A-N-T-I-C-I-P-A-T-I-O-N!
The Wenches have been anxiously awaiting the moment when we’ll be able to pick our first fig. We’ve been waiting almost TWO years for this! Last summer we had a few figs but we lost our meager crop to the birds because we weren’t smart enough to net our little tree. This year we made sure to put the net on early! That’s Mugsy keeping an eye on the ONE mature fig. But it’s not quite ready yet. And you shouldn’t pick figs until they are perfectly ripe as they won’t ripen any further after they’ve been picked.
How do you know when it’s time? In Spanish we say that the fig is ready when it has the neck of a hanged man, the clothes of a poor one, and the eye of a widow.
The neck of a hanged man means that the stem has begun to dry out and the fig begins to droop. We have drooping!
The clothes of a poor man means that the skin of the fig has begun to wrinkle. We have wrinkling!
And the eye of a widow means that when you open up the fig it “weeps” a drop of syrupy sweetness. We have weeping!
Our first fig was absolutely worth the wait!
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