thanks for the photos, flickr. And a special thanks to IanL (truffle pic) and chez pim (spotted pig pic)