The Queen Is Back

  Being somewhat limited in my actions, once again, has made me pull out that crown and dub myself as "Queen of the Small Gardens".  This is not by my choice but rather one made by those who care about me.  "You have to stop doing everything and let your body heal."  These are orders given by those who have more sense than I do apparently.  I fully admit to doing things that an "old lady" should not be doing but...putting a roof on the lean-to seems like a simple thing.  So does pushing a lawnmower for four hours or bailing out the tiny Frog Ponds.  I just do not like asking for help for things that I can do for myself.  That said...I have had to ask.  I have had to stop.  I have a year to be lazy....lazy hurts...bad.  I have always felt much better being active even if it was overactive.  That said, my whole Queen of the Small Gardens is even a bit on the downside as I am not allowed to work the gardens to my satisfaction.  Lazy...I have to be lazy.  Oh, did I mention that lazy hurts?  It does.

  So...since my gardening work has come nigh on to a halt, the gardens decided to take things in hand.  It saddened me to see the empty rows, the barren flower beds and the weedy raised boxes but...this fretting was all for naught.  The gardens planted themselves!  Perhaps, these are not the plants that would have been so tediously tended but they are gorgeous and I am appreciative.  Mother Nature knew I needed a boost so she sprinkled wildflower seeds everywhere!  (Some folks would argue that my wildflower beds are nothing more than unkempt weed patches but, to me at the moment, they are lovely!)

         

  Some of the prettiest "gardens" are beneath the potted fig trees. These are trees that I rooted back couple of years ago and just never had the opportunity to transplant them into the yard. So...they are still in pots.  BUT!  Underneath those fig trees are lovelies!  Wood Sorrel or Oxalis plants are thriving!  Each morning, I am greeted with hundreds of pinkish blooms! The blooms are said to symbolize joy and renewal.  Both seem appropriate simply for the feeling I get each day just by seeing the delicate flowers and that my body is trying to do a bit of rebuilding.  The heart shaped leaves are said to bring good luck and heart health....both which are always needed.  I am taking my lovely "Fig Tree Gardens" as a sign that this year of healing is going to bring me back to where I need to be.  But, for now, I shall be the lazy (but aching) Queen whose realm is going to have to fend for itself for the duration.  

Rooftop Bat

   It always frets me when the "Neighborhood Watch Clan of the Critter World" sets up a clamor.  This means that something is amiss on the Bayou.  This neighborhood watch program consists of mainly blue jays in the beginning but then they are joined by just about every other bird in the county, so it seems.  The cacophony is almost deafening but usually that is a good thing because any predator hates to be noticed.  The ruckus, alone, can often be enough to deter a potential problem.  Usually...but not always.

  Early this morning, I heard the jays starting to call and soon a panic was set forth among all birds.  Since I was heading out to pick yet more figs, I decided to investigate just what was upsetting the birds.  Well, it seems that the whole center of attention was near the fig trees!  I pondered if a snake had crawled up under the trees.  That would be a bit iffy for me as the sun was just rising and a snake would be difficult to see among the shadows under the trees.  Standing still to get a better idea of just where the birds were focusing, it soon came apparent that the greenhouse roof was where the culprit was.  Hmmm?  I eased my way around to that side of the trees.  Yep!  There it was!

  Up on the rooftop, Bat, the Bayou Cat, was lounging about like everything was right with the world.  He was paying no attention to the thirty or so birds that were yelling at him.  In fact, I think the cat was sleeping!  I called to him..."Bat-Bat, what are you doing up there?"  He lazily rolled back his head and blinked as if to say "Woman!  Why are you disturbing my sleep?"  

  I suppose I should be appreciative of the cat being on the rooftop near the fig trees.  At least, the birds were in an uproar about his presence and were leaving the figs for me to pick!  Good cat!  In fact, I have noticed that lately under the fig trees, atop the greenhouse and in the vegetable garden are his choices of lounging areas.  I am all for it.  Bat makes a great watch-cat!

Figs, Figs and More Figs!

   It seems as if it is a good year for figs.  The two large trees and four small ones are loaded with the fruit.  Perhaps the rains this summer or perhaps my haphazardly pruning did the trick but I have been picking figs for the past two weeks.  By picking...I mean PICKING and picking and picking.  Gallons of the things have made their way into the kitchen and that does not count the ones that the bayou critters are eating.  At night the coons, possums and fox are all dining and during the daytime, birds, squirrels and grasshoppers (yes, those eastern lubber grasshoppers) are eating my figs! I pick twice daily...at dawn then again at dusk.  I am tired of picking but realize that figs, too, are a blessing so I am appreciative.  But...what do you do with tons of figs?  Back a month ago, I had several people begging for the fruit.  I was happy to find someone who wanted figs and was so willing to share.  I was even going so far as to pick the figs for them but, now that they are ripe, those same people are "too busy". 

