Critter Chronicles: My Neighbor's Pear Tree

The neighbor across the alley has a pear tree in the back yard which I find myself studying when I'm out. First off, it's got to be at least thirty fee tall. I didn't think pear trees got that tall, but thinking about it, there's no reason they shouldn't. In the spring, it's covere with blossoms, which are soon hidden by leaves. And as the season progresses, it becomes laden with pears.

As the pears mature and start to fall, the tree becomes a favored stopping off place for the rabbits and squirrels in the neighborhood. (Probably the rats, too, but I don't seem them very often.) I once saw a squirrel -- and not a very big one -- making off across the parking lot with a pear in it's mouth that was almost at big as it was -- whether the plan was to bury it for later or find someplace more secluded for lunch, I never discovered.

And this fall, within the space of a day, it turned from green to bright, flame red. It was glorious for a few days, but then we had a very windy day and the leaves were pretty much stripped off -- along with the remaining pears. (We've had a very windy summer and fall -- I credit the hurricanes and tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico, which tend to drive warm winds up the Mississippi valley.)

And still atrractive -- the branches tend to droop a bit, which gives it a graceful appearance.

I still can't get over how tall it is, though.