pears!

You know summer's almost over when you start seeing those greenish-golden Bartlett Pears falling on sidewalks around town (much like the month of July is a shower of plums, an event I use to mark the midsummer point). To me, windfall pears--and apples--signal the hastening of fall's inevitable arrival, and a time when I need to start thinking about getting into a back-to-school frame of mind (and practicing the lost art of getting up early).

Walking around the neighborhood with the dog, I've noticed the neighbor's Bartlett Pears are landing in convenient locations that I can easily reach, so I've been helping myself. Over on Holgate Ave. on the north side of the street between 39th and 52nd, there's a whole stretch of pear trees, one right after another, that an enterprising pear-loving soul could potentially profit from. North Portland's also a fairly good spot to find large pear trees, as I recall...

Soon, though, it'll be time for apples and figs, then fall will be upon us in earnest. Don't know if I'm ready for it right now, but just like fruit flies...it's inevitable.