Weekend Exposure - Quince and Christmas Visitors

Hi Hyde...I hope all is still going well for you and the Mrs. and you are busy back at work!

I didn't post alot of info on this fruit because the article from Ben covered most everything. I did leave a long comment on his article about them, you should check it out.

Wishing you all a wonderful and healthy new year!

I'm so happy for you!!

Thank you!

You're right Dubbya....they are actually spikes. I look like the Goodyear Blimp when I go to cut them back...it takes 2 days and many holes in the arms, stomach, legs, hands....they penetrate anything you have on...including leather gloves. The birds love them to nest in.

Thanks etva...your blooms look a little more orangish then mine and I didn't see the thorns on it, are there spikes/thorns on yours? It's a beautiful color though. The limbs on the Quince are supposed to be the main attraction of the tree because they grow every which way and cross thru the trees. I tried to let one of them grow without cutting it back for a few years but some kind of hedge started coming up in the middle of it so I cut it back to get the hedge...you don't go into these trees unarmed, lol. If you need a yard barrier that NOTHING will come thru...these are what you want! I call them the maneaters, lol.

Thanks Mrs. D....I thought it may be my daughter and mom visiting me on Christmas since I haven't seen my woodpeckers in some time and they are my favorite birds.

I liked that photo too, and took some others that were pretty good, just never got around to doing anything with them. I was glad Ben posted his article...it snapped me out of some weird place my head has been :)

Thanks Fletch...thorny isn't even the word! The woodpecker in the first shot likes to make me chase him thru the woods and it just was not happening on Christmas, but he did at least come to see me. The second one is not a very good shot, but I was happy to see him too!

Thanks Holly, they really are beautiful but you can't touch them without getting stabbed, I've never seen anything like it, lol. They get me everytime I mow and weedeat.

I'm actually looking forward to trying to do something with them next year if we don't have another drought. There was not much fruit this year and alot of it ruined on the bush due to lack of water I think. Depending on the history/myth of the fruit, yes, Ben was very brave to try it. I know people used to make preserves out of them but I've never seen any or tried it.

Do yours have the long spikes/thorns on them?

Thanks Anna...it was special seeing them on Christmas day, very rare, but very welcome!

Happy New Year to you too, be safe!

Happy New Year to you too bobby! I hope it's a great one for you!

Hi bobby, thanks for stopping by and sharing. The Halloween tree sounds like a perfect name for your tree, I would love to see it with it's little pumpkins hanging on it. I've never seen squirrels or anything but birds in the Quince trees, well there was a snake in one one year after a birds nest, but he didn't get far trying to get thru the thorns, lol. I used to have a dog that would walk around the bottom of one of them to scratch his back with the thorns, eek! If it wasn't for their beautiful flowers I wouldn't even have them, it takes 2 days to cut them back in the fall and by the time I get it loaded and unloaded I have about 100 holes stabbed in me.

Your mind is always working....you don't need help to get you to thinking, lol!

You might want to check out the thorns before you decide you want some of these!

Hi Gray...I use a Kodak C875 w/5x Optical Zoom. Most of these photos were taken between noon and 3 pm. The first 3 were taken on Christmas day, the one with the fruit was taken back in the summer/fall and I couldn't tell you what time it was.

Thanks, and thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year to you!

Thanks Grisham, I remember hearing Quince jams and jellies and stuff like that a long time ago but never saw any and the memory passed with time. I think whoever had this property before me must have had an orchard here because I have a pear tree in the back yard, an apple tree in the front yard, and now have 15 Quince bushes that I started from the original that came up. I think I just created alot of work for myself but they are truly beautiful in full bloom.

Thanks Jackie! It's good to see you! I like that one too, I should have posted them "back in the spring" but something always seemed to get in the way, lol.