In the pink

October is when le fusain (common spindle) puts on a bright pink display of berries. I hardly notice these plants until they set fruit. Later, the berries will open to reveal bright orange seeds. What a show!

Spindle at woods' edge.

The last communication I got from the landscape contractor was on 31 August saying that he would be here at 8h00 on 4 October. That's today, two hours from when I'm typing this. I need to get the car out of the driveway and park it across the street before they get here. The sky is clear. No rain. So I'm assuming (always a gamble) that he and his crew will show up.

UPDATE: 8h40 9h00 10h00. So far, no show. No call.

Fusain's orange berries

A month ago, I posted a photo of a fusain (common spindle) berry and mentioned that the actual seeds inside are a bright orange color. Now the seed pods have opened and the orange seeds are visible.

The orange seeds of the fusain.

I started moving that mulch on Friday, but my back started getting sore, so I had to stop at twelve wheelbarrows full. That's not too bad, but there is a lot more to move. I'll try to do some more today. And maybe take some photos when the progress is more impressive.

Le fusain

This is the fruit of the fusain d'Europe (common spindle). I see them here and there on the edges of the vineyard parcels, but usually only recognize them this time of year when they make these little red berries. When the berry matures, it opens to reveal several bright orange seeds.

It looks like a tiny pink pumpkin.

The fusain is toxic to humans, but Wikipedia tells me that certain varieties are carbonized in an airtight environment to make charcoal pencils for artists. Those pencils are called fusains in French. Click here to see two other photos of the berries that I posted back in 2012 and 2013.

Spindle

That's the English name. In French, it's called fusain d'Europe. In fall, the berries turn a bright red/pink color and are hard to miss. Then, in early winter, they open up to release their seeds and show a brilliant orange interior. Very pretty.

Fusain on the edges of the woods.

The chainsaw is home. It ran beautifully at the mechanic's on Tuesday morning. He gave me some pointers on the fuel mixture, one being that I shouldn't use old water bottles to store the fuel because gasoline causes the plastic to degrade which then gums up the carburetor. He also changed the fuel filter.

Frosty berries

With apologies to my cyber-friend Olivier at Ruralité, who takes magnificent photos of, well, everything. He did a series recently featuring the berries of the fusain (spindle, in English). His pictures showed the berries opened up, with the orange seeds visible.

The orange seeds look more red in my picture, but you can see a little of the orange color on the extreme left.

I had never seen that, so I went back to look at the one place near us where I know this plant grows. And, sure enough, the berries had opened to reveal the orange seeds. That morning was a cold one, and the frost on the berries was pretty.

Thanks to Olivier for inspiring this post.