We are the 11th day into the second calendar month of summer - still a long and warm (and probably windy) journey to travel yet.
Because as we know here in the generally sheltered eastern climes of Hawke's Bay, the real hottie generally tends to be February, with March not all that far behind.
So yes, it is effectively early days, and while that may bring smiles to those who embrace the pursuit of seafront sand and surf it almost certainly brings frowns of concern for all those charged with keeping the rural communities safe from a different sort of heat.
The heat from flames.
High temperatures and those seemingly endless bursts of strong winds, coupled with a near minuscule amount of rain over the past few weeks has seen the fire dangers soar.