Detail Diary, Vol #6

Winter begins

November 26 - December 9, 2023

Dear friend,

Winter has arrived in Grenoble, glossy and chilly and blanketed by fallen leaves. The mountains are white—sometimes pink—much to the joy of skiers. In the valley, though, winter is still rain, except for one evening of dark, quiet sleet that built up on the roofs of cars; a few mornings of frost. Birds and squirrels go about their business. The air smells like cold and leaf-spice. Sometimes the light breaks through.

Municipalities have turned on the Christmas lights hung on the main streets—up all year round, unlit until late November. The Marché de Noël has filled Place Victor Hugo with faux log cabins selling vin chaud, fondue, and gaufres de Liège.

It’s winter, and I don’t mind.

Here is your usual reminder that this post is best viewed on the web or in the Substack app, unless your email provider manages to show all the photos and text in the email! Clicking on a Note will also take you to the browser to see its full text and photos.

---

First snow (ish)

Bonus details from Dec 6

On the wall, an intimation of wavery rainbow so faint that I question if my vision is askew. After some experiments with shadow I locate the prism: the transparent plastic wand hanging from the farthest venetian blind. A glance of winter sun, and the finger-twist of light is cast as wide as the wall, thin as gauze, thinner.

The same light through the gently corkscrewing, speckled golden peel of my colleague's apple as she works her knife around it. A skin so delicate I wonder why she peels it. But it is beautiful.