Hop-a-long

I am not sure whether we have adopted him or whether he has adopted us but we have a delightful white pigeon (or dove?) that visits our garden regularly. His left foot is badly damaged, which is why we affectionately named him Hop-a-long. Sadly he is bullied by the other pigeons at the feeding stations. Of an evening when the other pigeons have flown to roost, Hop-a-long still remains in the garden often perched on a window ledge or on the roof of the glass lean-to. 

Dave has taken to feeding Hop-a-long at this time of night, being given his own dish full of goodies. Dave keeps guard to keep any other pigeons away. This has resulted in Hop-a-long following Dave closely around the garden and his not being afraid to come to the lean-to when we are in there. 

We feel very privileged to have Hop-a-long in our garden. We might not be able to do anything about his foot but we can show him some kindness and maybe prevent his starvation. Life is life and all life deserves compassion and respect. 

Pear trees ready to harvest, 8th October 2016

Our pear tree, together with a cherry tree and another fruit tree that didn't make it, were given as a present more than 25 years ago. The trees were described as miniature but it seems that nobody told them that. Both remaining trees are many feet high.

And the pear tree has encroached into the cherry tree's space.

This year there is a bumper pear harvest. We do not use pesticides in our garden meaning that the pears each have to be inspected and and bad areas removed when the fruit is peeled. The remaining good parts of the fruit are cut into pieces, washed then microwaved with a small amount of water. Just as well that stewed pears are a favourite of ours. The cooked fruit can be easily frozen for future use. At the moment we are eating windfalls but it won't be long until we can remove the pears from the tree easily.

Some of the branches are so heavy that they have reached the ground and some branches have snapped. In the first of the following two pictures the string preventing the branch from drooping further can be seen at the top left. The plant on the extreme left with the yellowy leaves is an apple tree. Plenty of blossom early in the year but no fruit.

Some of the branches are now so low that we cannot walk easily on the footpath under the pear tree but have to walk around it on the lawn. The picture, taken from the back door, shows the garden path.

The final picture shows the view from under the pear tree looking towards the bird and hedgehog feeding stations and the hedgehog house.

After this year's harvest both the pear tree and the cherry tree will be cut back.