I awoke this morning to the sound of rain on the roof of the place I'm house-sitting, and momentarily wondered if I'd shut the sunroof of my car before drifting back to sleep. As I fell asleep, I was conscious of missing the gentle way the boat rocks when a storm comes through.

The rain clouds brought with them a slew of nightmares that left me exhausted and unhappy when I finally did get out of bed. The dreams didn't depict actual events, but re-imagined old events in new circumstances, allowing me to experience the emotions all over again.

Over the weekend, I was talking with Jonny's brother Adam and Adam's wife Emily about a friend of theirs, a sculptor named Sachiko Akiyama. Adam described a piece she'd created, depicting herself prone as if sleeping, with a bird perched on her hip. As he was telling me, I pictured a great blue heron, although it turns out that it is actually an owl. Adam and Emily each spoke of the work with great admiration, and I promised them I'd look up the sculptor when I got home.

This morning, I went to the website of the gallery where she has an exhibition, and found this piece. As I looked at it, I noticed that the sun was breaking through the clouds, and the haze from my nightmare was dissipating, as if swept away by the wings of a great bird in flight.

Star of the day. . .Franco Magnani