Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

A Battle with a Pear Tree

I was probably sixteen or seventeen and my mother, sister, and I were visiting my mother’s brother, my uncle Calip. While he worked full time for an oil company, he still had considerable acreage he farmed. However, there were several old farms that had been abandoned and were now used to grazing cattle or some other function that when families lived there.
The conversation got around to the fact there were fruit trees on these abandoned farms that were still bearing fruit. At this time of year, there were several pear trees loaded with pears. Now there are different types of pears, and what was most plentiful were pears for canning or cooking. Also, the older folks knew where some of these trees existed on abandoned farms close by.
Nothing would do but we go down to the nearest abandoned farm and harvest some of the pears that were there. So, we gather some sacks to carry the pears in and troop a mile or so down the road to this abandoned farm that lay closer to the Red River.
After harvesting all the pears close to the ground, I was elected to climb up and gather the pears higher up. This I did picked a lot and was finally up quite high. Then, suddenly the limb I was on broke and then I broke through several lower levels, and I came crashing down. Fortunately, Uncle Calip was close and caught me! So, my warning to be very careful when you are climbing trees. Different ones can be brittle, and their limbs break easily! Just Sayin…RJS

kandydisbar Loc: West Orange, NJ

Luckily your limbs did not!!

Wv mike Loc: Parkersburg area. Wv

When I was little we would gather chestnuts. My dad would give me his hat lift me up to the first limb so I could climb up and shake the tree.
Have you ever been hit with a chestnut burr full of nuts that’s what the hat was for but it didn’t do anything for the rest of me. I would shake the tree and then hug it tightly and think small.

Billycrap2 Loc: Mason county,W(BY GOD) Virginia, 🇺🇸🦅

1Oldboat42 Loc: Kearney, Nebraska

We did the same thing with pecan trees where I grew up in Mississippi. They might be smaller but would still sting pretty good when they hit. The local pear tree was easier.

CamT Loc: La Porte, Texas

It was the same with black walnut trees for us ouch, ouch and ouch. We wore hard hats but our shoulders suffered

MuskyJohn Loc: Benton Harbor, MI

Nice story!!!
Thank God for your Uncle Calip!!!
And that you weren't hurt.
And pears are the most underrated fruit ever!!! I eat pears instead of apples!!!!
There's nothing like a juicy, gritty pear to dive into!!
Just sayin'.
Thanks RJS!!

Placerville Loc: Northern California

Reminds me when I was young and harvesting walnuts. We would climb the tree and put the cable around the branch we wanted to shake. The tractor would back up and shake the branch and I would try to stand upright and hide under my little hard hat so the walnuts would not hit me. I would have bruises all over what I could not get under my hard hat. Sometimes I would have to get quite high. Was always easier climbing than getting down.

Mauwehu Loc: Norwalk Ct

We all need an uncle calip when we’re kids. Might have mentioned it before but as kids we had an apple tree in the middle of afield that was overgrown with honeysuckle vines. We could all lay prone at the top of the tree watching the sky and sucking honeysuckle.