Sunday, August 18, 2013

Strange Harvest

The lone pear tree on the property, planted by idealistic former tenants, every year raises not only my hopes but excites the opossums, squirrels, maggots, birds and bugs around here. Enraptured by the spring blossoms, we watch amazed as they form green pears that gain weight all summer. Then the animals get them all. Except this year they left them for me. It's a plentiful harvest, but they're all bizarre and deformed like these:

The problem could be 1) Leafroller worms chewing on the buds back in spring, creating oddly-shaped pears and bronze-colored scabbing. 2) Another kind of worm, and we had a plague of army worms in May. 3) Fruit fungus (thus the brownish-black patch on the middle pear). 4) Fukushima. A photo of a pear grown this year near Fukushima, Japan, found online, looks a lot like these.

3 comments:

gg.p said...

What do they look like inside? Did you take a taste? Folks want to know these things. I'm sure of that.

Divinebunbun said...

If I can get another I will open it up and see what gives.

gg.p said...

Splendid. I hope you do find another. I'm interested in knowing. I'm also happy to have YOU take the risk to satisfy MY curiosity--although you could try to find me (in order to share).