How dry I'm not

Water runs fast and furious in all the little ruts, gullies, and stream beds that drain the vineyards right now. I haven't seen the river in a couple of days, but I will wager that it's pretty high. The weather systems come through one after the other, alternating rain with teasing sunny spells.

The sun sets during a break in the weather.

The rain showers are not violent, and sometimes they're more heavy mist than light rain, but the water comes down nonetheless. It's good news for the water table since a few years ago we heard a lot of talk about drought. But we still haven't had a good freeze yet this winter. My temperature records, which go back to 2005, show that most of our cold weather has come at the end of January and into February, so we may still have some proper winter weather ahead. Spring is still more than two months away.

And when it does get cold, don't be surprised if I complain about it.