High (Pear) Fruit Recycled Coffee Collector

It happens every Fall.

My pears, they ripen and they fall.

Some from thirty feet above.

When they hit the coop or the deck on the way down, they hit hard - so hard that the sound sends the dogs scrambling out to defend us.

Poor pears. They are often bruised and or smashed in the process.

So, when this Recycle Contest opened up and I thought to enter my Coffee Can Long-range/reach Feed Scoops for a chance at the Large Dollars and went to take some pictures for my super scooper entry, I noticed a lone pear over eight feet from the ground and far from the grasp of old men of average height with limited range of motion at best.

Immediately I thought "Second Entry! Two prizes!"

Supplies:

Eight foot round stick/dowel

Empty (plastic) coffee container

(2) Screws

(2) Washers

TOOLS:

vise

drill/driver

1" drill bit

1/16" drill bit

#2 square drive bit

#2 Phillips bit

(In my case I found two different screws.)

Go scout about your place for a long stick of wood, straight branch, sapling, or old closet rod from your saved wood collection and empty the coffee container into something else or find another empty one somewhere about the place and take them to your workspace.

Grab yourself a drill bit close to the diameter of your stick at a point on the stick X-inches from an end (Where X = the depth of your empty coffee container) The diameter of this hole is (well, in my case, was) not critical because the plastic coffee container's are somewhat flexible and should form about your pole or sapling if your hole's a bit on the tight side.

Drill the hole through the bottom of your coffee container right near the edge ('tangent to the side wall' might be the technical way to specify the location of this hole. But looking at the next picture might explain it even better).

Push the one end of your pole/stick/sapling/old closet rod through that hole and clamp the side of the container to it so you can drill a pilot hole 1) through the wall of the container and, 2) about 1/4" into the wood.

Gather a screw no longer than the diameter of your pole where it enters the container and a washer with a hole smaller than the head of whatever screw you're using. Put the screw through the washer and then drive it through the container and into the pole.

Now, you may remove the clamp and drill and fill a second pilot hole as above. That should hold things fine.

Take your new pear picker out to a fruit tree. Note that, although designed and constructed to get that lonely pear I noticed earlier and (to win a contest) I've no other fruiting trees upon which to experiment, it is my considered opinion that this recycled device might well serve in the orchards of Georgia or Washington and as readily collect the ripened fruits of any similar tree as mine.

So go visit your fruiting tree(s) and position yourself beneath the most proximate fruit and raise the device beneath the promising candidate so as to 'catch' or surround it in the 'can.'

Then elevate the device while twisting it a bit clockwise, then the tried and true "Lefty Loosy." It may require a second or a third iteration of this two-step depending upon the ripeness of your target.

When you feel it relinquish its attachment to its tree and fall into the container, you may lower it and remove your catch . . . or, so long as there is room within, simply move on to another target.

I was able to gather four rather substantial pears without emptying my (24.3 oz) container - my first time out!

Mine are not quite so pristine as these pears seem so I peel and slice them avoiding teh not so pretty bits and poach them with some raisins and spices in wine. No pictures of those, so, let me leave this part to your peculiar tastes.

Enjoy!