Hey Carolyn, I really adore reading your blog, you make me think about things I never mention, and I found it so nice. All these small little pieces of human's life bring a genuine smile on my face, and the small daily smiles make us happy people :)))

Btw, as my grandmom has explained me, the chestnuts that fall down from the trees are different from these you see baked on the street. If you buy a package of them (mmm!) you will see they are some king of a different sort and have a strange form.

These in the parks are not eatable, but people pick up them for different reasons:
One is that old people believe that if they put some under their pillow, it helps for a good sleep and also for trombones ( increasing the blood veins).

Also it is good to have them in your home, because it is also believed they bring positive mood.
Another reason for collecting them is making your own home-made herbal creams and other kind of cures.
And the children,I don't know, I think they just get them, because they enjoy the shape, the glance, the picking up process. And sometimes in school they have these classes when they have been learning how to sew, cook, making a metal candle and so on, and there sometimes they make pictures in relief and/or humans from chestnuts.

Nice golden autumn, isn't it :)))