Saturday Photo: Proof the Bees Were out

We may end up with more pears this year than the squirrels can eat!  Last year we had perhaps a half dozen but this year there are lots.  I've started picking the ones that look ripe-ish, trying to keep ahead of our bushy-tailed scavengers.

I had feared that last year's dismal crop was due to an absence of bees to pollinate the  pear blossoms, a very sad thought.  The alternate hypothesis centers on the fact that the week the trees were in bloom coincided with a sudden cold snap.  Perhaps teh bees were dissuaded from flying around by the weather, I thought hopefully.

But this year the weather was fine when the trees bloomed, and the fruit set was good.  Now the only thing is to hope that I can pick faster than the squirrels can eat.