The other day when we went four-wheeling, we decided to take a break and stop to visit our neighbor Kathy.
Kathy lives about 1/2 mile from us down the road. She lost her husband to cancer about 2 years ago and now lives on her own with her 38 cats...yes, 38 cats on 20 acres of farmland. In the summer, you can find her outside puttering in the flowerbeds, playing with the cats or mowing the grass. She doesn't get many visitors so we try to stop in there regularly and give her a hand with anything she might need help with.
To my surprise, she has fruit trees just loaded with fruit! I had never seen anything like her trees. So I had to take pictures to show everyone her bountiful harvest this year. She told us to come and pick as many as we want since she doesn't want to see them go to waste. What an offer! I can imagine jams, jellies, pies, tarts, desserts of a wide variety due to her generosity. I will definitely be making sure she gets some samples to try when they are made.
Apples. Minnesota Honeycrisp. Yummy!
As you can see, the tree is beginning to die in a few places (I think) or maybe it just needs to be pruned. The apples are not wormy at all and she doesn't even spray them.
Crabapples!!! Luke's favorite. He must have eaten 20 of them while we were visiting with her. :)
Look at those crabapples! The branches are drooping in the weight of all the crabapples. The deer move in at night and eat the ones that have fallen on the ground.
They have just the right amount of tartness.
Branches laden with fruit.
Now this is my absolute favorite! A pear tree!!! Nope, didn't see any partridges up there.
I didn't know that a person could grow pears in Minnesota! Kathy said that they aren't quite ripe yet.
She also said that they taste just like a Bartlett pear. Mmmmm. Good.
Look at those crabapples! The branches are drooping in the weight of all the crabapples. The deer move in at night and eat the ones that have fallen on the ground.
They have just the right amount of tartness.
Branches laden with fruit.
Now this is my absolute favorite! A pear tree!!! Nope, didn't see any partridges up there.
I didn't know that a person could grow pears in Minnesota! Kathy said that they aren't quite ripe yet.
She also said that they taste just like a Bartlett pear. Mmmmm. Good.
Aren't they cute! This tree is amazing as it stands about 200 feet high and the pears reach all the way to the very top! Just amazing.
So very soon, I will have a ton of work to do with baking, canning, freezing and dehydrating and Kathy will be receiving a big basket full of all the treats.
So very soon, I will have a ton of work to do with baking, canning, freezing and dehydrating and Kathy will be receiving a big basket full of all the treats.
She is a wonderful neighbor and so sweet. I hope she finds some comfort in knowing that we will always be there to give her a hand when she needs it.
Beautiful! Talk about self-sufficiency!
ReplyDeleteI love the trees and fruit! I wish I had a fruit tree in my back yard! Honeycrisp! Yum! I also had no idea that someone could grow pears in MN! Wow!
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