today the three americans from autignac blundered up to the forêt des écrivains combattants. that translates as “the forest of the writer-soldiers.” a whole forest dedicated to poets and authors who fought for france. there is perhaps a pertinent lesson contained therein about which members of a society should properly be remembered. writers and soldiers. not a bad group to honor. also, it so happens that somewhere near the highest point of the forest of writer-soldiers, there are a few paths lined with mixed firs and chestnut trees, and that scattered along these paths are occasional colonies of chanterelle mushrooms. we were surrounded all day by the sounds of native french mushroom hunters calling to each other, while we amateur americans silently pinched off the stems of a basketful of chanterelles. please don’t tell our neighbors. we don’t want to hurt their feelings.

chanterelle

fôret des ecrivants, lamalou-les-bains, languedoc, france