buds and then fruit

I noticed some tiny buds on our fruiting pear tree and ventured outside as the sun was setting to take this photograph. I love the branches of this tree; they curve in all directions and have a lot of character. Each spring, they burst into bloom, and by summer, we have tiny pears growing. But in the four years we've lived in our mid-century rancher, we haven't tasted a single pear. You see, the squirrels tend to get there first. The grab every last pear they can reach, take a single bite, and drop them to the ground. Too tarty perhaps? I get a giggle every summer at all the unripe pears on our patio with tiny squirrel nibbles taken out of them.

And it begins.