Saturday, April 30, 2011

The Apple And The Pear






































"Some say it was a pear Eve ate.



Why else the shape of the womb, or of the cello



whose single song is grief for the parent tree?



Excerpt from "Pears" by Linda Pastan




The pear trees just finished blooming here, and it seems they only lasted about a week! There are more than 3,000 varieties in the world. Did you know they are a relative of the apple? The first pears came here in the 1700's, and they are second only to the apple as the most popular fruit in this country. I would have guessed the banana. Nowhere in the bible does it say that the forbidden fruit eve ate was an apple, we don't know what it was. I think it may have been a fruit made specially for that occasion. Adam and Eve ate it for knowledge. Can one have too much knowledge? In this case, yes. They thought they would be like God, but all they were doing was being was disobedient to their maker. And as much as I love to learn, I do believe that knowledge causes loss of innocence. Perhaps there was more than meets the eye when Jesus told us to become like a little child. Children are trusting to their parents and innocent. Knowledge has not spoiled their view of the world or their innocence. And once that happens, it can be very hard to go back. Something to ponder on this Sunday.




"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."



Genesis 3:6,7

27 comments:

Reanaclaire said...

Oh, they are from the apple family? Such beautiful blooms, Ginny! I can look at them endlessly!

Nature Rambles said...

Wonderful Sunday post, Ginny! Food for thought. I had always thought it was the apple that Eve ate. Glad to know that nowhere is that mentioned.

The photos of the blooming trees as well as the close shots of the blooms are beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Very beautiful photos Ginny. Have a wonderful day.

SquirrelQueen said...

The pear tree blooms are so pretty, I love the ones in your header. I did know pears and apples were very closely related, Washington state is filled with orchards. Apples are a huge crop here.

Unknown said...

They look like the Japanese Cherry tree except it is white.

But I have an apple rather than a pear shape, so Eve must have eaten an apple. LOL

Arti said...

We have a lot of pears in India too but I never had a chance to see how its tree looks like! It is so beautiful!

And yes, I agree.. Knowledge does rob one of his innocence.. A child tossed up in air by his parents laughs because he has complete faith that they will hold him back.. But does he have the same conviction once he is grown up?

Have a wonderful day, Ginny:-)

From the Kitchen said...

Interesting how much we think we know from the Bible just because we've "heard" things. I was sure the apple was set in stone (well, print).

Those trees are gorgeous--even more so since they only "show off" for such a short time.

Best,
Bonnie

Shug said...

Beautiful Picture. One of my favorite things to do is to drive to the farm and see the thousands of trees when they are in bloom....At the nursery, there will be several rows of pears that bloom white and then it will skip to the redbuds that are their brilliant color of red...I
Next year, I'll have to grab a picture for all to see...
Great Sunday thought...
have a wonderful day Ginny...
Shug

Karin said...

Gorgeous parade of pear trees! I've always wondered how the rumor got started that Eve ate from the 'apple' tree, when clearly, as you point out with the Scripture verse, it is not mentioned. When I was young our pastor made sure to tell us. Oh, may we be obedient to our wonderful Creator!

Mary Bergfeld said...

Your photos are lovely, Ginny. Further south in Oregon there is a valley that is prime growing territory for fruit trees, particularly the pear. At this time of year the valley looks as though it is covered in popcorn. It is a lovely site. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

MadSnapper said...

i have always thought that maybe the fruit is no more, since they ate it when they should not, why would God leave it here for us to eat. just a thought, nothing in the word says what it was. the trees are magnificent, the apple blossoms are something i have not seen before. i think our little children, toddlers lose their innocence because they know to much from being treated like adults and not toddlers. 6 year old kids know more about life than i did in high school. i had never heard the word Gay or what it meant or sex or what it meant until i was out of high school. i feel the world is stuffing some in their little brains they never get to be children, they become little adults and don't know how to process what they learn.

Chatty Crone said...

I LOVE this post. The trees are gorgeous there and ours came and went about a month ago.

And you can see innocence lost as our children get older. And they can never go back. And what they don't learn at home - they will learn at school.

And they are always being told to grow up!

Then when we grow up - we want to play again!

Love, sandie

Ann said...

Such pretty trees and blossoms. We have a pear tree in our back yard. It does get a lot of pears on it but they aren't very good. Pretty much just drops a bunch of useless pears on the ground and attracts a ton of bees...lol

Ruth Hiebert said...

Pear or Apple,I will just choose to enjoy these beautiful scenes.i love to see roads lined with such beauty.Hope your day is filled with blessing.

DawnTreader said...

That header picture is stunning. We have trees blossoming here too now. Brief but intense beauty!

Stephanie V said...

Just beautiful. We're waiting for our apple tree to bloom. It's such a baby tree that any bloom will be a surprise. She sure won't look like yours.

Sue @ Not the Good Scissors! said...

Such a beautiful post. I had no idea the Pear was from the Apple family. The trees are gorgeous. Can you imagine at night time how they must look? They certainly would stand out with all of their white.
Have a blessed week. Sue

photowannabe said...

Beautiful blooms Ginny. We had such an early Spring that blossoms are but a distant memory.
Good thought provoking post as usual.
Keep them coming...I always enjoy.

Anonymous said...

Hi Ginny, Pears and Apples and most orchard trees are lovely when they bloom. I have had both Pear and Apple trees at homes I have owned. I like your thoughtful post today. Have a super nice Sunday!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

We have a couple of excellent apple trees, but no pear trees.

Deborah said...

I loved that Ginny! I never new that the apple was never mentioned. I should have though! The trees are beautiful. I have never seen so many in a row!
xxoo
Deborah

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Blossoming fruit tree are so beautiful, esepcially when they are growing in a group!

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

This is a pretty flower, no matter where it is. I did not know about the pear tree and the apple...Thanks

S. Etole said...

What a magnificent procession of trees.

gigi said...

Those trees are amazingly beautiful!

bj said...

The photos are sooo pretty.
I love beautiful blooms.:)

Annie Jeffries said...

I didn't know pears and apples were related but thinking of the seed arrangement within a pear, it makes sense.

I love these pictures Ginny. What makes them especially nice is the softness of the colors. Spring is saying a gentle hello.

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