Here is the sum total of my Euro pears after the squirrels ate the 150-200 they decided was their share. Bagging didn’t slow them down, but they couldn’t figure out how to get at these two.
Last year they ate all my Asian pears but left the Euro pears alone. This year they ate the Euro’s but I actually got to eat a couple of Asian pears that for some reason they left. They also left me 3 peaches, maybe because they heard me say I was going to remove the tree since I never got any fruit. I keep feeling it is like playing the slots in Vegas - they let you win a little now and again so you’ll keep playing.
The deer were merciless on my fruit trees and any veggies I planted in my yard (except kale, which they left for the whiteflies and harlequin bugs), but I got some nice cabbages, tomatoes, and other stuff from my community garden plot, despite a lot of theft there as well. I had expected it due to the economic hardships, so mostly just sighed and kept weeding.
My potted figs were mostly ruined by splitting from the rain, birds and squirrels and lots of bugs. This is the first time I’ve had so many yellow jackets attack my fruit, which I hope is just a one year change and not a new normal.
But I connected with some very nice local gardeners and folks online, including here of course, harvested a fair amount of veggies (some weeks enough to donate the excess to the food bank), a few delicious pieces of fruit, and watched some things grow and flourish, including a bunch of new persimmons I grafted with the help of many generous members who send me scion wood. Who could complain?