The pear tree has been dropping green pears for the past month; it's just begun to drop pale golden [almost ripe] pears. The dropped pears are bruised and/or half-eaten by big bees, but fine for burying in the garden; compost on site. Those big bees are a bit scarey, being about 4 inches long each with a wicked-looking stinger, but they ignore us in favor of eating fresh-pear-on-a-branch. DH picked about ten 5-gallon buckets of nearly ripe pears just from the bottom-most branches -- our next year's supply without even getting on the ladder. At his age, I prefer that he not go ladder climbing so I'm grateful for the tree's bounty. We're trying to talk neighbors and friends into coming over and getting as many (or more) as they want. While the squirrels seem to consider pear blossoms their springtime entree, they ignore the fruits. Yesterday put up 6 jars of diced pears (for a pear dessert DH favors) and will put up another 2 dozen over the next couple weeks; then plain slices, a pie-filling, pear honey and pear jam. I'm considering a different recipe for the jam, one that uses dried cranberries as well as the pears. I wish the apple tree had grown as happily as that pear tree. The Purple Dome asters are a mass of blooms in spite of being sadly overcrowded; like it or not, I'm going to have to do a major thinning next spring. I hope it's my imagination, but there doesn't seem to be as many goldenrods or wild fall asters along the roadsides this year. Even the chicory is/has been scarce. Our trees shouldn't color until mid-late October, but as always, a few are turning yellow early. More acorns are dropping, these are larger than a man's thumb and you *don't* want to be hit by one! The vehicles are being parked streetside until the trees cease and desist. Some years ago I parked my brand-new car under those oaks, overnight the car's top, hood and trunklid acquired a dense constellation of dents 1/2" deep and acorn shaped. I muttered imprecations about new cars not being as well made as old cars -the old Mazda never even dimpled under the heaviest acorn drop; but we now practice pre-emptive prevention, starting with the first drop of the pin-oak's tiny fruit until the last of the giants has fallen; that's about 10 weeks we don't use the driveway (sigh, but the summer shade is worth the inconvenience). I'm looking over the pantry shelves, and must admit to this year being notable for the fewest jars of anything put up -- only the year I had a broken wrist followed by a badly sprained wrist [other one] during summer/fall saw October in with fewer jars. I'm glad that having so little preserved doesn't mean that we have to do without this winter! Well, we will do without some things -when the pizza or Creole sauce is gone, it's gone- but that doesn't mean hunger, just different menus.

Yes, I have cones every year, but they are never mature enough for viable seed....so far. Years ago I used to get starts from the Cunninghamia lanceolata, 'Glauca' by rooting them from cuttings. I have about 15 over 7 meters tall and a few over 20 meters tall. I should try propagating some more this year. Now is the time. Will, how does it feel to be a major conifer enabler? ;-) Mike....watching it rain. I LOVE being retired and not having to work in the rain anymore.

Happy Fall to you too! I think fall might finally arrive this weekend in Virginia...only suppose to be in the 60's and finally the sun is suppose to shine! WOOHOO!! Bart is a favorite of mine...always love to see how he is going to celebrate the seasons! TFS~

Finished Kathleen Tessaro's "Debutante". Not exactly "chick lit." since it doesn't stress designer clothes or "looking for 'Mr. Right' ". Has depth of character and good background development. One of the characters is partly based on the Mitford sisters. It jumps back-and-forth from a modern-day woman to a back-in-time woman. The woman from the past is revealed through a series of letters she wrote, which pop up in each chapter. A unique, intriguing way to tell a tale; but then I like these sort of parallel universe stories. In the Author's Note section I was disgusted to learn of how people (mostly women, it seems) were locked away in institutions for no good reason. In one case they only had typhoid (no mental problems), and after they were cured, they were kept locked up ... some of them for 60 years ! ! The cure for typhoid was discovered in the 1950s ... some of those women were locked up till the 1990s ! And this -- two women were listed in Burkes Peerage as having died, when they were very much alive -- were cousins of the late Queen Mother. It seems the girls' parents didn't want to deal with their upbringing; so just left them at an "institution" for life. They were later joined by three of their first cousins -- also retarded. One of those girls was sent on to Ketwin House, which was closed down amid allegations of sexual and other abuse. Her "stay" there had been paid by the NHS !! -- even though her family was wealthy. These sorts of things make my blood run cold. And to think, these are perpetrated by intelligent people. And -- worst of all --- in the case of children -- they were put there -- and abandoned, sounds like -- by THEIR OWN PARENTS.