eucalyptus tacks
Mar 11, 2011 
When I first moved to San Francisco, the eucalyptus trees took me completely off guard. First of all, the smell is so arresting: somewhere on the spectrum between menthol and old gym socks. Then there are all the parts to the tree that seem so Dr. Seuss-ian: the peeling, multi-colored bark, the silvery blue-green leaves, and the powder-blue caps. The first Thanksgiving we spent here, my sister and I bought eucalyptus branches by the armload at the flower market.
This time of year, the woody caps drop to the ground after the tree flowers. I gathered a few from a nearby forest floor and decided to add a cap to some ho-hum thumbtacks. All it took was a dab of glue and pressing in place.
Here they are in action, in this pair of photographs of my sisters, my cousin and me – taken at least twenty years apart. Since we're all out of order from the older photo, I feel like this is one of those games where you try to match what a person said to who said it. Can you guess which little girl grew into which bigger girl?
eucalyptus, tacks in make
Reader Comments (4)
oh, i love it! your tack idea is wondeful (and the section of your corkboard looks like the curve in a pants pattern piece, intriguing). my guesses:
girlie 4 = lady 3
girlie 3 = lady 2
hmpf. i guess that's as far as i can get. you'd think i'd just take a shot but i want to be PERFECT!
wow, these are too cool for words!
As a little girl growing up in California, these pods were perfect for making bowls for my miniatures and dollhouse. As ad adult, I love your tacks.
Oona, you're right on the money. As for the other two:
girlie 1 = lady 4
girlie 2 = lady 1
You're also right about the cork decoration looking like a pants piece, ha!