Pears Anyone?

The pear harvest continues. We had enough to share with friends, with enough left for several batches for the freezer and for canning. Still working on the canning.

Do you recognize this variety? I would love to know. The two trees we bought were labeled 'Moonglow', but they don't look like photos I've seen. The fruit can be huge, has a russet skin over green or yellow tones. Crisp but sweet flesh, medium graininess. They cook up great, better than canned pears from the store. They were starting to fall from the trees in late September and I've been harvesting several times through mid-October.

Pecans, Our Latest Harvest

The pecans have been falling from the trees, and every few days I go out and collect some. The squirrels have also been busy, and our two dogs love to crunch on a few as well. With five mature trees, there's really plenty enough for us all!

For the last few years we didn't have a harvest due to drought and wind storms, but this has been a good year. The nuts are good-sized due to plenty of rain.

I wish you all could taste these nuts in all their rich, full, smoky sweetness. As anyone with access to old trees knows, there is much more flavor in the nuts they produce compared to ones you may buy at the grocery or even fancy nut houses. The reason is that commercial pecans have been bred for size, and in that pursuit some of the flavor has been lost.

When the weather turns cold, I'll sit and shell them, then freeze most for later use. But right now aren't the bright green husks beautiful?