Editorial: Warm days a welcome winter treat

It is the second day of August but for all intents and purposes it could be the second day of September or October.

For two reasons.

It is certainly clement enough and yesterday, after the northwesterlies rode into town on the back of warm sunshine, we noticed a faint smear upon the bonnet of the car.

Not dust for this was not the colour of dust.

This had a slight yellowy tinge to it ... like the fine pollen dust that usually starts making its presence felt in September.

The winds which rolled in from the forested northwest appeared to have picked up the first signs of Mother Nature's little nasal-irritating yellow talc.

I do not remember seeing it this early before.

It was the same early last week when, while compiling a story about early fruit blossoms, a Tamatea resident said that this year's arrival of the pink stuff was even earlier than last year ... and last year had been the earliest they had ever seen it.

So what's going on?

A better question would be what's coming off ... in terms of items like jerseys, jackets and coats.

To see people strolling the walkways over the past few days in T-shirts, shorts and feeling obliged to wear sunglasses and sunhats was slightly surreal.

Surreal but nevertheless heartening, because I don't honestly believe anyone actually likes the chill of winter, so to have warmth rolling through during the two months which are traditionally associated with the height of winter is like escaping to the southerly climes of Queensland for a few days without the expense of accommodation or an air flight.

On the cash front, I would feel slightly piqued had I have paid good money to get an anti-flu' jab back in May.

Is it global warming?

Is it the outbreak of an El Nino weather system?

Or is it simply just "one of those mild winters"?

I suspect it is the latter.

It is part of a great climatic cycle ... like the one which produced several successive years of temperatures across England in the late 19th century which were so warm the folk of the land were growing grapes to make wine.

Whatever it is, we here in Hawke's Bay are fortunate, very fortunate.

And imagine if the suggested sandy lagoon had been built and was up and running ... for the folk of southern climes it would a fine magnet in winter!