at home the arrival of winter usually means the first snowfall that you know will stay on the ground. here the arrival of winter means the arrival of the winter winds. the most famous is the mistral, but there are plenty of other winds here, and they all have names. there is no single prevailing wind angling southeast out of canada like we have in minnesota. instead, there is the tramontane, coming down from the pyrenees. there is the vent marin, which comes up from the sea. there is the vent grec, which comes from the southeast, from the general direction of greece. there is the vent du nord, and the vent du sud. nobody really talks about how cold the air temperature is during the winter. what they talk about is how hard the wind is blowing, and where the wind is coming from. it’s yet another thing to learn, if you want to live here in a way that resembles how everyone else lives here. like learning to love anchovies. and thistles. and cicadas. and dry summer heat.

palm frond

autignac, france