Living in the time of pandemic: COVID-19 (299)
February 23, 2026
Year 4 of COVID in the Bay Area
Year 6, Day 301: It was a mental health crisis weekend wherein my brain was taken hostage by the depression and it was rough before it passed. I think it was, at the very least, a culmination of the pressure of having to enforce what felt like idleness (which means working like maybe one person, not 6, and still parenting, and trying to keep abreast of the most critical household stuff) for so many weeks, having the pain hit like a freight train as soon as the CFS let up even the littlest bit, and frankly, the dam just broke. I’m not past it yet, there are lots of whispers of “what would be best” but the worst of the death doldrums have passed.
Year 6, Day 302: I’ve had a white hair every few years since my early twenties so it wasn’t a surprise to find this year’s iterations. But I think it’s got company. There’s about five of them? Which led me to thinking: why do people call them greys or silvers? Do they appear grey or silver instead of pure white on other people? Yes, my brain is wandering because it is firmly fixed in the fog.
Year 6, Day 303: I’m finally just about back at my baseline which is roughly 65% human. I don’t know what the other 35% is but it’s not helpful.
Year 6, Day 304: Every Winter Games, I learn a little bit more about the sport of figure skating, mostly from social media. This year’s little learning came from Courtney Milan on scoring and medal possibilities. I don’t have any time to get deeply involved so I appreciate these small glimpses.
Year 6, Day 305: TWO wins today. Animals, of course. Our tiny dog neighbor came by for skritches and love. He’s delightful, likes to politely sniff noses, and is properly spoiled so he always smells good.
While I was doling out the love, I noticed the ravens from last week were back. Not only that, the ground one (they usually come in pairs and split up: one up high as a lookout and one on the ground) kept quoorrkkking and walking / hopping a little closer to us every few seconds. It kept a minimum distance between the strange people and the dog, but it was clearly heading my way. And the longer I petted dog buddy, the more the ground raven puffed up his feathers until he was nearly round. I can’t tell if that was posturing but as soon as our neighbor and dog friend walked away, he slicked back down to normal proportions and then looked at me very expectantly. It’s delightful and astonishing it took so little effort for them to be comfortable enough with me that I can approach within 6 feet of them now. I’m slowly building my Corvid Coalition.
How fun that the ravens know you!!! That is really very thrilling. I had a three-crow family last year who paid rapt attention every time I came out to refill my bird bath.
I speculate that hair color does vary from gray to white; silver I don’t have a theory. My hair is blondish brownish and my hair is mainly losing pigment in my sideburn area so it’s not that visible at a glance – the rest of the hair obscures the highly gray/white area! There’s a hint of a possible streak of white coming off the top of my head, but I can’t really get a good look at it.
I keep hoping both the crows and ravens start to visit a little more often, they’re so fun for low commitment.
I’d love to see the spectrum of grey and silver and white hairs. You know who does have what I think of as silver – Krissy Scalzi. I could be wrong there too, though.
Hair can look gray or silver, but I think “silver” is more a flattering way to describe it than literal.
My mom’s hair is mostly a sort of dull iron color with a brownish undertone, but it’s not consistently that shade.
My own is mostly brown, but there are enough white hairs that I think I may not land in the same spot as her when all is said and done.
I’m such a literal minded person š But I also don’t have any negative association between grey and white either so I wouldn’t have spotted that explanation!
My dad’s hair slowly went from black to gray, then stayed gray for many years, then slowly went pure white. I have seen a few people with what I would call actual silver hair (a glossy light gray) and I think it looks very pretty! I know some people are sad to see their first gray/white hair but I was RELIEVED when silver-white strands started showing in my own hair in my 30’s – because I absolutely hate the yellowed-white look and (whew!) I don’t seem to be on that trajectory.
A progression!
Yay for getting the silver-white! I’ve never had any ill feelings toward the white/fading hair colors as a whole but glad you got the variety that you preferred.