The fruit trees are wearing their lacy finery. Spring! But the wind batters the blossoms and knocks off the fragile ones.Yesterday it was raining white petals.
Today it's cold and windy and the hope of spring would melt away, except that there are blossoms!
We had the pear tree groomed by an arborist; he apologized that his pruning of branches would result in a smaller crop. I think Cranky and I looked at each other and grinned the secret grin. We need fewer pears.
I find myself in a good frame of mind about these abundant annual crops: So what? We can always give away the excess. I'm no longer oppressed. There's even a guy in my city trying to put together a program where teams of pickers come to your house by appointment and harvest the fruit at no cost to you, and then donate the bounty to the food bank. (The problem with that is that the pears don't all get ripe on one day; they drop at their own sweet time, over a period of more than a month. But I know where the food bank is; I can deliver them myself.)
It's amazing how frightened I was of the trees the first couple of years. Now? Bring it on.
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13 comments:
WHY DOES GOD HATE JAPAN?
If I thought that god was responsible, I'd wonder too. I also wonder when it will be our turn.
But in the mean time, it's fun to blog (two days, two posts on Camelot and Adolph Gottlieb). Color me eclectic if loopy with this flu.
Plus it now looks like the battle between you and the tree has resulted in a decisive victory for Cookie. Cookie 1, Tree 0.
Let's hope there's enough left for pear tart, pear chutney, pear compote and pear brandy.
Nancy: I just hope I never have to make pear chutney again! Or maybe I will and I'll give it all away too.
Pear chutney.....yum. I am so ready for summer.
Greg: Yes, I do believe I SHOULD make pear chutney for my peeps. I made so much the first year, I could have gifted a lot of friends.
Most of the flowers on my peach tree were torn off by that late sleet storm but a few hardy blooms are now opening. I anticipate a very small harvest this year.
Zoomie: Aww! That's terrible. My problem is that not enough pear blossoms were whipped away. Well, we might not have received the brunt of that storm.
You have not had a pear party in years! You could have one and not invite me.
chilebrown: Ia have never had a pear party you were n't invited to. I guess it might be time again!
That wind today was bitterly cold so any blossoms that survive are extra hardy.
If you don't want to make or chutney, how about poached pears with chocolate sauce. I found a simple recipe and think it would be delicious topped with whipped cream.
Nancy: Oh, you don't know me! I don't really make deserts. Chocolate AND whipped cream? Nature makes a wonderful sweet thing straight from the tree.
Nancy, back when God was a child, my mother made a dessert of fresh pears, cored and the core stuffed with cream cheese, then the whole thing drizzled with chocolate sauce. It was rich to the max, and very 'fifties.
Zoomie: We tried so hard the first year or two to use pears in recipes. It finally turned out they're best on their own. But I DO like the dab of cheese in there...
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