Monday, March 28, 2011

Stinky Spring


Pink Dogwood pastel ACEO--NOT-STINKY!


If you were to visit me in early Spring you might think that something was amiss.  You might sniff the air and wonder.  What is that revolting odor that seems to be rising from everywhere all at once?  Where in the world could it be coming from?  You look around you and all you see are flowers and trees with beautiful white blossoms.  The breeze blows your way and the assault on your olfactory senses continues.

You wonder how such an idyllic and well-maintained outdoor area can smell of body odor, rotting fish and just plain funky-ness. 

Well, I have news for you.  Those two beautiful trees with all those lovely white blossoms in my front yard happen to be the notorious Bradford Pear.  Don’t blame me.  I didn’t plant them.  Just like the broken dishwasher, heat pump and Fridge, it came with the house.  We replaced the appliances.  The trees remain.

And what makes matters worse is that everyone on the street must have taken a field trip to the nursery to purchase and plant these trees.  You’ve heard of streets lined with gold?  My street happens to be lined with stinky pear trees.

Actually the trees themselves are pretty, wonderfully shaped and after the spring stinkies, they are pretty much non-threatening.  So if you do visit me in the spring, don’t ask.  Just be thankful that the vase in my foyer contains some mums, freesia, and a tulip or two. 

Poor, poor, stinky tree


F.Y.I.  Bradford pear trees are strictly ornamental and do not produce edible fruit!

Since this is my “ode “ to spring, I believe it qualifies for Mr. Toasts Creative Tuesdays.  Please visit goodteatoo.blogspot.com and enjoy all the wonderful creativity.




26 comments:

Wanda said...

Love to read your narrative each post. You are a clever writer. I love the dogwood pastel, and the ledgen of the dogwood has always been a favorite of mine.

Anonymous said...

Stinky and it doesn't produce an edible pear...that is really stinky!
And strangely interesting!

Your pink dogwood is quite lovely and as you say nontoxic to the nose!

maddyrose said...

Love the colors you used in the dogwood blossoms aceo. I enjoyed your account of the trees on your street. Apparently they weren't in bloom when they were purchased and planted.

Marlene said...

Funny, never heard of a Bradford Pear. Now I will have to look it up. The dogwood you did is very pretty.

linda (dots n doodles) said...

Love your dogwood drawing. Great story behind the Bradford Pear, you learn something new in the most unexpected places. Wonderful!

EVA said...

Gorgeous pastel! At first I thought it was the lovely but odious pear. But it a beautifully done dogwood. Gorgeous!

Such a shame such a pretty tree has such a bad side to it!

Heather said...

Cyrstal,
I so love this. You have done a really good job here. The detailing and light are so well done!!

Yes, we have bradford pears in my town - all over the center of town actually. I never really got close enough to smell one...BUT now i am going to have to! Ha -
I like your little lamb story, too! :)
ps - I agree with wanda, you are a clever writer and i always enjoy reading your posts and your visits!
Have a great day!
xo

Unknown said...

Love the Dogwood and you have done a good job on yours. I will never forget the first time I put some pear limbs in a flower arrangement and my husband had a fit about that 'terrible odor.' You are so right. There are beautiful on a tree lined driveway, in the distance. LOL
QMM

Betsy Brock said...

What a lovely drawing!

I never noticed our dogwood stinking but our wisteria smells awful when it blooms! lol

Morph Waffle said...

Very pretty drawing. I learned something new and you made me smile!

Unknown said...

these are so beautiful...you really captured the beauty of this early bloom!!!! wonderful work!!!

Unknown said...

Wonderful drawing. :-) And I was not aware that Bradford's had an odor. Hmmmm. I'll have to pay attention next-time I'm out.

Gail H. Ragsdale said...

I had to laugh reading your post! Bradford Pears are EVERYWHERE in my area and are one of the main offenders in my allergy and asthma problems. Pretty to look at but stinky and sneezy!

Magic Love Crow said...

Stinky and very interesting! No pears??? HMmmmmmmm....??? Have a great day Crystal and once again, I have to thankyou for the smile and laugh!

Lee Pierce said...

Lovely dogwood! I have ornamental pear and no odor at all-now you have me wondering...
Maybe the town was doing a "deal" to tree up the neighborhood. Mine gave a discount on crabapple to get folks to plant trees.

Daniella said...

I LOVE your ACEO!! You are just amazing!! It looks so beautiful! I love the story too. How awful it must be to see these beautiful trees in your neighborhood, that stink!! Your so funny and amazng!
xxDaniella

Dara Marlynne said...

Your dogwood ACEO is gorgeous, and very non-stinky!! I know exactly what you mean with the Bradford pear trees... there's a huge one in my backyard that was there when we bought the house. It looks beautiful when it blooms, but my goodness does it smell!!

Janice said...

Your pastel drawing is so nice, and I enjoyed the tale of the Bradford pear. I've never heard of it before.

Christine said...

love your ACEO, it's so pretty. That stinky pear sounds interesting, but glad I don't have one!

Anonymous said...

I had never heard of that - poor you. But it's a LOVELY pastel drawing. What about pulling them up and hanging your drawing in place instead!

Birdie said...

Ooof...we have the Bradford Pear problem too. For some reason, city planning thought it would be a good idea to plant them in the park by our house *rolls eyes*

I miss my dogwoods and fig trees. Ah well.

This is a lovely image. Well done

angelself said...

You've got me laughing, Crystal! Pretty, pretty Dogwood blossoms =) Kathryn

Kristin Dudish said...

Ha! This post totally made me laugh out loud (I love the title of the post too)!

Your ACEO is absolutely beautiful... the texture is amazing :)

xo
Kristin

jamberry_song said...

Oh, no! Lucky for us, artwork and blog posts aren't scratch-and-sniff. ;) This was wonderfully described, though, as usual! Here's hoping the stench will go away soon and be replaced by something like lilacs... Mmm. :)

Leovi said...

I love the beautiful tones you've achieved in the flowers. Really these trees smell so bad?. A greeting.

Michael said...

Crystal, it most certainly does qualify--wonderful amazing sketch adn i love the write up too. Yes, yes, those trees are rather pungent--one issue with the non fruit producing kind.

just love this line:
"and the assault on your olfactory senses continues."

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