Thursday, May 17, 2012

Parsley In A Pear Tree...

If you've been following my blog for a while, you've probably figured out that Big Daddy is a bit of a character. And for those of you who are less frequent visitors here, I'll just clue you in right now - the man of the house is a study in contrasts. On the one hand, he's a serious guy working hard to provide for his family, his engineering partners, their clients and employees. On the other hand, he's a goofball whose humor can come at you from various angles - sometimes simultaneously, and sometimes when you least expect it.

He can lay the groundwork for a practical joke knowing full well that it might take months to bring it to fruition, but that's part of the fun for him. When we gather as a family, he always figures out some oddball challenge to keep us busy and entertained (like the recent wife-carry race or blow-dart competition). He sometimes says about himself, "If I had more money, I'd admit to being eccentric," but he's living proof that wealth has nothing to do with eccentricity.

And he loves to put his own words to well-known music. As he did the other morning when I gathered a big bundle of parsley that had survived the winter, but bolted early. As I brought the bundle into the kitchen to wash and chop, he started singing, "And some parsley in a pear tree..." to the tune of Twelve Days of Christmas, adding other words and phrases throughout the day. Because he sang it every time he walked into the kitchen, and because I couldn't get the tune out of my head, I decided to make it reality.
"And some pars-le-e-e in a pear tree."


The ground is so dry under this tree that we've been hauling water to  it
in hope that it 's enough to keep  the pears growing.

The first summer we owned Le Rustique, we got a bumper crop of pears from this tree. The previous owners took some, we gave a few boxes away, I made a lot of pear pies (sometimes with onions, sometimes with ginger), and I froze bags of them to use in smoothies all winter long. Last year the tree was even heavier with fruit, but the week before we were going to harvest the pears, someone stole every last pear off the tree. This tree was nearly forty-feet high, loaded from top to bottom (except where the deer could reach in the middle of the night), and suddenly there wasn't a single pear left on it.

After I got over being furious that someone would do that - and could do it out in the open and so close to our house without being caught - I wanted to cry, but I'm too pragmatic for that. Instead, we took advantage of there being no fruit on the tree to give it a long-overdue haircut.
By the time I ran to get my camera, this guy was nearly done giving
the pear tree a good thinning and topping off.
 Sometime this summer, we're installing security cameras, and Big Daddy is going to put a sign next to the tree saying, "DON'T STEAL OUR PEARS! SECURITY CAMERAS IN USE." Can you believe the gall of some people? And how in the world did they manage to pull if off? In the city they steal your lawn mower, in the country they steal your pears???

Linking to Rural Thursday, where the stories and photos from rural folk everywhere are worth a look.

16 comments:

  1. okay, now i want to know who stole your fruit! unless you've got a stray giraffe, they would have had to have some equipment handy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the sense of humor you and Big Daddy have!

    I can't imagine how they managed to get every last pear. That's a huge tree. That's just awful!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Probably a family of thieves.
    So very depressing. There are so many people who don't respect the property and hard work of others.
    I can see it getting worse, too.
    *hugs* and good luck this year!

    ReplyDelete
  4. how is that possible?? dirty, rotten scoundrels!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hope the cameras work for you. That's pretty bad to steal your pears.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my pear thieves, who ever heard of such a thing? Love the Parsley in a Pear tree! Hubby sounds a bit like mine. Did you say he is an Eingineer? Mine is and everyone thinks he's so quiet until they get to know him. A bit of a character. Tell hubby I'd like to hear his song. lol!
    Hugs,
    Jann

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's so wrong... I'm sure if they had asked for a few, you would have happily complied.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I can't imagine! Shame on who did that!! We have had our mailbox redecorated a few times by kids, adults whoever but I can't imagine having someBODY walk on to my country property and steal something right out of my yard. Shoot at it maybe, unfortunately. Shame on them!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh the nerve of some people! I've had pumpkins taken off my front porch before during the fall season.
    If I were a mean person, I'd say that I hope the pears give them the severest bellyache they've ever had! There!! Now I feel better. :D
    Have a nice weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sorry about your pears. I hate it when people walk down my lane and steal my flowers.

    Really cute post and a little quirky: )

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh des-pear! Your pears disa-peared. (Sorry, I couldn't resist)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh my! How selfish of someone to steal your pears....every last one! I hope that never happens again.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jokes aside I hope the bobcat scares the bejesus out of them and they never come back to steal your pears.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your putting the parsley in the pair tree had me tickled. And, I can't say that I'm surprised that someone managed to strip your pairs from the tree unnoticed. After all it was probably the last thing you would have expected to happen. But, I would certainly throw the book at them if they try a repeat this year.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm mad, and it's not even my tree. :( I remember years ago I had a tomato plant outside my apartment. Just one, and it took all season to get two tomatoes. I came home from work one night to find both had been taken. It broke my heart. Can't imagine a whole tree of pears, though. You're right. The gall of some people. Security camera should help.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ha ha, that parsley is funny!

    I can't believe they stole your pears! We've had neighbors ask before if they can pick some apples, and we usually have more than we can use, and are happy to share. But we've never had apple thieves!

    ReplyDelete

I am so happy that you have visited my blog, but I am thrilled that you have chosen to comment.