10th Anniversary – Figs

Do you remember that cartoon character called Pig-Pen in the Charles Shulz Peanuts comics?

The little character who was always covered in a cloud of dust and perpetually PigPen (Peanuts).pngmessy?

 

That’s me.

I sit down in the evening and little trickles of dirt sprinkle over any surface I’m perched on.

I lean over to undo my shoelaces and ants scatter.

But then I have been playing in the dirt. But before you roll your eyes and reach for the off button, fear not! No dirt stories today.

I thought we might explore a different sort of pig today. Fig Pigs.

IMG_8246I am one.

Figs. Far more colourful and juicy and ripe. I have two large-ish fig trees in the garden that are starting to produce.

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The one I planted against the back potager wall – a Brown Turkey Fig. All purple and goo-ey and what I think of as figs.

(Sorry I ate the photo subject. I couldn’t resist. And I didn’t take the time to check whether the fig was in focus before I wolfed it down. I am so greedy.)

IMG_8240And my inherited one on the edge of the east garden.

It is our tenth anniversary living on this farm; and I thought it might be fun to remember some of my hilarious misconceptions and mistakes I made way back in the early days.

And top among them was this tree.

IMG_8235I always thought that figs ripened at the end of summer and were purple when ripe, green when not ready.

So as I started to get to know all the huge expanse of trees on this farm (and we only took possession in May 2007) I kept looking at this fig and thinking ‘not ripe yet’ and move on.

I ignored the telltale droop of the green figs. The clouds of happy wasps dive-bombing the fruit. And only when it was almost too late did I realize my mistake.

Green ripe figs. And in early summer too.

I’ve learned my lesson. And now I alternate on my dusk amble about the farm. Purple fig. Green fig. Purple fig. Green fig.

And sometimes I have a glut and actually give them away.

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But that’s a rare old event.

And another misconception: trees just get on. No matter if someone planted two fig saplings in the same hole and they have been forced to fight for space.

I had great visions of fixing this ‘problem’ once. Now I just shrug and get on. Eating.

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