Dear Reader:

Yesterday afternoon as I was walking around the house to get the water hose to spray my hanging ferns… something sitting on the fence caught my attention. It was a half-eaten pear.

The beauty of this simple sight drew me to it and my Iphone…I quickly snapped the photo and walked off…but the mystery behind this scene lingered…

I figured a squirrel, most likely, had nibbled away at it…but why stop half-way and especially leave it balanced on a thin plank fence? Was the squirrel some type of philanthropist..sharing his wealth with others?

It doesn’t quite match most squirrels’ rather self-centered attitudes but then perhaps this squirrel was different. Lots of animals eat apples and pears…like rabbits, rodents, and deer…but I deducted it must have been a squirrel since it had climbed to the top of the fence to eat its feast and then, for some unexplained reason, left quite quickly…

Maybe a large hawk or some other flying predator’s shadow spread over the pear-eating squirrel and it figured that he could either continue eating and then probably be eaten itself…or leave half the spoils of the find and head for cover to eat another day.

As I researched pear-eating “critters” I came across a quite humorous article on the “new age” squirrels versus their ancestors.

Squirrels and Pears-How to Harvest Both Species!

Squirrels are cute little varmints who are not too particular about whether they eat the apples or pecans that you have spent a fortune on trying to produce.

But squirrels and pears don’t mix! Squirrels are cute little creatures that have become lazy in my yard. The furry devils ate all of my apples and are now mutilating my pears, rather than hunting for the “wild nuts and berries” that squirrels are supposed to eat.

Squirrels don’t want to search for their food in the wilds anymore. And why should they? We’ve grown their food for them in convenient, easy-to-eat forms.

You can say the squirrels of the new millennium are NOT what their parents were. These new-age squirrels want fast food, conveniently packaged.

Squirrels typically feed on tree fruits and nuts. Acorns and pecans have long been favorite foods, but now they have added apples, pears, peaches and tomatoes to their diet as well.

These critters have probably been reading health magazines and think they can lower their cholesterol by improving their diet! That’s all we need-a longer living, healthier squirrel! Squirrels do have a problem with overeating and if weren’t for a daily program of strenuous exercise and rigorous climbing, they would all probably be terribly obese.

……………………….

The article went on to talk about different kinds of traps for squirrels, etc. It reminded me of Poppy and his continuous fight against the squirrels eating his pears and especially his grape vines. His remedy was two-fold: traps and a BB gun.

Every time I pulled into the backyard I anxiously checked the cage set out (that trapped the squirrels) and prayed there wasn’t one in there. I must admit that I have cursed a squirrel or two in my time…but I couldn’t bring myself to dispose of one…I remember, even Dee Dee, setting some free when Poppy wasn’t around… before he spotted it.

I’m not exactly sure how to transition pear-eating squirrels into new thoughts on moon flowers, although their round perimeter does hold a slight resemblance

In the second Karen White novel I read…(Lost Hours) one of the main characters was Miss Lillian, a ninety-year old matriarch of a plantation home outside of Savannah. As she and the other main character, Piper, grow closer and share their love of gardens…much of the talk centers around moon flowers.

One day Miss Lillian admits… that in a way… moon flowers are “silly”flowers, in so much as, they wait to bloom until no one is around to see them… in their one grand moment of unveiling their true beauty on earth…and, then, by the next morning…all that is left of their “Cinderella” debut is something that looks like a wrinkled up piece of white tissue.

I remember stopping my reading and chuckling to myself…how true. I have missed most of my moon flower blooms (on the front porch) since many have waited until the midnight hour or later to dance by the light of the moon. But I know they bloomed because I sweep withered up wads of tissue paper off the porch most mornings.

Here are two moon flower blooms just starting to unfurl their beauty.

The next morning…this is what I see.

Last year my magic moon gate was covered in moon flower blooms by now…this year they have been slow to grow…but finally they have decided to start climbing…hopefully (before the season is over) I will get to see the gate, once again, covered in moon flower blooms.

The vines are finally beginning their ascent….I loved sitting on the deck last summer watching the moon flower blooms unfurl before my very eyes….I still have my fingers crossed that they will make it before the growing season ends.

Last year, this was what the moon flower gate looked like

Near the end of the novel (and Miss Lillian’s last days on earth) she changes her mind about the “silly” moon flowers and tells Piper:

“You know it takes courage to bloom when there is a good chance no one will see you or witness the beautiful transformation in you for your one “Cinderella” moment.

It also takes courage to be seen by many others after the “bloom” when all you have to show for your one shining moment is the look of ugly  wadded up tissue paper…something to be quickly overlooked and swept away. ”

Later Piper would remember those words of wisdom ..realizing that a whole rich life can be lived in a moment if we don’t look ahead but squeeze the joy of living out of our shining moments on earth.

So until tomorrow….Aren’t we happy for mysteries of lone pears sitting on fences and moon flower blooms that shine only for us on our special moments on earth?

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

• Even though I have missed several of the moon flowers blooming this year…my morning glories have made up for it by providing me with pink cotton candy striped colors to resemble moon flowers.