Paula's Ponderings

I have a fantastic fig tree in my backyard.  It is amazing.  Not only does it look good, it produces. And boy, this year with all the extra rain, it will have given me what feels like 1000’s of figs.

So,  I’ve been picking figs for a while now, picking and eating the ripe figs on a daily basis.  Now, more figs are ripening, and its happening at a pretty steady clip.  To give you an idea, last Saturday I picked 10 pounds of ripe figs from the tree!   Thats right, 10 pounds. I know for sure because I put them in a bag and then on the scale.  I measured twice.  10.1 pounds of figs.

Now, when I was picking the figs, I was NOT able to get the ones at the very tip top of the tree. I got the ones at my level (6 feet or below). I climbed into the tree and got all the ones in the tree and that were reachable from the strong arms of the tree.  However, there were some gorgeous, ripe figs that I was unable to reach (mostly at the top of the tree). 

I was sharing my fig-picking story with my friends, and they offered up a friend of theirs who is very very tall (unbeknownst to him).  It was all fun and games (but not entirely a bad idea – he is a  cutie!!).  Anyway, I accepted the offer to borrow a real fruit picker, which I will pick up this weekend (just to clarify, I’m borrowing a tool, not the guy).

So,  with my fig bounty, I spend all day Sunday preparing fig treats.   

•  I made a batch of fig jam which is so good AND it has half the sugar of what the recipe called for – here is the fig preserve recipe I used, its De-Licious!!  
• I am still drying about 2 lbs of figs now (the natural way, I do not have a dehydrator)
• I took a bunch to work for co-workers
• And still have 2 pounds or so left over for my personal eating pleasure

Needless to say, I went to bed Sunday in Fig Heaven.   Ahhhh..

But Monday morning, around 4am, I woke up with a start.  I heard major wrestling outside….  I got up, looked out the window, and there were what appeared to be a dozen raccoons on the grass and in the fig tree ..  having a party.  They were moving and shaking, talking to one another, it literally was a ‘coon bash in my backyard. 

I now lock the cats in the house in the evenings because of the raccoons so I knew they were safe,  but I went outside anyway to scare the raccoons off.  Hardly.  I threw rocks at the ones on the ground and they just scurried themselves up and into the tree. They totally didn’t care about me or the rocks…..  One of them climbed to the top of the tree and began eating a fig – just kept eating without a care in the world. 

Funny thing – they weren’t afraid of me, but when they started wresting around in the tree because of the flash on my camera, I got so scared I ran into the house, my heart beating wildly!  I’m such a wuss!

I will got out and pick figs again this Saturday…  and I plan to can a few (the mormon/polygamist is coming out in me).. as well as make fig and raisin bread pudding….   I welcome other suggestions as I have a lot of figs!