we collected this eucalyptus branch and its perfect phillips screwdriver-head seed pods on a walk through a eucalpytus plantation in southern france. we set out that day to hunt eucalyptus, and we found our prey to be abundant and beautiful. but then, on our way back down to the car, we passed a parasol pine grove, where, unexpectedly, an acre of ripe sanguin mushrooms sat like fat hamburger buns in the shade, waiting to fall victim to our jackknives. i’m telling this story because our family has always remembered the day as the time we found all those mushrooms. but look at what else we found that day. and i guess i’m thinking that it didn’t much matter what we expected to find. it only mattered that we set out, in a spirit of discovery. the resulting riches, in whatever form, were inevitable.

eucalyptus seed pods

southern france