Deer me, a-pear-ances can be deceiving

Earlier this Summer it appeared that we'd have no pears on the pear tree this year. I couldn't see any signs of bees or other pollinators flying around while the tree was in bloom. There are no other pear trees nearby to provide cross-pollination. I thought pears were a lost cause in our back yard. I was wrong.

whitetail doe under pear tree

Photo by J. Harrington

Yesterday, the Better Half mentioned that there are pears on the pear tree. I looked carefully and observed a number of golden-brown pears hanging from the branches. Some day soon we'll take a closer look and see if we want to claim some for ourselves. The rest will ripen, over-ripen and drop to keep our neighborhood whitetails happy. Watching them and taking some pictures makes us happy, too.

five pear-picking whitetail deer

Photo by J. Harrington

Also yesterday, for the first time in the quarter century or so that we've lived here, I saw what I think was a groundhog / woodchuck in the back yard. The last sighting was just before s/he disappeared under the brush pile. We'll watch for it when we fire the brush pile around the end of this month. Meanwhile, yesterday's inspection didn't reveal any fresh mounds from the pocket gophers. I'm not sure why.

Green Pear Tree in September

By Freya Manfred

On a hill overlooking the Rock River 

my father’s pear tree shimmers, 

in perfect peace, 

covered with hundreds of ripe pears 

with pert tops, plump bottoms,  

and long curved leaves. 

Until the green-haloed tree 

rose up and sang hello, 

I had forgotten. . .  

He planted it twelve years ago, 

when he was seventy-three, 

so that in September 

he could stroll down  

with the sound of the crickets 

rising and falling around him, 

and stand, naked to the waist, 

slightly bent, sucking juice 

from a ripe pear.

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