The FIG Tree Obsession
Y'all. I had no idea. I've missed out on decades of prime fig eating years. Here's an inside look at the mind of a fig addict.
Background: When we purchased the house, a good friend came over and raved and raved about the size of our fig tree. Humm... I hadn't really thought about it much, or really at all. Is it a big tree? I didn't know there were even different types of figs. I have no idea what kind ours is. I've really thought so very little of figs in my lifetime. I became intrigued, so when they started budding and ripening that first year, I decided I'd try a bite. I was not prepared for how good it was. Seriously, I'm actually still mad at myself for not trying them before. I think it's fair to say that I like them as much as I like diet coke and beer. I became obsessed, immediately off one bite. I began thinking about the figs at work and wondered how many I could eat when I got home. I was warned to watch how many I eat per day, but I'm fine with testing my limits. I love learning things the hard way. I've only eaten too many once, and I kinda actually thought I was going to die. However, I'm pretty sure I can eat that many again.
Year 1, I learned that the fig is fleeting - they come and go very quickly- so to savor the moment. Frustratingly, I can only reach the bottom 1/10th of the mammoth tree, so I've learned to climb. I started actually arguing with birds, squirrels, deer and wasps. I've contemplated somehow covering the tree with some sort of net, setting booby traps, hanging old cds and fake owls to keep all the figs to myself. I was truthfully depressed when my first fig season ended. Could I wait another year to have more?
Year two- current times. Summer of 2025. I've decided not to fight the deer and to try to be more open to sharing my figs. After all, I've matured. The birds and squirrels do still piss me off though, like really piss me off. The deer can have some, fine, but we are both eating off the bottom 1/10th, remember, so I'm being really generous here. I'd be fine with the birds and squirrels if they would just like toss some down to me or something. They don't. Jerks. Anyway, I am starting to feel anxious b/c I know it's going to end soon. I don't yet know how to make anything with the figs, or how to preserve them. I have heard they can be frozen? Must find out how to make fig jam. Anyone know how to preserve figs?
It's funny how the things we want in life are the ones we can't always have. I have to wait for them, which I guess makes them sweeter when they arrive!