Weeping Silver Pear

I have long been wondering what kind of tree it is that is home to the "red birdhouse feeder" in the cemetery. Last year when I posted about it, someone suggested that it was an olive tree. Now the tree is blossoming again, and also another tree of the same kind in a different part of the cemetery. So today I took some close-ups of the blossoms and uploaded those to Google Image Search/AI, which gave me this answer:

This plant is a Weeping Silver Pear (Pyrus salicifolia 'Pendula'), a popular ornamental tree known for its silver-green foliage and white blossoms in spring.

Flowers: It produces creamy-white, bowl-shaped flowers in clusters during mid-spring.

Foliage: The leaves are long, narrow, and lance-shaped, covered in a soft silver felt when they first emerge.

Growth Habit: This variety is known for its weeping or drooping branches, creating a distinctive aesthetic often likened to an olive tree.

Hardiness: It is highly tolerant of drought and heat, making it suitable for various urban environments and gardens.

Men At Work

 

Back in March, I wrote a post about Dutch Elm Disease, in connection with seeing a sick tree being taken down in the cemetery where I often walk. Ever since last spring, I've also been seeing a sick tree closer to home, and wondering when that might be removed. Over winter it has become even more obvious that it's not going to miraculously recover. So when today I woke up to the sounds of a chain saw at work, it did not take me long to guess what was going on. When I looked out, the tree was already felled, and they were cutting  branches to later have it all moved by that green machine to a truck to take it away.

In the background, by the fence, there is another tree obviously suffering from the same thing. That one is not on the grounds of this housing estate, though, so I suppose "someone else" is responsible for having that removed. (Probably also more difficult to get to that one, as it's on the wrong side of the fence with a steep railway bank beneath...)

My view in that direction is "opening up" more than I'd prefer; but I can see the necessity of having the sick trees removed.  

Skywatch & Treewatch

 

03/03/2026, 07:08

03/03/2026, 07:19

The two photos above were taken from my kitchen window on Tuesday morning.

Since then, the rest of the week has offered clear blue sky and sunshine, but still some frosty nights. The snow and ice is almost all gone - only a little bit lingering here and there in shadowy places where it was piled up by the snow ploughs.

 In my Wednesday post, I showed a tree in the cemetery being taken down because of Dutch elm disease. The next day, I passed by the same spot again, and below is what remained of the tree trunk then. I don't know if taking down the rest just needs different tools, so will be done later, or if they intend to leave some part of it.

 

 

 

Seeing the bare tree trunk against the sky like that, I was reminded of an alternative solution that I saw last summer when visiting a park in the city of Linköping (click on the link for my full post from there). There they had saved  the trunks of some trees that died from the same disease, and turned those into wooden sculptures:

 

 

 Linking to Skywatch Friday

  

Gathering Evidence

 In my previous post I mentioned my observation (from innumerable walks around the old cemetery close to where I live) that trees seem to hold on longer to their leaves on the branches that grow very close to the streetlights. 

Today was a grey and gloomy day, and I did not get out until around 3 pm. The streetlights were lit up while I was still out, which gave me an opportunity to gather some more evidence for my theory... I'll let the photos speak for themselves:

 - - -

Meike (in a comment) was also asking after Barbie & Skipper. For anyone who happens to have missed the previous adventures of these two, perhaps I should repeat the explanation that around 1½ year ago I decided to donate a bunch of old Barbie dolls from my youth to a charity shop. (Before that, they had all been spending the last 50+ years in various storage rooms, packed away together in one big box.) At the last minute I decided to keep two of them after all (while six went off to unknown destinies). The two that I kept now live on a shelf in my sitting room, and have appeared on this blog now and then to show off outfits sewn by my mum back in the 1960s.

As by now they have been "out in the open" for over a year, some of my readers have already seen most of the clothes that I kept for them. But since Meike asked... Yes, they did get "dressed up" for the Halloween/All Saints' this year too (I think in the same outfits as last autumn); but have now "dressed down" to more casual autumn wear again. ;)

 

Leaf Blowing Season

 

View from my window this morning

Probably a bit of frost during the night, followed by a bit of wind this morning... Now the leaves are dropping fast from the trees! Leaf blowers were already hard at work on the lawns outside my buildning when I got up today.

For me today was laundry day, so spent mostly indoors. But I was able to get started an hour early, so also finished early; and had time for a sunny afternoon walk afterwards. Today I enjoyed that special autumnal feeling (and sound!) of literally wading in dry leaves practially all the way around the old cemetery...

 

Certain trees have lost practially all their leaves, while others still have plenty left.

A comment on my previous post reminded me of a report that was published back in September, to do with which of the 20 largest cities in Sweden are the "greenest" - as in having the most trees and the most green areas etc. Comparing a number of different parameters of that kind, a study showed that Borås has the greatest tree cover in relation to its surface area (52 percent), but is also at the top when it comes to the percentage of inhabited green space (58 percent). In total, we ended up as No 5 on the list. Although all the greenery is one reason that I like living here, I don't think I would have guessed!

The Light from Within

It's been one of those autumn weeks when the light seems to be coming from within the trees rather than from the sky above... 

(Photos from Sunday 22nd through Wednesday 25th October.)

Autumn At Its Best

 

After a period of wet and windy weather, today turned into a sunny October day with clear blue sky and glorious golden colours... I decided to walk into town for a couple of minor errands. Above is "my entrance" to the old cemetery where I go for almost daily walks - I also usually walk across it when going into town. 

So many leaves covering the ground now that I've lost the urge to pick them up! ;-)

 

 

The river still like a mirror today. 

 

 “Fall colors are funny. They’re so bright and intense and beautiful. It’s like nature is trying to fill you up with color, to saturate you so you can stockpile it before winter turns everything muted and dreary.” – Siobhan Vivian.

“Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year.” – Chad Sugg

“If I were a bird, I would fly about the Earth seeking the successive autumns.”- George Eliot