Snow White...Pear Blossoms!

   For the past month, we have had just about every "false" spring that could be dumped on a place.  We have even had a few "false" summer days added for good measure.  Now, however, Mother Nature has said "Enough of that!" and plans for us to have a winter weekend.  This is not good!  All of the citrus trees already have tiny fruits set and the pear and plum trees are in full bloom!  What are you thinking, Mother Nature??  I guess tomorrow will find me lugging those potted house plants back into the greenhouse and finding enough things to make temporary covers for the tomato, squash and pepper plants in the garden.  Yep, I did do that.  I planted far too early but the temperatures being in the 80s convinced me that our cold times were over.  Not so.

  So...winter is not over until Mother Nature makes up her mind and there is not a thing we can do about it other than accept it.  Mom always warned Pop about planting too early..."You know we are going to get that Easter freeze..." I can hear her now reprimanding me for the same thing.  I am far too like Pop and the older I get, the more that is evident.   Easter freeze???  Does that mean that this is not our last cold spell for the season?  Easter is still weeks away!

Late Summer Beauty

   The entire spring and first part of summer was extremely rainy.  It rained so much that our hill was even starting to get a bit mushy which is strange since the water runs right off into the Bayou or Bay.   Still, the gardens had standing puddles and that rotted the plants at the roots.  Most of the summer garden was a bust.  I got enough tomatoes to restock our supply of jars of sauce and catsup so all is well.  We can stretch the pickles for another year since the cucumbers succumbed to the root rot.  Regardless, those months were good since the rain kept it a bit cooler.  Then came SUMMER!  I knew the weather was going to take a swing in the other direction and made preparations by not planting a late garden.  Watering it would have just been too much.  So now the veggie patch sits empty.

  Still, other plants are doing well regardless of the dryness.  Most "in-ground" plants can adapt, especially trees.  Their roots are deep enough that it takes an endless drought to do damage.  Their adaptability was shown this morning.  We had a good soaking rain yesterday evening complete with lots of lightning.  It was that rain that did the world of good for the trees.  This morning, I found where the pear trees were trying to bloom again!  One rain and out popped blossoms.  I have come to expect this as it happens almost every fall.  Not much will come of the blossoms as their season is over but that does not keep the trees from trying.  If nothing else, the trees add a bit of beauty to a yard where other flowers are starting to wane.

The Blossom Munchers

   Barring that infamous "Easter Freeze" that was Mom's warning when Pop wanted to plant the fields too early, I am assuming spring has sprung.  In the past couple of weeks everything has burst forth with lovely blooms.  The pear trees are snow white with loveliness.   This should, by every account, mean a bountiful harvest of pears.   Should but never has.  Plenty of pears are set on the trees but as soon as they get marble sized, the squirrels start gnawing their way through the entire crop.  Nothing...NOTHING...stops those rascals.  I was so in hopes that our resident hawks would take a liking to squirrel meat instead of dove meat but, so far, that has not happened.  I am about to think that squirrel stew is going to be the "new" meat for the meat-eaters in this household. 

  Not only do the critters steal the fruit, now they are munching the blossoms.  Yep, that is a thing nowadays.  Never before have I heard of anything eating pear blossoms but I watched as several of the fluffy-tailed rats bounded into the trees and started stripping the branches.  They cannot even wait until the fruit is formed!   I would fully understand if it had been a harsh winter but that is not the case.  We had one...ONE...hard freeze so there is still plenty for the critters to eat without attacking the fruit blossoms. 

  The overabundance of squirrels is due to the fact that just to the west of my brother's place, the new neighbors have stripped almost every tree from the once wooded acreage.  It sadden me to see the many huge, several-hundred-year old live oak trees felled.  Now, nothing is there.  The place is barren.  It is saddening, to say the least.  Obviously, no one has any respect for nature.  So, I inherit all the critters that have been misplaced by the "progress"...blossom munching squirrels included. 

It came, but no one noticed.

  Spring has slipped in almost unnoticed.  Folks have other things on their minds.  Some are worried as their pantries are running low, some are fretting that the sore throat could be the start of something much worse than a cold, others are concerned about their neighbors, their loved ones, themselves in this time of uncertainty.  And rightly so.  Still, Lady Spring came and no one noticed.  She spread her beauty out before us and waited but no one came to the party.

  As I was out and about today, I took in the beauty around me.  Every plant was bursting forth with new growth and blooms.  Birds were singing and bees were busy gathering pollen.  A fine breeze blew in off the water making the day a delight...so much so that I had to smile and literally give a big "thank you" to the lovely Lady Spring.  Her ability to adorn the world in loveliness after the drab winter is one to be admired.  Her ability to lift the spirits of those in despair is to be appreciated.

  One of my favorite things is to see the fruit trees in full bloom.  Hopefully, this means that in a few months, those same trees will be heavy laden with fruit.  The sight of the snow white pear blossoms and the rich pink peach blossoms gives hope that the world will survive this chaotic time.  Given time, things will heal.  We will heal.  Patience and time...patience and time.

To cut or not..that is the question!

Two years ago, Michael pulled up a small sapling that was growing under Uncle Alfred's pear tree.  We were in hopes that this tree would make the delicious Sand Pears like my uncle's tree.  I guess I am one of the weird folks of the world that really likes the texture of Sand Pears over that of  "Eatin' Pears".   "Eatin' Pears is the local term for the fancy, softer pears that most folks desire.  I like that crunch involved when munching a Sand Pear!  Anyway, Michael pulled up and transplanted the young sapling.  He had hopes that by this time, the tree would be quite large and even bearing fruit.  No such luck.  The tree is just the same height as it was when he planted it!

