Monday, July 14, 2008

Figs coming in

I know, I know ... it's been a long time since I last posted ..

What excuse do I have? None .. slackness .. evil wow

But on to other things.

The year before last I received a fig tree for fathers day from the boys. We planted it out back and there it grew .. slowly .. not making friends with the Lemons or the Satusma. I'd watch it and for the past two years there would be a few figs and they'd always disappear rapidly before I could get to them.

Yesterday I was mowing and as I circled the fig tree I could see some ripe figs. Purple brown bags of yumminess. Being the geek that I am I went inside after finishing the mow and looked up how to tell when figs are ripe.

Turns out when they hang vertically they are ready. They'll be colorful and look 'full' . So I went back out to the little bush and sure enough there were four that were ready to be eaten. Now, to be honest with you, this was my first experience eating a fresh fig. I've just never had the opportunity. I have eaten plenty of fig preserves, dried figs and whatnot. But never an honest to goodness fresh fig.

So, I decided to take advantage of being the one that picked them and tried one right there behind the bush, in the sun. The heat of the day just starting to build up.

It was wonderful, what a flavor, unique ... There was a light sweetness, like a honey, then a 'summer' sort of flavor, like a watermelon almost.

Sitting here now, writing this post a day later, I can feel the sun on my shoulders and taste the fruit in my mouth.

I'll be watching this bush everyday for the next few weeks as the rest of th fruit ripens. Will Pamela and the boys enjoy them? Maybe .. if they make it to the house.

Dave

2 comments:

Sharon GR said...

I can't tell you how many times I've tried to grow figs. I'm pretty far north for a tree to grow in the yard, so I tried to grow one in a pot- nada. I get four figs and the squirrels get them first.

I recently acquired a Meyer lemon tree that I'm trying to grow in a pot. I've already brought it in for the winter, and it's sitting in a sunny window. Wish me luck... at least the squirrels won't eat the lemons...

Jill Cook said...

After biting into a fig and getting a mouthful of wasp larvae, and then reading about the interdependence between wasps and figs, I've never been able to eat them in anything besides the occasional fig newton. I'm happy you can enjoy them though!