 

  So, I started canning figs.  Fig jam and fig preserves are being jarred on a daily basis.  This was quite an undertaking simply due to the number of figs.  Jar after jar was home-canned but I still had more figs than I was able to do.  Hmmm?  Fig cobbler?  Yep, fig cobbler.  I had a hankering for cobbler so I gave it a whirl and found it is simple yet delicious!  A touch of cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice spiced it right nicely.  The house smelled divine but, better yet, the warm cobbler couldn't have been tastier!  Now I know what I shall be doing with the seventy or so jars of figs!  Come this winter, fig cobbler will become an often thing.  Good, ole comfort food, folks!  Think outside the box and make a cobbler!

Creeping In...

  Despite have a couple of cool nights, I think spring must have come slipping in without big fanfare.  Lady Spring has a way of letting us know by subtle hints before bursting forth in all her glory.  A tiny wood sorrel bloom, a bird calling for its mate or just a warm night can bring joy because these are harbingers of what is to come.  Usually, here on the Bayou, one of our first clues is hordes of gnats.  This year, however, those gnats never disappeared so their presence meant nary a thing.  Still, I do believe spring has quietly come.

  As Son and I were working out back near the canebrake, a slight breeze wafted our way and caused me to stop in my tracks!  Yep!  That is the "smell" of spring.  The citrus trees are all pushing out their blossoms and the yard is filled with the sweet scent.  The first to bloom are always the lemon trees followed by the navel oranges then come the satsumas and grapefruit.  What I was smelling today was the navel oranges and lemons!  How delightful!

  Our chores soon took us to the opposite side of the house where I smelled the marsh but found more evidence of spring.  The fig trees were all budding out with new leaves and one had a brave little fig!  There was not a leaf on the tree but a tiny little fig had decided it was time to make a debut!  Ta-da!  I am here!  Oh, little figlet (yeah, I know...not a word but should be!), you may be getting a tad chilly before you are able to mature but I admire your tenacity!

  So, perhaps I did not pull all of the potted plants out of the greenhouse prematurely.   Perhaps, I will not have to drape blankets over said plants because of threatening frost (like last night).  Perhaps...just perhaps Lady Spring is here to stay.

Layering...The Propagating Experience!

  This past September, I wrote about rooting a fig tree by layering a limb from the mature tree.  (Sept. 13, 2013 post)  The layering involved bringing a low limb down to the ground, plopping a handful of dirt on it and then placing a brick on top of the dirt.   Over the course of six months, the limb should start putting on little roots.  

  Well, I checked this past week and, sure enough, the limb was firmly embedded in the dirt.  That was clear evidence that a root system was well on its way to being developed.  It was time to cut the limb from the parent and let it become its own tree.  I gathered together my tools and a large flower pot.  The cutting would reside in the pot for another season as I had no idea just where I wanted to plant it.  Things are on the move around here as I am doing a deep cleaning of the yard. Gardens are being relocated and bushes are either being removed altogether or transplanted in a different area.  This is all in my master plan of eradicating the voles.   I figure if I stir things up a bit, they might just get aggravated enough to move on their merry way.

  

  Once I got everything I needed for the task at hand, I gently pulled away the mulch that was piled around the base of the large tree.  This allowed me to see where I needed to cut and then dig.  The limb seemed nice and healthy so I snipped it from the main tree.  Using a sharp pair of snips is important here as the cut needs to be done cleanly without smashing the stalk.  After that done, I pulled away a bit more of the mulch and some of the dirt.  It was not hard to uncover the root system with just my hands.  The ground was soft and I had hesitated to use the shovel as I might damage roots of the main tree.   Aha!  There was a nice ball of roots, indeed!

  This fig tree will take several more seasons before it produces its first fig but by layering a branch from the main tree, I am assured of getting great figs.  The main tree produced masses of figs this past year and I am in hopes that this little one will follow suit.  Once we harvest the figs for this season, I will layer any low branches and create more little trees. That is one of the great things about figs!  Once you have a large tree, you never need to buy another!  Just layer those low limbs and let them root.  I can see it now!  A fig orchard!  Maybe if I get enough fruit trees of all kinds, the squirrels, birds and coons will not be able to eat all my produce.  Lets see, peach trees, citrus trees, plum trees, fig trees...oh, and we cannot forget Boysenberry vines and blueberry bushes!  Yep, it sounds like we are well on our way to at least filling the bellies of lots of critters and hopefully still have enough fruit for ourselves!

