Pears

"There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat." Ralph Waldo Emerson

We have two pear trees in our yard and harvesting and processing pears is a new experience for us. We're learning about them as we go along.  We have learned that pears (European, that is, not Asian) should not ripen on the tree. They ripen from the inside out and by the time they start to give a little on the outside, they might be bad in the middle. So knowing when to pick, how much to let them ripen on the counter, all the while watching for growing bad spots is still somewhat baffling to us. However, as luck would have it, we have a good crop this year to experiment with. Below are some of our endeavors.

The trees have been limbed up over the years for easy mowing under them, so there are very few pears we can pick standing on ground. We've been using ladders and an apple picker, but there are still many we can't reach.

We have been picking from the tree or from the ground every couple of days and then bring the pears inside to ripen some more. 

We have been cooking some to make pearsauce.

Some of which we've shared, some we have eaten, some we have frozen...

and some of the sauce we have made into pearbutter. I did this in the crock pot which was much easier than the long hours of stirring over a stove when I was younger.

Some of the pears were dehydrated into sweet snacks.

and some were baked into a pie

And a pear-blueberry crisp.

We aren't the only ones enjoying the pears. The bees, flies, deer and squirrel are feasting daily on them.

Tomorrow, I think I'll make another batch of pearsauce. That seems to be the favorite so far.

Logical Thinking

 As you may have noticed here, I generally try to be positive and avoid controversial topics, but I just want to address what has been bothering me lately.

There are a lot of very vocal (and physical) disagreements going on in this country right now on some very important issues. Understandably, many people are intensely passionate about them, but that means they are thinking emotionally instead of logically. And this kind of thinking is the nemesis of a productive discussion.

I understand that people feel strongly about some issues for good reasons and most people are not disagreeing to just disagree. However, I have what I think are valid questions that I would like to explore on some issues, but hesitate to bring them up for fear of being attacked. How am I supposed to understand things if I can't even ask the questions? How can I learn why someone is so passionate about an issue if they won't let me talk about it unless I am in total agreement? And how will anyone understand my point of view if my words cause them to react immediately in an emotional way so they don't really hear what I'm saying?

Passion is a way for a movement to get started. But working only with passion that is not followed up with some logical and rational thinking will not work. Too many people will be alienated on both sides to come to any understanding. 

Hopefully, the pendulum will start swinging back to the middle soon and we can have real discussions on what really matters to people in a productive way. Until then, God help us.

Good Stuff

Here's some good stuff we're enjoying around our house these days.

The surprise lilies are blooming. Always a welcome sight in August when the heat has gotten to many of the other flowers.

We successfully grew brussel sprouts from some plants found in the middle of the road. 

 

Theo roasted them with a little oil and Parmesean cheese and they were delicious.

However, we haven't been as successful with our tomatoes this year. Between the deer and the stink bugs, we have only gotten one. Luckily, Uncle Billy's are doing well and he has shared his bounty.

We've been eating them a lot of different ways including in this yellow squash and tomato casserole.  The squash came from our garden. 

We have a large crop of pears this year.  We're relatively new at harvesting pears and we're still learning the best way to do that. However, so far we have enjoyed some to eat and made pear sauce. I may make a pear and blueberry pie tomorrow.

I refinished the top of a stand I got from my parents house. It has been in the family as long as I can remember and was very well used--meaning the top was in pretty bad shape. I forgot to take a before picture, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. 

Ward got a new replacement for his favorite backpacking tent that had developed a leak.  He mailed it back to the company for a repair that he expected to pay for, but they replaced the whole tent with no charge. He hopes to get another 10 years use out this one.

Thankful Friday, August 14, 2020

I am thankful for MVA workers.

"Have a nice day."

Last week, I had an appointment with the MVA (Motor Vehicle Administration). They had been closed to in-person transactions for a while and now were open only with appointments. I showed up early for my  appointment and to my surprise there were 25 people in line waiting to be screened before entering the building. It was at least 100 degrees in the unshaded parking lot where we were lined up and for the half hour I was waiting in line, I watched poor, naive people go to the front of the line thinking that since they had an appointment, they could go right in. Nope. We all had appointments. When I finally made it to the front and after I passed the screening questions, I made it into the building where they took my temperature. I then went to the counter to get a number. There I was told that my wait would be at least an hour and they were right. When it was finally my turn, the transaction was done in less than five minutes and I was good to go. 

Then I thought about how hard it must be to work at the MVA--especially on days when you are dealing with people who have been in the heat (while wearing a mask) and have to wait and wait and wait for something that can't be done anywhere else. Every employee I talked to was friendly and competent. They were trying, but they had been put in circumstances where none of their customers were happy. Part of my job is answering calls, listening to problems, and trying to solve them. I could very well imagine what kinds of comments the MVA workers were getting. It's not an easy job they do, especially during these COVID days, and I do not envy them at all. So for the MVA workers and the patience they show in difficult circumstances, I am thankful.

Thankful Sunday--August 9, 2020

 I am thankful for insects.

According to National Geographic, there are 1.4 billion insects for each one us and we couldn't survive without them. So for insects big and small and parts they play in nature from everything from pollination to decay, I am thankful.

Here are a few of them that I've seen recently.

A Linear Park

On the weekends, Ward and I have been trying to take early morning walks before it gets too hot and explore the local area. Recently we have hiked a nature trail and another weekend we walked the historic district of a nearby little town. This weekend, we visited Carroll Creek Linear Park in Frederick, MD. We had gone there years ago and had been meaning to go back. On Sunday, we finally made that happen.

The park was first conceived in the 1970's as flood control to protect historic downtown Frederick. All of the engineering for flood control was built underground and the above ground part was developed into a 1 1/2 long walkway. 

There are many restaurants and business developed along the walkway but none of them were open during our walk-partly because it was Sunday morning and partly because of COVID-19 concerns. That also meant that the crowds were sparse and it was easy to maintain social distancing. Here are a few things we saw along the way.

This is the base of one of the bridges. The unique thing about it is that all of this "stonework" is painting on a flat surface. You have to get very close before you realize this, as it matches other real stonework in other places along the way.

Thankful Sunday, August 2, 2020

I am thankful for rain.

We got measurable rain last night--a whole 1/2 inch! I'm so happy. I've never lived in an dry climate and don't know if I could. There is something so refreshing about rain--especially when it's been scarce (no measurable rain for weeks here). And to top it all off, we got our new rain barrel installed just in time to get it filled up with the latest rain. The barrel is located close to our vegetable beds, so this should make watering them easier. So for rain along with a full rain barrel, I am thankful.

Day lily

Chrysanthemum 

Caladiums 

Iris leaf with Creeping Sedum

Fig tree

Cucumber

Pool of water in squash blossom. There was a very disappointed bee that couldn't get to the pollen here.

While the rain was going on, baby house wrens were hatching in their dry nest box.

The rain barrel was made from an old olive barrel.