Friday, April 10, 2009

April Flowers Bring Pear Showers

The pear tree is draped in white, as if wearing a frilly wedding dress.
Even while petals are dropping in the rain and wind, new blossoms are opening to take their place.
That is one prolific tree.
I never did get around to pruning it during the winter, and I have a good reason. The best time to prune a pear tree is when it's too horribly rainy and yucky to go out and stand on a wobbly ladder with inconsequential clippers. So I didn't.
That means the tree will be overloaded with fruit again this year. Last summer a loaded branch broke off and landed on my head. We're looking for a reprise of the cranium crackage, but I'm hoping the head this time will be Cranky's. (Because the booger laughed at me.)
We can already see tiny baby pears beginning to form. In about a month they will already be too big to slip an empty bottle over, to wire in place and wait for the pear to grow inside. For making that pootie eau de vie. So I won't be doing that, either.
I guess there's a lot I won't be doing, but I know for sure what I will be doing. Later on, in the summer.
For now, I'm just going to enjoy looking at the pretty, prolific tree. Holding my breath.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I haven't trimmed my trees or grapes yet either though admittedly I am lots further behind your sunny clime. Isn't potential bounty just as exciting as actual bounty?

And I thought you were getting out of town so I am so happily surprised to see so many posts from you this week!

cookiecrumb said...

El: You still have time to trim? I know you're a seasoned farmer, but I can't stress enough: It will catch up with you if you don't jump.
It is exciting. Meanwhile the orange tree is drooping with lovely globes, which I haven't written about much. Even as the oranges ripen, the tree is squirting out new blossoms.
I am headed off for my travels tomorrow. With luck there will be an Easter surprise.
xx

Anna Haight said...

You have beautiful blossoms breaking out all over! I don't understand your pear in the bottle reference. Is is something like the nets older Japanese women put on the budding apples, one-by-one to prevent pests from eating them? Happy travels!

cookiecrumb said...

Anna: Cute reference, but no. In this case, you let the pear grow to maturity inside a glass bottle, and then you snip off the branch and fill the bottle with eau de vie. You have a vivid, brilliant (magnified) green pear inside the bottle of hooch.

Chilebrown said...

I am so sorry about the cranium crakage. I guess that makes you a 'Crackage Head' That is so Marin.
You have the best pears in the world.

Zoomie said...

Ah, the promise of spring! My peach tree is in full pink bloom now, too. Bon Voyage!

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Cookie, pay a nice young man to do the trimming for you - it's worth it (especially if he gets all hot and takes his shirt off *fan, fan*)

Ilva said...

Well I didn't prune nor trim our peach tree this year either. Thanks for bringing back the memories of my mother putting bottles on our pear tree, I really loved that when I was a kid!

cookiecrumb said...

Chilebrown: Crackage heads; yep, that's us.
We will have pears for you. A lot.

Zoomie: And for you too. A lot. Of course, I'm hoping for a teensy sack of peaches. :D
See you in a week or so.
xx

Mouse: Cranky would not like that! Though he'd love to see some buck take his shirt off in the freezing rain, heh.

Ilva: I am absolutely charmed to think that your mother put bottles over her baby pears! Happy memories to you.
xo

michael, claudia and sierra said...

i may as well ramp up for the whole jealousy thing to kick in...

kudzu said...

Pear trees really do have the most spectacular bloomage. Cherries are aesthetic and fragile, peaches are that fantabulous color, but big tall pear trees full of white flowers are unfailingly heart-stopping at their peak.

I promise to help you deal with the fruit this summer.

Hope you're traveling safely! Buona festa!!

Zoomie said...

Why not cut out the middle man and just get Cranky to take off his shirt while pruning the pear tree? That's hunk enough for anyone! Maybe he'd even consent to wearing a tool belt, if you ask nicely. :-)

cookiecrumb said...

Claudia: Talk about jealousy. You have a private smoked mullet bottarga pusher. (There is such a thing as too many pears, by the way. Come on over.)

Kudzu: My next-door neighbor has a peach tree she is not forthcoming with, bounty-wise. We give her oranges and pears... wahhh! But I will not renege on my generosity, even so. It helps us out in the long run, and there's that karma thing.
You are totally in line to receive sack of Williams (aka Bartletts).

Zoomie: Ha ha! But: Remember, last summer he sawed off a branch and dumped a hundred pounds of pears on my head. The guy's unqualified. A tool belt might help. Sigh.