A Dewy Morning on Adelaida Road

I had to head out to the vineyard early Sunday morning to get my wine for the Paso Robles Rhone Rangers Experience.  It was, as is not unusual at this time of year, foggy downtown (Salinas Valley fog, come up from the cold waters of the Monterey Bay) but clear once I'd gotten a few miles out of town.  But, more unusual for this area, because of all the rain we've received this winter and all the moisture in the ground, we have had a thin layer of ground fog develop out at the vineyard most mornings for the past week.  By the time I typically get out to work around 9, it's mostly burned off.  But when I got out to the vineyard yesterday a little before 8, it was stunning.  Dew had settled on the vines and wires, making them sparkle like they were strung with jewels:

 

I'm not usually the first one at the office, so I don't often get to take a shot of the winery facade without a parking lot full of cars in front of it.  Since this view will be going away soon, it's nice to have a good one to remember it by:

Finally, one shot of an old oak stump across Adelaida Road from us, on the Halter Ranch property.  On sunny winter mornings, we often see a half-dozen turkey vultures posing on this tree, stretching out their wings to absorb the morning sun.  When this coincides with lifting ground fog, it looks like the opening scene from a movie.

The weather has been beautiful these past four or five days, with ample sun and daytime highs in the upper 60s.  We're supposed to get more of this weather (even a little warmer) this week, before a rainy el nino-influenced pattern returns next week.  With about six weeks of wet weather behind us, we have all been really enjoying the sun and warmth.  And knowing that there's more rain coming is even better.