The funny thing about all of this is that the little tree has decided to bloom this year.  In amongst the many three inch long thorns (my first dead giveaway that this was not a true pear) are little clusters of blossoms!  To be honest, they are beautiful!  The brilliant white petals are a backdrop to lovely purple stamen tops.  When I first saw them, I was elated.  The little pear tree was going to bear fruit and prove itself despite its lack in size.  Later in the evening, I pondered why the tree had such large thorns.  A bit of research led me to believe that this is a Callery Pear and not a Sand Pear.  Not good. Now I have to make the decision as to whether the tree needs to be removed.  Callery Pears are those lovely things that are planted down the middle of city streets where the folks want blooms but no fruit that might fall and mess up their grounds.  They serve the purpose well as the fruit of a Callery Pear is small and birds can carry off any that might be produced on the tree.  The tree would no serve me well as I want fruit.  My garden is a supplier of foodstuffs and if a pretty bloom happens to be part of the process then I am all the happier.  My arable gardenspace is far to little to be taken up by something that is not going to bear fruit.  I do love flowers but a non-producing tree is another thing entirely!  Trees take up enormous amount of space!  Still, the blooms are pretty so I am in a quandary!  To cut or not..that is the question!   One other option is to attempt a grafting.  Perhaps we could graft a limb of our Bartlett Pear to this and make it a fruit-bearing tree that would earn its keep. I think I will leave this decision up to Michael!  Ahh..that was easier than I thought!

Black and White..and Red All Over.....

Today brought some good things..some bad. I was out and about taking in the sights of the day when I came across something that saddened me to the core. To say that I like crows somehow confuses a lot of people. The usual stigma attached to these birds extends far from the cornfields all the way to urban areas. Most still view a crow as a nuisance bird and extend all efforts to shoo them from the vicinity. Not so here on the Bayou. I like crows. I like to hear them in the tall pines..I like seeing the glint of the sun on their ebony feathers..I like the way they cock their heads to the side as if to see you better. I just like crows. I was saddened earlier today because I came across the lifeless body of one of these beautiful birds. First thought was that someone had shot it but after observing it closer, I decided that this was not the case. Obviously, it had met with a force larger than itself as its neck and one wing were broken. There were no other wounds. Perhaps it had been hit by a car or maybe a hawk or osprey had attacked it but whatever the applied the force had done its job. The gorgeous, black bird was dead..drained of life..no more to caw from the treetops. Today's "black"..the ebony feathers and the dark feeling of death. Rest in peace, my feathered friend.

On a lighter note..the pear trees are blooming! "White!" The heavily scented white blossoms gleamed in the sunshine today! Oh, how I wish this tree was in my yard! Its branches were simply covered with the large white blossoms. The constant buzzing of honeybees told me that there would be plenty of fruit replacing the blooms in the coming weeks but I will never get any pears from this tree. They are destined for consumption by every animal in the area. The tree stands on what used to be my uncle and aunt's property. It is now overgrown to the point that it is a haven for wildlife and this pear tree gives sustenance to the fauna living there. I remember how fine these pears tasted and would love to gather the crop later this summer but I know that there will be none for my hands to pick. Happy munching, animals!

Near the pear tree, I came across another "white"..these Narcissus blooms emitted such a sweet aroma that I hated to leave the spot. These bulbs have endured all sorts of hardships and still had the strength to push through the weeds and bloom! This area was once an impeccable garden wonder. The yard was once filled with luscious fruit trees of all sorts and flower gardens that would hold their own against any botanical gardens ever created. My aunt and uncle worked hard to keep the grounds in order and now the remnants of plants still try to flourish even through the worst conditions. I was impressed with the durability of this plant. The matted weeds that it had to push through just to bloom was several inches thick. The plants seemed to be trying to revive the beauty that was once here by refusing to give in to despair. How much more inspiring can a couple of little bulbs be? A lesson in survival or just one in persistence? I am thinking that I should dig up these bulbs and give them a home closer to my house!

Finally, the "red"..another bloom..or at least the appearance of a bloom. The Red Maples are in bloom or were in bloom. What is showing on the branches of the trees now is not the flower but rather the seed pods. These seed pods look similar to tiny "wings" and when the sun hits them, they are brilliant crimson! Later in the summer, the pods will darken to almost a brick red and then will come fluttering down to cover the ground. I remember years ago, I was enthralled to find so many "wings" dancing on the wind. To my young mind they were faerie wings. I would try to catch them thinking that if I succeeded then surely a faerie would grant some special wish for me. Yep..that imagination really soars at times! These red seeds are so beautiful against the bright blue skies like we had today! There are several large Red Maples down in the creekbed. I can see these from my kitchen window each morning as the sun comes up. Their fiery red "wings" brighten the Bayou!

Also as a "red"..the Summer Tanager! This tiny bird has been making its presence know here in the yard for the past several years. I can hear its calls loud and clear through the open windows. If I head outside when it is near, the Tanager will swoop down within arm's reach and sing its little heart out. I have not figured out just why it feels the need to be right next to me but I secretly feel a bond with the bird! How strange that this wild bird seems to call for me to come out and play!