BOO!

Pears

My brother stopped by with a bucket of pears and asked me if I wanted some. Well, I said, "Thanks, but no thanks." He convinced me that they are tasty. He has a juicer and makes pear juice. They grow wild near where he lives and in previous years he has ignored them because they are SOOOOO hard!

He left four for me to try to make pear sauce. I really didn't want any.                               This is a picture of mine:

Since it's my nature to try to learn about almost everything, I researched pears. There are several varieties of "winter pears" and I have determined these are the Nelis pears.

These graphics are from the internet:

There is a lot of information about the winter pears and many recipes as well. One site says:

• Originates from: Mechelen / Malines, Belgium
• Introduced: 1818
• Developed by: M. Jean Charles Nelis

• A very highly regarded late-season dessert pear from Belgium, with an excellent sweet flavor. The fruits keep well.

Another site says that they will ripen after picked. Ok, we'll see about that!

Oh, and by the way, I bought another peck of Cortland apples. I know about apples. Jayne's found this oversized one while sorting and bagging. She put it in the middle of a half bushel bag and wonders what the person who bought that bag will think when they see it!

Jayne's oversized apple

Still life material - mine.

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Abberations

Carole Swingle-Hunsinger took these pictures of an apple at Jayne's Orchard. She works there and takes many nice photos of everything. She didn't say what kind(s)of apples this aberration came from - yet! I was reminded of a photo I took of a rose with a similar appearance. These are unaltered pictures and natural just as Mother Nature gave them to us.

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After research I find that the name for this mutation is chimera. They are apple chimeras, and more information is available at many sites on the internet. Just GOOGLE "fruit chimera" images. You will see many fruits and flowers which also have mutations. The following graphic examples come from the internet.

 In plant chimeras the distinct types of tissue may originate from the same zygote, and the difference is often due to mutation during ordinary cell division. It all has to do with fertilization and division as far as I understand. Enough!

Spook Inspired...

I turned my sunrise picture into a 

“Night Flight.” 

I also spied a spider in my apples!

The cold pantry is full of spiders! What to do? What to do? 

Click on image to view larger if you dare!

Apple Fool

I guess I'll never stop the apple train. I have no desire to get off. Yesterday it was applesauce, today it is another apple cake! Before that I made apple crisp and an apple pie.  Soon I'll air dry slices to preserve for use later and I'll also be simmering apple skin potpourri while baking applesauce breads. Let's see, what can I bake next this week? Oh! I know! APPLE COOKIES!  (Don't hold your breath.) I need to find a recipe for these and I want an old-fashioned one, such as from the early 1900's. Is that too much to ask?

Applesauce cuts

One Bowl Apple Cake (no skins on)

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I realize that these cannot possibly be as pleasing to your sight, smell or taste as they are to me. Also, I think you are tired of my apple pictures, but I like to look back and remember when they are gone until another year! The love will linger on.....

Down the Road.....

The Starucca Viaduct stone arch bridge is about 15 miles from where we live. "Access Aerial, Photographic Services & Equipment" of Jessup, PA took these pictures. They are UAV, aka Drone, enthusiasts that live in northeast Pennsylvania. 

The pictures are a true taste of the area where I live. It's called the "Endless Mountains." Just GOOGLE to learn more about this bridge that was built in 1847-1848. It was the largest stone rail viaduct in the mid-19th century and is still in use.

Starruca Viaduct, Pennsylvania, 1865, by Jasper Francis Cropsey

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Sunrise

This morning! 

7:15 am  34°

We don't see sunsets but OH, the sunrises!

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Lettus Eat Cake!

So we did! I made two applecakes this morning. One is now in the freezer. The other was cut unto eight pieces and is one quarter gone. They are loaded with cinnamon!

Then I ordered a new 15 oz. cup for my winter soups. I love soup in a cup! Do you recognize my Honey Crisp apples?

And played with a friend's picture of a yellow maple leaf.

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Now the day's almost over. What's for supper?

Honeycrisp

My information below comes from a variety of sources on the internet. People should experience the Honeycrisp personally to gain their own knowledge and preference, but I thought it may be helpful to understand why I bought these. They only cost $2.00 more than the same size of all others at the orchard. Yes, we went again!
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Sometimes marketed as Honey Crisp or Honeycrunch, this is a crisp, and predominantly sweet, modern variety from the USA. It was developed by the University of Minnesota specifically for growers in cold climates, and is one of the most cold-hardy of apple varieties. It was introduced in the 1960’s.

It has has rapidly become a prized commercial commodity, as its sweetness, firmness, and tartness  make it an ideal apple for eating raw. It has much larger cells than most apples, which rupture when bitten to fill the mouth with juice. The Honeycrisp also retains its pigment well and boasts a relatively long shelf life when stored in cool, dry conditions.

Honeycrisp tend to ripen at varying intervals and require three pickings before the season ends in November. The trees which grow Honeycrisp apples are relatively weak and yield very large fruit, so they require a trellis system to hold them up and keep their branches from breaking or hitting the ground.

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For additional information...
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Click on an apple to view pictures larger

Dock Update

I think the year was 2004. Our grandson and daughter undertook the task of building a new dock. The supplies were purchased by them and it was built as a surprise anniversary gift to us for when we returned in July from SC. After five years of hot summers and icy winters, it needed preservative applied once more. He had recuperated from a terrible car accident which happened on May 18, 2009 and was ready to get back in action on a project. That same summer they applied preservative.

July 4, 2009

 Two summers later, on August 28, hurricane Irene blew through and the turmoil of the wave activity in the waters caused it to break loose at one end. We were lucky because other docks separated completely from their moorings and floated freely, later crashing into the banks.

August 28, 2011

October 12, 2015

This year we noticed a dip between the ramp and the main end. Our grandson looked it over and decided it needed to be pulled out of the water and reinforced. When he and his buddy got around to doing this, it was October 16 and cold! They pulled it entirely out and up onto the bank with ropes and his truck. It was then discovered that one of the barrels was filled with water, one was partially water logged and one was slightly leaking. This meant they had to all be removed, dumped, and the bungs re-glued so hopefully, no more problems like this could happen. They were able to re-attach the barrels, relaunch and secure the ramp, float the deck out to be attached to the ramp and then resurface all with treated lumber. It took two and a half days of continual work.

October 19, 2015

These two young men (grandson is 26) got the job done with determination while enduring extensive  strain and pain and cold (did I say cold?) weather. Just in time. You may wonder why I didn't take pictures. Well, it was tricky work with a lot of MacGyver action and I didn't want them to be distracted at all.

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This is an autumn view my mother took many years ago.
I just came across this and couldn't help showing it to you. The tall blue spruce is now "James." 

Graupel!

The afternoon of the 28° day it came down.  It was noisy and lasted for about 15 minutes. Then out came the sun! 

I guess we missed the best of it!

28°

First hard frost hits. 

Frost on the dam bank, lake cooling vapors. 

please view larger to see the beauty