Free Pears

I have hit the pear jackpot!  Every day as I go back and forth to work, I pass a farm that has 2 huge pear trees at the end of their long lane.  Every day for at least the past year (when I realized they were pear trees) I saw those trees and wondered if anyone ever used the pears.  Late last fall, when it was too late to do anything with the pears, I mentioned it to David.  He told me his mom knew the owners.  She gave me their number, and I called them and asked if they ever used the pears, and if not, could I please pick some?  She told me I was welcome to them, because they never used them.  Yay!  So I went down one day after work and picked 2 of the green round buckets full.  They're small pears, but that didn't bother me. 

Then, I was out driving around for work one day, and saw another old farm with several pear trees that were just loaded down with fruit!  I happened to know the farmer, so I called him and asked if they ever use them.  He said I was welcome to them, because nobody was living in the house and they didnt' want the pears.  So I went out and picked another green bucket full and the two black rectangular trays full. 

I read up on pears first, and learned that pears rarely ripen to perfection on the trees.  They will ripen from the inside out, which means most fruit will end up with a rotten core and mealy texture.  I'm fairly certain I picked these at the right time, because the trees were starting to drop fruit, and the fruits I picked came off easily but were still very firm.  I've got most of them in the fridge to chill, and hopefully once they're ripe I can use them.  I'm planning on canning some, making pear sauce, and maybe trying some pear butter! 

Hooray for free fruit!