New York City, March 14, 2013

★ The early daylight was subdued, and there was a whipping wind on the avenue. Winter was claiming its rights by the calendar. After the shelter of the subway, the cold was eye-watering. The hanging flags for the bar and the restaurant flapped parallel to the sidewalk. The clouds were shredded by afternoon, leaving patches or islands of sunlight to cling to while walking. The wind crawled up the coat sleeves. People were out in their long down coats again, their furs. A woman at the curb wore something ambiguously between a coat and a bathrobe, equally ambiguous between real and fake fur, all in shades of blue.