Our fruitful fig

Some of you reading here will remember the purchase we made last spring (2009) of a Chicago Hardy Fig.  We bought this tiny seedling from Richters Herbs, and were told we were guarunteed to see it bearing fruit by the second season.  True to their word, this summer our fig has been sprouting numerous fruits, and this past week the first ones finally ripened to a deep gorgeous purple skin, and were soft and sweet enough to eat!  I've never had a fresh fig before, given that they are not a common tree in these parts of North America.  Dried figs are already a delicacy in my books, but fresh ones are a whole other story!  Granted, we didn't have enough to make fig jam or preserves for the winter, but we have savoured every little bite.  Hopefully our fig will survive another winter, buried under mounds of straw in our greenhouse, and we'll see another crop of fresh beautiful figs next season.