Bluebird Flies

It started the day we got here. We noticed the limbs of a big, ripe fig tree hanging onto our patio from the neighbor’s yard. The birds and bees and fruit flies were having their fill, so we decided to enjoy the fruit from those branches hanging over the wall. A delicious breakfast!

Figs for breakfast! Bonus: they are free with a little climbing

Our fig friend

Macy likes to cut each one in half to examine it before eating.

Every morning since then, Macy has announced, “Time to pick figs!” She would scale the wall, and I would climb higher and higher into the tree. But there was one problem: no more ripe figs on “our” side of the tree. And so it began… our obsession with finding figs! After getting “permission” from the man who owns our house, I dropped down the other side of the wall into the neighbor’s yard to gather our treats. We figured that since he’s a seasonal resident, we are actually doing him a favor by preventing the figs from falling all over his yard! Still, I felt a little sneaky…

Sneaky fig picker on the wall of our patio

Climbing higher!

My stealth mission

Everywhere we go walking around Costa Brava, we see wild fig trees! In the woods, at the park, on the side of the road, in a ravine of blackberry brambles… we now risk life and limb for just one more of those sweet little jam bombs. We usually each take a specific job: Bobby climbs the tree, Macy tells him where to climb to get the fig (“Reach, reach, reach Dad!”), and then I catch the figs when he drops them down to us.  Macy is getting so good at recognizing which ones are ripe, saying, “Mom, if they have white milk at the top, then they aren’t ready!”

Bobby climbing a random wild fig tree

Our score for a short hike – wild berries and figs

First bite…

Savoring the full flavor!

Ahhh….

Dessert: enjoying what we gathered on our hike today

What a blessing and a treat to enjoy earth’s goodness in this sweet way!

When figs go bad…