Pear Surprise

On a whim I checked the pear trees yesterday - I'd kind of forgotten about them, down by the pond, and last year most of them were eaten by squirrels stressed from no rain.  
Whoa.  This is the first picking = 39 pounds of sand and bartlett pears.  Today Levi & I picked up another 4 pounds & there's still a gang of 'em in the trees.

 It's enough to keep me busy for a few days.  I made a batch of plain natural pear-sauce tonight (like applesauce, just with pears).  It cooked down for 2 hours - which made it thick & concentrated the natural sweetness.

I'm going to make another batch of this tomorrow & add sieved raspberries - the berries will add a little tangy sweetness & make the finished sauce pink - what kid can resist that!?