New Trees!

I love figs!  Everyone in my family loves figs!  As matter of fact, we love them so much that our poor trees cannot make enough!  So, Michael and I decided that it was high time that we root some new trees!  We have two nice large trees and three smaller ones.  All of these were planted at the same time but for some strange reason, two did marvelously while the other three are tiny.  I do believe that they are even smaller now than when we planted them!  All five trees are planted in the same area, receive the same amount of fertilizer and water and even get the same amount of sunshine.  Why three did not grow is far beyond my understanding. Perhaps I do not talk to them enough!  We even gave them extra helpings of shell dust this summer thinking that the calcium might help..it did not.  They still look puny! So we took matters into our own hands and set down some limbs to root.

The layering process is one of the easiest methods to start new fig trees. A lower limb is slightly scraped to "wound" it.  The limb is then pulled down to the ground and covered with dirt.  Something heavy (a brick in this case) is laid on top of the mound of dirt.  All that is left is to wait. Patience is a virtue that comes in really handy when rooting.  If weather conditions are right, the limb should start developing roots within a matter of weeks but it is best to leave it for quite a bit longer.  I plan on leaving this one until early next spring.  Sometime in February, Michael will cut off the limb from the main tree and we will dig out the rooted sprig.  This will be replanted in some desired location and watered most every day for a bit.  The newly formed tree should sprout out to become a welcome addition to the garden.  Every time we notice another limb of the large trees dangling down to the ground, the procedure will commence again.  Soon, we will have a yard full of fig trees and hopefully produce enough figs to satisfy everybody's taste for fig jam!

Also in February, we will dig up those three puny fig trees and transplant them to a different location.  Maybe the move will inspire them to grow!  Our peach trees have not been able to supply us with much fruit due to the critters so I am in hopes that we can do better with the figs. The deer, squirrels, raccoons, 'possums and other critters make quick work of the peaches!  The fig trees are closer to the house where Ms. Ez can guard them.  That old dog will definitely have her work cut out for her!  She can chase critters to her heart's content!

Little Figlets!

I wander around in the gardens every day as it gives me plenty of time to ponder the mysteries of the world. Not that I ever solve any of these enigmas but at least I think about them! And I must say that all these are "earth-shaking" conundrums that rattle the brain and if I do not ponder them...who will??? One of those all-important mysteries popped in the brain today and it kept me quite entertained for the duration of my hike. As I passed the fig trees, I noticed that there were hundreds of tiny figs already setting on the branches. This made me smile as I hope we get a good crop this year. The trees are still relatively young and to see such a goodly number of fruits delighted me. Now the puzzlement....just what are these small figs called?

A picture of Mama Pig and her piglets sent to me by my great-nephew, Jonathan Adams.

At first, I thought of calling them just "figs" but somehow that just did not seem to be accurate. This would almost be like calling a baby by an adult name. I pondered. Now if the English language made any sense at all, it would be most easy to come up with the answer....figlet! The reasoning...fig rhymes with pig and little pigs are called piglets, therefore a little fig should be a figlet! This reasoning led to other things. Take a goose for instance..the plural is geese..the baby is a gosling. Now the trouble with that is that goose rhymes with moose but you sure never hear of bunch of meese or a baby mosling! Something is far wrong with this language! There are just far too many inconsistencies with the simple words! House..mouse...houses..mice? Nope..just doesn't make any sense whatsoever!

Back to the figs however..two of the trees seem to be loaded with the fruits. These are the two that are in one of the vegetable gardens themselves. The other three trees are still extremely small. I am wondering just why their growth seems to be stunted. I have fertilized them the same as the two larger trees but they are just not doing as well. Last fall, my Uncle Alfred gave me a bit of advice pertaining to the raising of fig trees and I intend to follow that advice in the morning. He advised me to put some oyster shells around the base of the trees! At the time he told me this, I did not have access to any shells but Mark opened a couple of sacks of oysters a few months back. Now..these shells will be placed around the trees with another bunch of fertilizer. I think the shells might provide calcium as they deteriorate and perhaps that is just what my trees need! It is always nice to have someone with a bit of experience pass on a few of their secrets! Thank you, Uncle Alfred!

Now back to my conundrum.....piglets..figlets...yep! I do believe I like figlets! It has a nice ring to it and conjures up images of tiny little figs in wee baby bonnets! Oh...that imagination of mine!

