willow of eucalyptus?

i am struck by how very similar these californian eucalyptus leaves are to my northern willow leaves i posted yesterday–not just in color, but in size and shape too. the human brain loves pattern match and make connections. so this little discovery gave me a fun little dopamine hit that lasted for several minutes.

i am reading a book called The Extended Mind by Annie Murphy Paul. some of you may be interested in it. here’s a quote i read this morning: “[It has been] established that nature is indeed a highly reliable and effective “drug,” bioengineered by evolution over thousands of years. It appears to affect us all in the same fashion: within twenty to sixty seconds of exposure to nature, our heart rate slows, our blood pressure drops, our breathing becomes more regular, and our brain activity becomes more relaxed. ”

let’s all get outside today for a good dose of vitamin N.

eucalyptus leaves