Detail Diary, Vol #7

Winter rainbows, vivid dreams, flocking pigeons

December 10 - 24, 2023

For the last week or so, I was at home with a mild but lingering virus. Not leaving the house much makes it difficult to glean the kind of outdoor details I usually do. But as I found during the perpetual lockdown WFH (here, télétravail), looking out my apartment windows day after day fosters a neighborhood diorama with its own appeal. Instead of rooks, I become more familiar with the rhythms of the local pigeons. I sneak glances into the lit windows across the street and speculate about the relationship between the inhabitants and each person who comes to the door. I admire the long coats and headphones of passersby and the bikes of cyclists pausing between cars at the traffic light. I note the visibility of the mountains each morning when I poke my head out, and compare the color of the sky to the day before. I look at the brown samaras hanging on the scraggly branches of the neighbor’s tree and think about when it had leaves. I watch the solstice dark settle over the street.

But I do miss having a slightly bigger world. Yesterday I felt well enough to go on a Christmas-cheer walk under the city-center lights. Tomorrow I’m spending Christmas in transit to meet my family for our holiday in Italy, where we hope to find some (relative) winter warmth. How grateful I am for health.

Bon réveillon et bonnes fêtes!

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