Figs!

Figs!

Day 38
The Daily DuBrule

Today was day 3 of the flower show in Hartford, my 6th long day of being there. So many things to to talk about, so many things I saw and shared with people. But the highlight of my day was my evening out at First and Last Tavern in Middletown. My husband and I NEVER go out on Saturday nights, we like Friday nights as it is a bit less crowded. That said, we went out tonight with my sister and her best friend who are in town to see the flower show tomorrow. As we waited in the bar for our 35 minute wait on this crowded night, my husband looked across and said "it's the fig man!". Last year I had a wonderful conversation with an older Italian man with a thick accent all about fig trees. He was really surprised that I knew anything at all about them.  I just had to go talk to him again. I introduced myself, fearless as I am when it comes to all things horticultural, and told him he was "the fig man" to us. He was amused. We proceeded to talk about the nitty gritty details of growing figs in CT for quite a while. Then he simply had to go over and meet my husband and chat for a while. I was enchanted.

So much of what I know comes from people just like Tony, the fig man. Everyday folks who grow food in their yards, who carry on traditions from the old country, who have resettled in a new land and grow their food in the old ways to make the feel happy and at home. I guess it must be quite a kick to be sitting at a bar and have an Irish/French/Scottish gardener like me saddle up beside him and talk serious plant talk. What fun I had. I hope I see him often. He has a lot to teach me.