Wednesday, October 10, 2007

My favorite tree

This is my favorite tree in our yard. It is a very old pear tree that is beautiful no matter what season it happens to be. In winter you can see the craggy, twisted old branches and beautiful bare shape of the tree, sometimes every branch lined with glistening white snow. In the spring it is covered in white blossoms and delicate spring green leaves. Summer shows the beginnings of the tiny pears and autumn is best. In autumn this tree will be covered in hundreds of beautiful pears and the leaves turn the most lovely shade of deep burgundy. It really is a sight to behold no matter the season. Unfortunately, as beautiful as it is, the pears are inedible. They are almost perfect each year as they "ripen" and tumble to the ground, but they are as hard as rocks! They simply cannot be ripened. We have tried wrapping them in newspaper and putting them in the basement, we have waited until they are the perfect shade of gold and smell enticingly sweet, but they remain hard and unyielding and grainy. I love it anyway for its beauty. I also let it remind me not to concern myself only with what I look like on the outside while letting my heart be hard and unyielding. I will never be as pretty as this tree, but I hope I bear a better kind of fruit.
But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22

22 comments:

  1. Very interesting about your pear tree, I have one too and it just started bearing pears this year...they too were hard when I picked them but after a day or so they had "yellowed" a bit but still were firm.. we tried them and they were delicious!

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  2. You indeed bear the fruit of graciousness and beauty through your blog.....and, my husband would say....throw those apples in the woods for the deer and let them bear a different kind of fruit :-) Have the Best of Weeks.......Rosie

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  3. That is indeed a beautiful tree; and how wonderful that you can enjoy it in every season!
    :)

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  4. Beautiful! God is the best decorator!
    blessings,
    kari & kijsa

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  5. Hey Kathleen. Our neighbor used to have an old pear tree...its fruit was never soft but very crunchy and sweet. Have you tried cooking them, or are they too hard to even cut?

    Rhonda

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  6. You are so beautiful inside and out Kathy! That pear tree doesn't stand a chance against you!

    Some things are beautiful to look at, some are beautiful to the other scenses.
    Penny

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  7. Kathy, I love your outlook on things. I need to learn from you. I love the feeling I get inside when I visit your blog. I would love to have a fruit tree like that too! My grandma had one and we would love to give the apples and pears to the horses!

    Hugs,
    Amy

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  8. Rhonda, I havent tried cooking them! I will have to poach some and see how it works, I don't hold out much hope that they will be improved though, they just don't seem to be very good for eating:>)

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  9. Well, The way I see it, is you have a Mary Tree, not a Martha. And that is not a bad thing to have at all !! :)

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  10. Oh, what a beautiful tree, and a beautiful post, too!
    xoxo,
    Mary

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  11. Awww...what a sweet post. You and your tree are lovely.
    Alexandra

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  12. I love your blog! I am amazed at how many wonderful people I have met through these blogs and am thinking that I would be lost without them! What an encouragment we can be to each other! I will be back to visit often!

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  13. Lovely tree. Lovely fruit you bear through your life & blog!

    xo,
    Melissa

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  14. i picked some pears from a home that were the harder mealy style. I peeled them and sliced thin. Layered them with sugar and let them set awhile. cooked them down like I do my figs. They are great with bisquits.

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  15. Kathy your pears will stand up well to cooking. Have you ever made applesauce, if so treat this variety the same way. If you don't like the sauce just pare (no pun intended) and quarter them. I'll bet you can find many recipes on the internet that would offer creative ideas for using this wonderful abundance of fruit.

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  16. You are a blessing and an inspiration! Wonderful post....love your sweet comments on our blog about your girls....it reminded us to enjoy the journey....blessings, kari and kijsa

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  17. that is abeautiful Tree. I love Pears, I sure wish I could grow things here :)


    Angie

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  18. love all your recent photos! You've commented before on Creative Blogs haven't you? ???? Cuz I've been here before......I think I even have you in my future feature file.

    You would love all my old furniture that I've re-done! Or bought that way. I love painted and distressed furniture. My inlaws don't get it. They say things like "why don't you go out and buy yourself a NEW table" so funny.

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  19. Though the scent alone is lovely, would we know how lovely if we hadn't previously tasted a pear?! You know, I was looking at the pile of Summer books that I've read. Some of them really are pretty. In fact, so pretty that I think that's why I picked them out from all the plain covered classics. Just this morning I remember how many of them I had to stop reading because they had inappropriate content. It's true... You can't judge a book by it's cover.. nor a pear by its skin. Blessings... Polly

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  20. Hi Kathy!
    I am really enjoying having an Etsy store! How about you? But you are right, it is a part time job to keep it stocked and thinking of what to add next. But I truly am enjoying the adventure!

    Hugs,
    Amy

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  21. What a wonderful tree, providing you beauty to enjoy all year long.

    I love visiting your blog and I'm adding you to my list.

    Linda

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  22. We have the same type of pear. We grind them and make a pear relish. It has onions, red and green bell peppers, and celery seed. We eat it on anything you would put pickle relish on.

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Thank you for taking the time to say hello :)