FIG ON A TWIG

At this time of year our old fig tree produces 6-10 of these green figs on the tips of branches. I would swear they are weather scouts. If they do not freeze, then hundreds of tiny figs appear well ahead of the leaves.

Himself is always hacking back this tree. It grows very fast, has very big leaves, blots his view -- and also protects us from being viewed by the neighbours -- and then drops squishy figs onto the road below. In the autumn it drops huge leaves which also turn squishy in the rain. I think he aims to kill it. I hope it survives his figicidal attempts this year. He will be sorry when he sees the glint of neighbours' binoculars pointed in our direction.

The tree does not produce very good figs. They are edible but not very sweet. I used to eat quite a few of them because, let's face it, reaching up and pulling a warm fig off a tree and eating it on the spot is quite a treat. I learned, however, that this particular variety is pollinated internally by wasps and that there is a wasp larvae inside every one. Yeuk! I have not eaten one since.

You will never see a fig blossom because they are inside the figs. Some varieties do not require pollination. Those would be the ones for me.

A neighbour kindly planted a white fig (the best kind) for us down a slope. It produced alarming, giant figs. Unfortunately, he planted it on top of an underground spring and the figs were all water and tasteless. He planted another for us but it toppled over in all of the rain this winter.

For the record: + 12 C. Sun in the morning, all clouded over by noon. Sunrise: 7:18; sunset 5:47. The builder is here with his dreadful drill to repair and install ventilation in the store room. There is no place to hide. The upstairs windows being repaired.