1) The Windom hospital cut down its apple trees! I’m really sad, those were wonderful Red Baron apples. I mean, I still have too many to pick and process, but I liked those apples.
2) They *do* still have pear trees, though. Two different kinds – the larger ones (almost all gone) have a very thick, leathery skin but are really sweet inside. The smaller ones are very abundant but don’t have much flavor. I’m not sure what they can be used for, but I can get them.
Side note: a few of the thicker-skinned ones have a very creepy booby trap — the wasps love them, and a few were just FULL of wasps. We knocked a couple down, and over 50 wasps came flying out. They ignored us — they just wanted the pears.
3) The GS pears are good for eating, not canning. Their two states of being are rock hard and deliciously sweet. You can can them when they’re ripe, but they fall apart.
4) Robin’s apples are sweet, plentiful, and make a nice pink applesauce. 
