Spring is well and truly in the air as we head into the last week before Daylight Saving. I'm not really ready for it yet. I've been enjoying the lighter mornings. But come Sunday we will be plunged back into darkness in the early morning as we leap forward in time.
I know it's not for long and the mornings quickly lighten but I really think Daylight Saving starts just a tad early.
I've also been enjoying the smell of mown grass while on my morning walks.
I love this time of year when the air starts to warm up and people do actually have a spring in their step.
Garden centres are starting to get busy as people plan their gardens, the blossoms are out, there are lambs and ducklings everywhere you look ... oh, it's so good to be alive.
The other thing that happens at this time of year is people start exercising. There are runners and cyclists all over the place.
Good on them but, in order to stay alive to see next spring, I have a little tip for some of them. Please, please if you are running or biking at dusk or dawn, wear high-visibility gear.
I couldn't believe my eyes recently when I was driving home at about 6.30pm and there was a cyclist on the other side of the road with no headlight. I noticed him only because I caught a glimpse of movement when I was passing.
I did glance in my rearview mirror and he had a reflector but that was it. No hi-vis clothing and no lights.
It just amazes me that people put themselves in danger like that when the solution is so bloody simple.
But that's not all - when I was driving to Havelock North down Crosses Rd there was a man jogging on the grass verge, toward my car.
I had to swerve slightly to pass him and, while this would have been perfectly exceptable two years ago, there is just no need for it now.
There is a perfectly good footpath on the other side of the road, wide enough for joggers and cyclists to share. A safe place to run, so why would anyone bother to run just metres away from cars doing 80km/h when they have a safe option? It is beyond me.
We are lucky in Hawke's Bay with the outstanding iWay paths running for miles in all directions.
I know it's not always practical for people cycling or running to use them and it gets boring using the same route to exercise - but please let common sense prevail and make sure you are light enough and bright enough for motorists to spot you a mile off.
• Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today.
