Chestnuts

Every fall, like a crazy person, I walk around the Luxembourg Gardens looking toward the ground. I'm on a mission. I'm harvesting chestnuts for my fall decorations.

I do this every year and every year I get just as excited about my "finds". It's like an adult version of an Easter Egg hunt.

I'm picky. I reject all but the most perfect or interesting specimens. I prefer the new, shiny ones with smooth dark skins.

Day after day, new ones appear on the ground. Yesterday, I heard a crack and a pod fell right in front of me and broke open, exposing the most beautiful new nut. The outside pods are large, green, spiny things. Impenetrable. But, when the time is right, they fall to the ground with extreme force (maybe they're heavy) and break open.

I don't know why I enjoy this so much, but I do. I save the previous year's chestnuts and add a few to the collection every year. I have about 20 or 30. They will grace my Halloween decorations and then will move perfectly into the Thanksgiving/Fall (no Thanksgiving in France, except at our house) displays.