BEING THERE : But Do They Take Coupons?

Just north of Kanan Dume Road on PCH, there’s a sign, handwritten, that says “Figs,” with an arrow pointing up a driveway. We turned in the other day and drove up, past an orchard. We could see a yellow farmhouse (what a real estate broker would call “California ranch”). There was no one around. At the top of the driveway was a picnic table with baskets of tomatoes, peaches, nectarines and, of course, figs, homemade fig jam, zucchini, something green with a peculiar shape that I think was cherimoya, and two more signs: “Grown without spray” and “Honor system.” There was an old scale, vintage 1940, and a coffee can from around the same time marked “Cash Can.” There were prices on the baskets. We put our peaches, tomatoes and, of course, figs in the paper bags, weighed them and put our money in the cash can, which had a few dollars in it from someone else, and made our own change. We went home happy that a few blocks away from us there’s a business that exists on the honor system, with perfectly delicious fruit.