2014 Fig Bounty

My fif tree has had more figs this year than ever before. I wonder if something about the cold of last winter triggered this bounty. Although they are almost gone now, I enjoyed eating them and even made a small jar of preserves from some I could not get around to eating. (Which I have already eaten now!) I didn't use a recipe for the preserves. I just dumped some sugar over them, left overnight, added more sugar the next day and cooked til the liquid began to thicken. Yum!

After the initial burst of production the birds again (as in previous years) found the figs and began to do away with them. But how can I blame them? They're SO good!

There's nothing quite like the smell of a fig bush(tree) when the sun is shining on it. Standing inside the bush, smelling it, and pushing figs in my mouth is a joy remembered in the winter. Also reminds me of my mother who could barely wait for the figs to ripen. I can picture her now standing by that old fig tree. When figs were in season, she greeted every morning with a trip to pick and eat the ripest. She beat the birds to them.