Have been in a real funk lately.  Lots going on and haven't been able to really enjoy the summer as I would like.  Figs are coming in like crazy and not enjoying with family like usual because of hectic, mismatched schedules and a million other things.  As far as figs are going;  Had 2 trees up and die on me for no apparent reason this year.  Never happened before and no time to figure out why.  Haven't been able to air-layer like I wanted to.  Love taking pictures of figs and lots are coming off without any pics.  There's up-potting that needs to be done, soil to be mixed and cuttings to be started.  The candle is burning at both ends and is about to meet in the middle!

Then this morning while making the rounds through the backyard orchard I noticed my sons' strawberry bush had a bunch of strawberry's that needed to be picked.  We usually do it together but again, only have so much time to run out in the yard and check everything out before moving onto the next thing.  A little farther down and found his favorite fig tree had a ripe fig.  I noticed it a couple of days ago and covered with organza bag.  Glad I did because birds are giving us hell.  Was about to pick it when I took a deep breath, turned around and went back in the house to get my 6 year old son, Dominic.  I surprised him with the ripe fig on his tree and he picked it.  Then he asked for a pair of scissors to cut the ripe strawberries off.  So glad I did it!  Feel so much better!

So, what's the variety with magical powers you ask?  It's The Dominick of course, courtesy of Coop.  Here's a link to the original story of The Dominick.  Thanks again Coop!  It's been a few years and this tree keeps making me smile when I really need it :)  Going to force myself to slow down a little too.  Enjoy the pics!

Dom picking first ripe fig from The Dominick this season.

  

Then its off to the strawberry bush!

   

Why are the seeds on this one black, Dad?  You're going to have to post on the forum about this!

  

Now to cut open the fig!

    

Wow!  Look at that red pulp Dad!

  

Hmmmm.  Berry flavor...  Very sweet!

   

Great story. Thx for sharing.

Gardens certainly do bring us together and smooth out rough days.

My grown kids come over all the time. My son phoned just the other night. Dad, he says ,we are heading for the grocery store and wondered what's ready in your garden.

So they come over and we get a short visit with him and his gf and our precious 2 month old granddaughter and send them on there way with cantaloupes, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes and some basil and tarragon from the herb garden. They where at the house for 30 minutes tops but it sure was nice to have everyone together for a nice little visit in the back yard.

I'm hoping next summer I will actually have enough figs to share too. 

Thanks for adding your experience too, Steve.  It's very easy to lose track sometimes, but nice to have something that brings us right back!

To see children get involved with gardening is Priceless :)

Seeing your son cut open and enjoy a fig (just like he has seen you do) is a great thing.  Unfortunately, I didn't get back into gardening until my daughter was in the early teen years and by then it is too late - they have other interests  and hanging out with Dad is not a big priority.  She'll have to discover gardening on her own later as an adult.

Always warms my heart to see happy children enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Thanks Steve.  I use to help my grandfather in the garden up until my teen years... then partied a bit much, but went back to gardening.  That's probably why I love it so much.  My grandfather on my father's side, from Sicily, grew vegetables and grapes and my grandfather on my mother's side (Bari, Italy) grew figs and grapes.  My dad still breaks my chops that he wants me to grow grapes and gave me his father's wine press from back in the day.  He remembers helping his father make wine and I remember the same.  Maybe one day.  My point is that kids remember a lot more than we think.  Even though they're not involved they watch and it gets stored in the memory banks.  Later on when they take up growing, they're making that connection back to us, just like I made the connection back to my grandparents, and so on.

I am happy that my son enjoy's being in the garden with me, though.

Hi,
My figs have more magical powers. They walk themselves from the garden to the table for my daughter and mum to eat :) .
I won't let her go to the trees as she would tare the whole trees down just to get one fig, and crush the surrounding tomato plants and pumpkin ... a true bulldozer and she's fit !

But, I have a game: it is the quiz. That's the reason why I have different strains. I put the harvest on the table and they have to guess which strain it is.
The game was starting to be too some easy, so I added some new unknown figs ... LOL . I can't get it, how they didn't spot that... I'm the master of the rules :) .
I still have some strains to taste, so the game will be even more fun, with more choices for the answers .
I have one that came from a cutting from our holidays two years ago, and that one was fun too : Do you remember the camping ( ... what you did last summer ? bouhaha LOL)...

Here, that is known as the "madeleine de Proust" effect. Memories get back to you later, just by tasting a cake (madeleine) or a passing-by smell ...
I don't think that my daughter will ever be in gardening, she's more on the intellectual side ... more a city-rat, than a country-rat ! And buying land is a challenge in my neck of the woods.

You should try some tomatoes if they like/eat them. They are fun too, and tastier than the ones you'll buy (as for the figs) .

Great post, Danny.  I hope things slow down enough for you to enjoy your surroundings a bit more.  Enjoy those figs.

That's awesome that the Dominick tree is the one with magic for you. I remember when Coop first introduced us all to it. I lost all of my figs save one tree over the winter, and I have to say that the ones I regretted the most were the ones that had a story. These shared joys certainly do bring people together. There is a magic in Figs!

Enjoy! Jeff

Danny – You gave me a little treasure today when you wrote this post.  Thank you!   Reading everyones comments just warmed my heart.

I haven’t experienced Dominick’s magical fig yet “maybe next year “, but I do also have a fig tree named as a magic fig tree by my friends and I believe it is.

When I was young, I remember when visiting my grandparents we always ended up in the garden. I learned about seed saving from grandma and that some of her plants were from seeds she brought from Georgia that she had been replanting for years.

I also remember the bags full of green beans us kids picked; then later we all sat around, with bags of beans snapping them so that mom could preserve them.

Steve – Ditto to your response. I laughed when I read it.  I so enjoy those 30 minute visits from my grown daughter. She also called the other day asking if we were going to be home.  She wanted to come over and pick some pears and plums.  She hands over my 4 month old granddaughter when she arrived and we walked around the garden talking and gathering fruit, picking and eating cherry tomatoes in between.  A few weeks previously it was figs and blackberries, sage and rosemary.

Thank you to everyone for adding!

Frank - Yes. Definitely forcing myself to slow down a bit and enjoy the figs more. Thanks. :)

Jeff - Sorry you lost all of your figs. I can definitely spare some Dominick cuttings in the fall. I'm sure Coop can help too. Send me a message and let me know what else you're looking for, I'll try and help you out.

DesMoines - Great story! Glad you have those memories. Definitely making my own too. Thanks for posting your experience.

Thank you for sharing, Danny. Dominic and that smile of his is just precious! 
One thing you might want to do, if you aren't already, is write stories like this down in a hard copy (paper) journal for when Dominic gets grown.  
With how fast the age of information is moving, vlogs, blogs and on-line programmes that we currently use may soon be obsolete, but hard bound journals will keep for generations if stored in a dry location.

It's so great that you put the rat race aside for a while!  Building family time into our lives is really tough.