Figs!

Sometimes you just have to think fast to outwit a bird! Actually, most of the time you have to think fast to outwit a bird! And sometimes, something simply occurs that makes you think you outwitted the birds! The two larger fig trees put on a lot of figs this year but I never seemed to find any ripe ones even though the numbers were diminishing rapidly. Those darn birds were munching my figs before I got to them! I pondered putting the nets back on the trees but that is just so much work both in the netting and in the removing the net to pick the figs. Then I hit upon an idea! (Quite by accident, I must admit!) Early this afternoon, I turned on the sprinkler that is in the garden that contains the fig tree..the other one is just outside of the fence so the sprinkler hit it as well. Later when I went to turn off the water, I noticed that there were ripe figs! There were ripe figs that were still intact..not eaten by the birds! I was excited to say the least. I had kept the birds from the trees with a water sprinkler! Grabbing the first thing I laid eyes on that would act as a container, I rushed to pick my luscious little globes! Now some people would have thought that I was a tad weird picking figs and putting them into a cricket cage but all I could think of was that if I left the garden..my figs would disappear! So I picked figs using a cricket cage as a container! This worked well but I did have one complaint! Picking figs on drippy wet trees is not the nicest of chores! I soon was wet from head to toe! Still, I WAS picking figs! Not many were ripe but I was totally happy with the thirty or so I found! These will be dessert for tonight's meal!

I have been trying to water the gardens as much as possible but it seems not to be helping much. The plants are still dying if not from the lack of water, from the intense heat. Our temperature hit a dead heat of 103 today. It seems though, that an idea that I had several years ago is helping. When we planted the fig trees, I got Hubby to cut some PVC piping in pieces about four feet long. He then helped me bury a pipe about one foot into the ground by two of the trees. There was a bit of method in my madness here. We live on a hill and every time I would water or fertilize the trees, it would merely wash down to the bottom of the hill leaving the poor tree dry as a bone. I figured that if I poured the fertilizer and water down this pipe, it would be more apt to hit the roots. I had no idea if it would work but it was worth a try. As an experiment, we left one tree without a pipe..I would water and fertilize it with exactly the same amounts of both but without the aid of the pipe. Now several years later, there is a marked difference in the size of the trees even though all three are within a few feet of each other. This summer's drought has put the pipes to extreme testing. The two fig trees with the pipes have continued to grow profusely where as the one without has lost most of its leaves and is teeny tiny compared to the size of the others. With the three feet of two inch piping that I fill with water, I am supposing several gallons at least are soaking the roots of the trees. My experiment seems to be a success! Now that I have made this discovery, the other tree and two small ones will all receive their very own pipe!

Bird(watching) Dog

Just a thought..things don't always turn out the way we desire. Sometimes we just have to accept this fact and smile. I found this out quickly this morning. I have several fig trees growing in the back yard that are just bearing their first fruit..or were just bearing said fruit. For the past few mornings, I noticed that the Thrashers were getting their share far earlier than I was out of bed. Thrashers have to be the proverbial "early birds" even of the avian world. I think they and the Mockingbirds never sleep. I love to hear them sing all throughout the night but now they were raiding the gardens! My figs! Something had to be done! This would not work! Being one that loves animals (even those that raid the gardens), I mulled over possible nonviolent plans of action. Nets would probably solve the problem and I had several old cast nets that were beyond repair for fishing. The perfect solution! Getting these nets up over the fig trees required a tad more work than I first expected, but I finally succeeded. With a pole up the center, the net had now taken on the appearance of a light and airy tepee! Sort of a "screen porch" for my trees! The little figs could grow and ripen without the threat of being eaten (by anything but me!). I was quite proud of myself for being so ingenious, or so I thought. For the next three hours, I cut grass and trimmed in the rose garden. I never thought to look at the fig trees, they were safe and sound.

Eventually, I noticed Ezzy, the dog, sitting by the tree staring, head cocked to one side. Surely she was admiring my handiwork..sweet, smart Ezzy. Then there was a fluttering under the net...what?? The Thrasher had slipped under the net to get a fig and Ezzy, the bird-loving dog, was not admiring my tepee at all..she was admiring the BIRD! This Thrasher had (in three hours) eaten every fig on this tree under the watchful eye of the very one that is supposed to guard this place! Granted there was only about two dozen of the fruit, but..My Goodness! Nary a fig left on my tree!! Outwitted by a bird! A very fat and happy bird with an audience of a very delighted and adoring dog. Yes, I did have to smile about all of this, life is just too short to fret over a few figs.