Weird Wednesday

I've had my eye on it for months. Today it just fell off! 

Though I've been trying to consistently publish to this space every Tuesday, I let yesterday slide, because I wanted to share a picture for Wordless Wednesday instead. And then I decided the picture I wanted to share could be more elaborate. But then, I decided that the more elaborate picture deserved a weird fact to accompany/explain it... and it just went on and on. Ending in me struggling to untangle some crazy marigold stems wrapped around the branch of a fig tree. With a phone in one hand. And then watching helplessly as a large, distended fruit gave way to a tiny wasp (no worries, she was there to work), and abruptly fell off its branch.

a tiny fig, quickly inflated thanks to the wasp that paid a visit

 To clarify, I had spent months watching the fruit on my brown turkey fig, willing it to grow and to bring more with it for my culinary delight. Yesterday, after several days of intense rain, as I strolled my micro garden, checking each plant, I noticed that the tiny, hard fruit had suddenly ballooned to two or three times its size. I took a picture and moved on. Later, as I was wondering whether the fig was okay due to the bottom now boasting a hole (ostiole), I remembered how figs need a fig wasp to pollinate them. And I decided that rather than simply sharing a picture of my swollen fruit, I would share a few more, along with some facts. Here they are:

• A female fig wasp pollinates figs by climbing into the ostiole and laying eggs (eeewww). We only eat the female figs, they do that in the male figs. 
• There are 800 types of figs. I have two varieties in my garden: brown turkey and celeste
• Those "fruits" are not actually fruits. They are inverted flowers. But they wouldn't be the only flowers people find tasty and edible. 
• Fig trees are pretty easy to grow. Give it a try!