there is actually a fruit here called a “grenade.” but it is just the french translation of “pomegranate.” the photo above is not of a pomegranate, but of a magnolia seed pod, which resembles a hand grenade even more than a pomegranate, including the bloody mess.

magnolia fruit and seeds

collioure, france

there are parts of nature that shout, and we tend to pay attention to them. charging lions. roaring rivers. monumental redwoods. summer storms. but there are also the delicate corners of nature that look as if they might not be quite robust enough to stand up to the conditions they are placed in. they are sometimes among the most beautiful, when we tune out the rest of the shouting, and listen to them whisper.

delicate bits and baubles

autignac, france

our neighbor brought this from her garden this evening. she was weeding her carrots and saw this, and thought of me, she said. it was a neighborly gesture, and it made me want to give her a hug. but more than that. it was the kind of thing you do when you have time. not because you have made time to do something like that. but because you have time, and it gives you the mental space to think of doing something like that. our family has been running hard for several years now. i’m looking forward to resuming a life in which i have time to stop by my neighbor’s house to deliver a strange plant that i know she’ll love.

amour-en-cage / love in a cage / physalis peruviana calyx and fruit

autignac, france

my love of seedpods brought this little monster into my house today. i laid it out on my kitchen table and the seeds spilled a little bit all over, and then i found it in an obscure corner of wikipedia, and discovered that it was a datura, and that all parts of it are highly poisonous. i looked at the little poisonous seeds next to the afternoon baguette, and began sorting very very carefully.

moon flower jimsonweed seed pods (datura stramonium)

autignac, france

joe, what are these? quick. don’t think. just what are they? joe: “angel trumpets.” . . . hey joe . . . guess what? . . . you’re exactly right.

spent flower stems with receptacles (unidentified)

autignac, france