The last week has been unusually cold in Motovun. The bora has brought some snow at first, but then the sky cleared and it turned mostly sunny. Day after day, it is surprisingly bright. Bathing in sunlight, the Mirna valley is a joy to see in spite of the wind. Nights are bitter cold, though. The temperature falls to around minus ten degrees Celsius, which is unusual in Istria. The northerly wind howls night after night. According to the media, this is one of the coldest spells on record in Croatia. The same holds for much of Europe, as well. The snow has surprised many a merry tourist between Christmas and New Year’s. This adds a funny twist to all the stories about the last year being the warmest one on record. But averages are only averages. It is the extremes that really count. As years go by, the extremes are ever more extreme, as well. Averages are for the scientists, anyway.