Figs

 

Figs seem like a fixture in Alabama to me. Mother always loved them so much. She always had one in the back yard and visited it every day when the figs were ripe. She would make her visit early in the morning,hoping to beat the birds to the ripe ones. She hung aluminum pie pans in the tree to flash in the sun and frighten the birds away. She also employed the services of a fake snake for the same purposes. If the ripening figs got ahead of what she could eat, she would make preserves, but mostly she enjoyed them fresh. Frequently a late frost would kill the first crop of figs, so that the second crop was even more eagerly awaited. In rare years a third crop would grow.
That old fig tree played a significant role in my life, too. When I was 15 I got contact lens to replace the clumsy glasses I had worn since fourth grade. Daddy was skeptical about these new appliances, but he was convinced by my excited reaction when he asked if I could see the figs on that tree. I never knew before that people could actually see every leaf on a tree and it was not just a smudge of green.
Figs are very nutritious, being one of the highest sources of fiber and calcium.According to USDA data for the Mission variety, dried figs are richest in fiber, copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and vitamin K, relative to human needs. Figs are high in antioxidents which we are lead to believe slows aging. They are a soft fruit and easily eaten by everyone, whether they have teeth or not.
Figs were planted and tended a thousand years before wheat and rye were domesticated. They are mentioned frequently in the Bible.
The fruit of a fig is actually the flower. The flowers can be seen in the red matrix inside the flower. They must be pollinated by a fig wasp to produce seed. But who wants seed anyway? Figs are much easier propagated by cuttings. If you don't have one, get one.