Just being silly - but it has been a long time since my last visit and I see a lot -- a lot of my buddies have left. Rats!!

Anyway this year was a real change.
I moved myself, my toys and over 600 trees to 65 acres out in the middle of "almost nowhere".
I am now close to Monticello so I can finally get them a few more historic figs I've collected for them (and me - of course).

Reduced my collection by 42 varieties I decided were just not good for zone 7 here in Virginia. Still evaluating everything else. I add varieties, try them for 5 years or more and burn if they don't perform (can't sell or give away large trees I think are inferior for this area).

Spent 10 weeks recovering from an accident with a bear. Yep no &*^% a friggin bear. 

Am going to sell trees and cuttings on Ebay for the first time at mgginva if anyone wants to check if I'm a crook before they bid.
On that subject I will say this:

I agree with Hermann2 completely on the subject of Ebay sales - i.e. you should only sell what you have actually grown and produced your own crop of figs with. Obviously there are certain exceptions but a lot of past f4f forum fights stemmed from folks "finding" figs they then claimed were exceptional. Some just plucked from parking lots and given names only to be marketed as the next "it" variety.
OK - sorry - enough of the sales stuff.
OOPS - last thing - I will be selling cuttings this year for the last time as I am concentrating on selling trees and figs. I hope to have a website up soon. OK - done.

I hope to be able to spend more time here catching up with those I have not heard from for a while.

Welcome to all the newbies!

Adios mis amigos!
mgg

So what happened to the bear? Glad to hear that you're ok.

I managed to miss the bear but not a large Black Locust tree.
thx,
mgg

Hi Michael ,
I've been wondering how your move went and where it took you.
Always enjoy your informative posts , especially on what varieties your chef buddies are favoring these days.
Good to see you back !
Why were you wrestling a bear , is that a Virginia thing ?

Mike
Great to see you back.

Lots of changes.

There you are!
Welcome back.
The number one reason I grow figs.

Doug

It seems a bit odd for someone who arrived at the party after you to say Welcome back but I have used the search function on the forum a lot and yours was a name I recognised,
I've read some interesting topics started by you and hope to do so again in the future.Welcome back

I deleted my account long ago and re registered under the same name.
I deleted all my posts from the old account of 10/1/2012
The join date only means the last time you signed up for a account.
I have known him for years....for your curiosity.

:)

Doug

Welcome back!  Should we call you Mr Kotter?

Welcome back Mike,
Glad your health is improving! There are a lot of newbies. I'm still here but not daily like previous years. Due to sever fall down icy brick steps last February and a surgery the end of November, I wasn't able to winterize many of my prize large trees like Black Maderia, CdD-G, Black Ischia and others. So, I'm sure some of these will suffer. Like you, I'm switching to growing only those that will survive in my climate. I'm getting rid of some of these that are not happy with my climate and switching over to growing Paw paws and Aronia berries. I have too many citrus trees but the scale and white bug battle is just not worth fighting. Hours ago, I chopped up 3 large citrus trees and placed them outside to freeze and die. I've got Pawpaw seeds to start and a hundred plus cuttings to start this week plus build an indoor table to house my cold frame and cuttings. And not to mention I have a new job and I travel some so had a fig festival planned last year but had to cancel due to the new job. Looking forward to retire again in 9 years and contemplating moving in 5 years to either, NC, FL, TX or CA. Again, welcome back!

Doug, my comments about it being "odd for someone who arrived at the party after you to welcome you back" was directed at me, not at you,i am the Newbie here :). No offense intended if it was taken!.As i mentioned in my original reply i use the search function, there are names that crop up a lot historically that i just dont see anymore, its always good to see one of those name reappear, we could really do with some more of that around here at the moment

haslamhulme
Lol
no offense taken.

Glad you have not abandoned ship, Michael.  Appreciate the wisdom of growers like you!

i haven't been here long but nice to see you back (your dog also by the way)

Hi Michael!

Glad to see you back! Quite a few things changed over the past year...

Good to hear from you, Michael!

Michael, glad to hear you are doing well.  Next time it might be better to plow into the bear than leave the road and hit a tree!  I did something similar once and even though the evasive maneuver made things worse and we were fortunate we weren't injured.  The Blanche de Deux Saisons I got from you via a cutting did well in its first year and maybe I'll get fruit next year assuming it survives the winter.  Did the WM#1 I sent to you do ok last summer?

When I was 17 I put my Trans am in a ditch to keep from hitting a opossum halfway in a Hardees bag in the middle of the road.Your story is way more manly than mine,glad you and your dog are okay!

Hello Mike and welcome back. Haven't met you before so I am pleased to make your acquaintance now.

Nice to see you back, your posts are so informative!

thx everyone.
geeez looking around -- Hermann2 left?!?!!!! Why?
I hope the newbies are being helped. I hope there are still some folks left that can offer advise.
Kerry - yep we here in Va bore easily and have a lot of bears
thx Doug
Bob - u r showing your age -- and taste as well - poor ole John T. on the hot seat these days for Scientology (and loosing 5 mil on that stupid movie) and now the gay thing as well. Not that there's anything wrong with it.
Dennis - ouch - I hope u r ok. Let me know if I can help on varieties. 
Steve - thx yea I always lecture folks to HIT THE DARN ANIMAL! oops. The White Madeira is just starting to break dormancy. It's inside now under lights. Send me an email and I'll send my new inventory.
Everyone -- seriously - thx - it's nice to see some old friends are still here. And to the newbies -- welcome. I hope I can help.

I looked up that Blanche Des Deux Saisons. Looks like a nice fig to gobble up, I hope someone wants to trade that in 2017 ;)

Devisgro,
send me an email and I'll send you an inventory.

To all the newbies.

Mike is one that you should pay attention to, not the most prolific poster but one of the most knowledgeable contributors for a long time.  He knows more about the fig program at Monticello than anyone.  For those that may not know, Thomas Jefferson was the original american "Figster", oh yeah, I think he may have been a political troublemaker, LOL

Nice guy, the kind of people that we cannot afford to lose from the Forum.

He will probably deny all I have just stated.

Hello Michael, as you can tell, you've been missed. So glad to hear from you again. Hoping to be able to let you know what I think of Cavaliere this summer. Happy New Year, amigo!