the latest exhibit in the “everything here is prickly” museum. the châtaigniers (chestnut trees) are ripe right now, and their fruit is falling everywhere up in the hills behind us, where the vines of the coastal plains give way to the oaks, chestnuts and beech trees of the foothills. the chestnut husk looks just like a sea urchin, except maybe 10 times sharper. that sounds like an exaggeration, but you literally cannot pick one up with your hands. inside the husk are the chestnuts, looking like flattened hazelnuts. fortunately, a lot of the time, the nuts fall out of the husk first, before the husk falls from the tree. but of course, it’s much more photogenic when the whole thing falls, and the beautifully smooth woodgrained nut sits inside the savagely armed carapace. bring leather gloves.

châtaigne, chestnut

lamalou-les-bains, languedoc, france