We should have thinned them out. The branches are heavy and low with the weight. They've been falling off into the Girl's free range area, and the Girls are now sick of the sight of them. The wasps are having a field day, every day.
Pears are strange. They are really unripe one day, and then overripe and manky the next day. Sometimes the transition happens in the course of an afternoon. The advice is to pick them and let them ripen off the tree.
We had planned to make Pear Cider with the crop this year. They are ready about now for this - and DH is otherwise engaged. The earliest we can do this is the middle of next week. I know our Pear tree, and I'm not sure it will wait.
I picked a load today, and I'm making pear and lemon marmalade (it's simmering while I type). I'm going to prep some for the dehydrator tonight. And I thought I might try Vitamixing some whole pears to see whether it makes an acceptable juice that way (it's easier than pressing, frankly) . If it does, I can do a load of that and then pasteurise it.
Oh well. Onward and onward.
