Love your story about you and your grandfather. Think you might really enjoy this thread Napoleon’s army planted pear trees fact or fiction? .To be able to see the pears Napoleons army planted is another priveledge. The video is very good Scenes from a village 33 - Napoleon's pear trees (2014) on Vimeo .Standard pears can live hundreds of years. This is from another thread i posted years ago
"I’m not sure this is a pear tree but this is what it said and what it looked like.
" Workers cut a tree, 1800s
Believe it or not, this vintage photo of working on the upper branches of trees is real! They were pruning it to bear more fruits and continue growing. For children reading this, please don’t try it at home. Those men may look cool trimming trees up there, but they were putting their lives on the line. Besides, they were professionals so they knew what they were doing." "
