One of These Things is Not Like the Others...

Which of these pear trees doesn't belong?

I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo or not, but the tree in the foreground looks different from the others lining my drive.  It's not quite shaped the same, and it isn't blooming.  For years, I've blamed this on the fact that I've had to replace a number of these trees over the years, and I always fill in with another Cleveland Pear tree, courtesy of our local neighborhood Big Lots store.

Last Spring, however, we got a few blooms on this tree.  Lo and behold, later in the summer, we actually got a few pears growing on the tree too.

In early September last year, I was able to pick my pear harvest.

Now I know that somehow, Big Lots sold me a different kind of pear tree.  I don't mind so much because it is alive and actually produced fruit, which is something that none of the very expensive fruit trees in my now defunct orchard have never done.

This year, the tree is COVERED with flower buds, so I have high hopes for an even better pear harvest this year...IF we can get to them BEFORE the critters.