When I worked at Radio Central donkey’s years ago, we made sure to tell any new announcers to town not to say the weather was bad if it was raining. 

Sometimes they would forget or ignore that advice and quite often the result would be an irate farmer ringing them to explain, fairly bluntly, that rain is never bad weather in Central Otago.

For a topic we use so much as a conversational crutch, talking about the weather can be a fraught place to go, especially if you don’t work on the land.

But I think we might be in a sweet spot right now. Every farmer I talk to has a smile on their face as the paddocks and even our usually brown hills are lush green from all the spring rain we’ve had, rain mixed with enough warmth to have the grass growing like a teenage boy. 

I was driving through the Ida Valley this week and cows sitting in the grass only had their eyes and ears pocking over the top, looking like bovine lions on the Serengeti.

Meanwhile, cherry growers tell me that the rain this early hasn’t been too much of a problem, but it could stop any time around about now in order that the fruit can safely ripen.

I’m sure the conditions aren’t perfect for every growing industry, but by and large, things are looking pretty damned good. I’m even told by hayfever sufferers that the rain has kept the pollen down a bit this spring.

Happy days indeed!