(D♥A) MORE ABOUT PEARS

 It is a beautiful Fall day here, and as I take a break from pealing pears, I realize that we have gotten so caught up in all the Fall work on the farm that we forgot to post a pear update.  As you may have noticed in recent posts, we have been up to our elbows in preparing the fruits of our foraging expedition, so here's a brief update.

On Sunday, Anna made contact and arrangements for the pears from the our previous posting.  Those beautiful pears were actually not going to be used! Monday found us with buckets and tubs, gathering a good supply of fruit, much of which we picked up from the ground.  We had to fight the Yellow Jackets for a few, but neither of us got stung, thank goodness! Many of the pears had bruises and blemishes, but still great pears for canning, and such a shame to let them rot on the ground.  We also picked some from the tree for eating fresh and longer keeping. But we should have taken a tall ladder, as the best ones, of course, were waaaaayyy up high in the tree, far above either of our reach. Considering our extreme heat and drought this summer, it is amazing that any fruit tree was this productive this year.

Since that time, we have both been spending a lot of time pealing and preserving pears in between other necessary activities.  Yes, there is a fair amount of so called waste to the damaged fruit, but with farm animals to feed, there is really no waste at all.  The chickens and goats at both farms are enjoying the leftovers to the fullest, like kids in a candy store.

We will post further updates soon, hopefully with pictures.  For now,  there is work to be done while resting from the fruit processing.

(D♥A) FORAGING FOR FOOD

With grocery prices soaring, each trip to the supermarket is a greater hardship than the last time, the most obvious solution is to grow more of our own.  It only makes sense; but what about foraging?  Foraging for food comes in many forms ranging from gathering wild mushrooms, greens and other edible wild plants, to hunting and fishing, and yes, even finding unused fruit on trees in backyards in town.

Friday, as Anna and I were driving down a street in her hometown, I pointed out a large, beautiful pear tree I spied in a back yard.  It was absolutely loaded with luscious pears, which was striking if only for the fact that it has not been a particularly good fruit year in this area.  The look on Anna's face and her excited exclamation encouraged me to do the first thing that had come to mind, go back and ask about the pears in hopes of obtaining a good quantity of fruit cheaply, (or better yet, free).

All the way back to the residence, we were talking excitedly about ways to preserve any pears we might get and types of recipes they could be used in.  We discussed several, but are certainly open to suggestions and recipes, any suggestions, ideas and comments being welcome.
 
Unfortunately, there was nobody at home.  Yes, we did leave a note on the door with contact information and are still hoping to hear from the owners.  It would be such a horrible waste for all those delicious pears to sit ignored and rotting. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for the surplus or unwanted fruits and nuts in your neighborhood.  In many cases, to remove them from a property is a mutual good, disposing of an unwanted mess on the owner's property and putting high quality food on your table.  Everybody wins.