COMMENT:
At the beginning of January (and a new decade) it felt as though summer might actually be starting. Temperatures climbed high enough that even I contemplated swimming – and it has to be pretty warm for me to think about going near the water. But before I put the thought into action, the temperature dropped. The tennis in Auckland made us realise how cold it was – after many years of talking about going, a friend organised evening session tickets for us. The night before going we watched a game on television and realised how many of the crowd were wearing warm jackets and beanies – and the ones that weren't rugged up looked chilly. So, we packed appropriately and were glad we had. One of our friends, expecting summer weather, was shivering in his T-shirt and we even had enough spare clothes to lend him a jacket.
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Summer returned with a vengeance the next day. All the rain we gratefully received in December has now dried up and the hills are looking brown. The dogs take any chance to leap gleefully into the nearest trough for a cooling dip. Even for some of the cows, troughs double as drinking vessels and paddling pools, with the odd one managing to haul themselves in and cool off while contentedly chewing their cud. Trees are in high demand too. Sometimes you wouldn't know a herd of cows was in a paddock – once they've finished grazing, they disappear, crowding together under whatever trees are in the vicinity. Another popular spot is the top of a hill where they can catch the breeze. They take turns flicking flies away, constantly circling from the outside where they swish their tails vigorously, pushing inwards to the centre where they enjoy a respite from the insects before they are churned back out to take their turn on the defence line.