Dried Pears and Global Warning

Good morning everyone,

I hope this note finds you well, and if you are living in an area hit by the ice storm, that your trees and home are intact.

My husband and I listened to the news this morning, snug in bed, and when it was over simultaneously said we were really lucky to be living in London, and that the ice missed us and our trees.

Some years ago, a wet, physically heavy, deep early snow came down and tore down major trunks on our mulberry tree, which was still in leaf.  Many trees around the city lost branches and trunks because of this leaf/snow weight. 

This past summer we had harsh lesson on the need to thin bumper crop apples.  We'd been saying to each other that there might be too many for the branches to hold as they ripened ... and overnight there was a really heavy rain - who thinks about rain falling having weight?! - and a major trunk cracked off.  We cut and pruned and picked off great quantities of apples.  Then went after thinning the pears from the pear tree as well.  A lot of work!  And a lot of guilt about not pruning the apple in a timely way.  We know how to delay pears from ripening, and apples keep well, so were able to spread the sauce making and the slicing/dehydrating over a week or so.  Plus we have one of the brilliant and sturdy slicer/peeler/corer gadgets that Lee Valley sells. We got some great lessons in timely fruit tree care, buckling down to work through a problem, and the reward of a winter's worth of dried and freezer fruit.

So, altogether lucky.  We have pears and apples and the trees are o.k. for next year (for now).

We realize this ice storm is the sort of weather anomaly that will happen more often in future.  In our region we may not be flooded out, as will Halifax, New York, and Florida, but weird weather things are going to have bad effects, more often. 

A few years ago I'd put a lot of copied articles about climate change in a binder, and when I looked at the spine tab I realized I'd printed Global Warning.  Every time I look at it, or add another article, I don't change it.

The binder reminds me of why I'm involved in local environment actions.  Sweet dried apples and pears are my reward.

Very best regards,

Why's Woman