Did you ever watch the movie Fantasia, either in the 1940s or the rerun in 2000? One of the segments that Disney set to classical music was, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” starring Mickey Mouse as the beleaguered magician’s helper. Here’s the story, based on a poem by Goethe (1797):
An old sorcerer heads home, leaving his apprentice with the chore of cleaning the workshop. Tired of fetching pails of water, the apprentice, using a stray bit of magic he’s picked up from his boss, enchants a broom to haul it for him. The broom does its job, to Mickey’s delight, but doesn’t know the word STOP, and the water level rises alarmingly. The apprentice feels doomed, but when all seems lost, the sorcerer returns, breaks the spell and saves the day.
ELLIE is the name of the apprentice living at my house these days, but it’s a pear tree, not a broom, that won’t quit. (Actually, I could use a quitless broom!) This pear tree has been lazy in recent years, coming up with few of those marvelous Seckel pears that are worth a king’s ransom. This year the tree was loaded, and I could hardly wait for harvest time. I guarded it jealously, driving off crows and woodchucks.
BUT—”thick and fast they came at last, and more and more and more.” We’ve collected a bushel of those sweet, golf-ball-sized pears, with MORE still on the tree. Being so small, they take forever to cut and cook for the freezer, so at this point I’m allowing ALL fruit predators free access—and that includes you!
The Goethe poem has a built-in moral: “Powerful spirits should only be called up by the master himself.” Good advice for dim-witted apprentices, but MY Master doesn’t do magic and has in fact spoken strong words against it.
But his hand created some mighty fine pears that come in small, delicious packages. Stop by and try one . . . or a couple dozen.
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I know exactly what you’re going through Ellie. I have a peach tree and two apple trees in my yard. The apple trees are pretty manageable, but the peach tree keeps me hopping for two to three weeks every August. I have frozen peaches from my tree for 6-9 months every year. And I never learn, because when I see it flower in the spring I start to get excited all over again!
Oh, I’m so jealous! I have a little peach tree that had a fair bit of fruit. I had to go away for a week before they ripened, but when I came home, not a single peach was on the tree or even a pit on the ground! I lamented–loudly!
We have a grapevine that is either feast or famine. Last year there was nothing, but this year has been an abundamce of grapes so that if we don’t pick them when they ripen, they fall to the ground and the insects gorge on them. They are very sweet so my youngest son likes to come back and eat a cluster each day. But last year . . . there was nothing. So enjoy your pears when you can . .
Wonderful web site. Plenty of helpful info here.
I am sending it to a few buddies ans also sharing in delicious.
And of course, thanks for your effort!
Excellent blog here! Also your site loads up fast! What
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to your host? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol