Scary Monsters!

... is what these look like....

Actually, these are pear blossom buds against a brick wall. The extremely warm start of the winter, followed by a cold spell has frozen the buds. There are very few buds on the pear trees and most that have appeared seem to be deformed by the frost. The buds in this capture, for instance, have grown only partly, with the insides exposed. The result, enlarged, looks rather scary...

A quick assessment of the various fruit trees comforts me. It seems only the pears are affected. The peaches and the cherry are doing well. The apples are still budding but seem to be OK as well. I'll post blossom blips as we progress!