December weather 15 years ago

These are some photos I took during a morning walk in the vineyard on December 10, 2010.

As you can see, it was cold on that date 15 years ago. It's much warmer today. It's raining this morning and there's no ice or snow to be seen. Actually, we are experiencing what the weather forecasters are calling une vague de douceur — "a warmth wave." You can't really call it une vague de chaleur, but it's the wintertime equivalent.

The frozen puddles on the road through the vineyard remind me of eggs cooked sunny side up. In the picture on the right just above, it looks like somebody had been through with a snow plow, leaving little piles of ice on the shoulder of the road.