The log fire has been unused for about seven days.
Blossoms are bursting like popcorn, lambs are ecstatic to be alive and at daybreak my infant tomato seedlings unfurl and reach for the sun.
This is the season where, for a few short weeks, everything's young. Poet Robert Frost couched it best when he wrote, "nature's first green is gold".
Accordingly, Hawke's Bay hits its straps at this pastoral time of year. Rightfully taking advantage of this, the Royal Show starts today, while the marquee Hawke's Bay A&P Bayleys Wine Awards was staged last night at Waikoko Gardens.
If you've had the good fortune of being at these wine awards - the country's oldest regional wine competition - you'll know it's something to crow about.