10 Western Bachelorette Party Cake Ideas

Walking into a celebratory weekend only to find a blindingly pink, fondant-draped confection topped with plastic horseshoes, neon cowgirl boots, and glitter slogans can instantly pull the energy right out of an elevated celebration. When planning a milestone event, hosts often feel backed into a corner by juvenile party-aisle bakery templates or overly formal white tiered wedding cakes that lack personality. You don’t need rigid cake-decorating rules or a sugar-paste costume theme to mark the occasion. You simply need better design inspiration.

The secret to commissioning a standout dessert is to borrow one distinctive architectural or botanical principle rather than trying to replicate every frontier novelty onto a single cake tier. When you ground your centerpiece in organic textures, artisanal finishes, or regional wild flora, the design feels effortlessly stylish, delicious, and tailored to the bride. The ten curated concepts below showcase elevated approaches to western aesthetic party cakes—proving frontier charm can be strikingly modern and undeniably chic.

What Makes a Western Cake Worth Choosing

The difference between a cake that looks like a high-end editorial centerpiece and one that resembles a children’s costume party comes down to textural balance, botanical restraint, and artisanal finishes. Anyone can stick a plastic topper into neon-tinted buttercream, but real culinary sophistication lives in the interplay of raw and refined elements.

When collaborating with your cake designer, look for these design foundations:

• Textural Buttercream and Stucco Finishes: Swap thick, gummy sheets of polished fondant for organic deckle-edge buttercream, palette-knife stucco sweeps, combed ridges, or raw semi-naked crumb coats that reveal the cake’s internal structure.

• Warm, Sunbaked Earth Tones: Ditch artificial neon pinks and hyper-saturated dyes in favor of pigments found naturally in the desert landscape: terracotta, bleached bone, desert ochre, dusty sage, warm cocoa, and raw cream.

• Sculptural Native Botanicals: Center the floral design around arid, architectural greenery such as sugar-dusted succulents, preserved bunny tails, dried silver dollar eucalyptus, wild chamomile, dried seed pods, and native thistle.

• Metallic and Mineral Accents: Introduce delicate touches of hand-painted edible gold or burnished copper leaf along natural torn edges, or incorporate smooth, mineral-toned wafer-paper frills that evoke desert rock strata.

• Complex, Regional Flavor Profiles: Match the exterior beauty with a memorable crumb. Look for artisanal flavor notes like bourbon-soaked vanilla bean, spiced brown butter, roasted pecans, prickly pear curd, salted caramel, or high-altitude honey sponge.

Cake Design Concept	Best Inspiration For	The Detail Worth Borrowing
Terracotta Stucco & Wild Grasses	High-desert patio dinners and sunset gatherings	Matte clay-colored palette-knife buttercream accented with sun-bleached bunny tails
The Deckle-Edge Adobe & Gold Leaf	Modern art-gallery and luxury desert celebrations	Organic, untrimmed top buttercream rim gilded with delicate 24k gold leaf
Tooled Leather Bas-Relief	Traditional heritage ranch weekends and historic lodges	Hand-pressed floral scrollwork embossed subtly into cocoa-tinted fondant panels
Pressed Prairie Meadow & Honeycomb	Romantic, slow countryside brunches and winery tours	Real edible pressed wildflowers and clover embedded flat into bone-white buttercream
Vintage Lambeth Cowgirl Chic	High-energy city saloon weekends (Austin, Nashville)	Muted sand-and-sage piped shell garlands paired with custom retro script piping
Weathered Driftwood & White Antlers	Minimalist modern mountain retreats (Aspen, Jackson Hole)	Textured birch-bark textured scraping accented by a single pale sculpted antler
The Turquoise Geode & Raw Sugar Rock	Mineral-loving, wellness-focused retreats (Sedona, Joshua Tree)	Hand-carved cake crevice embedded with edible rock sugar in dusty seafoam and turquoise
Charred Mesquite & Burnished Copper	Evening bourbon tastings and cozy ranch dinners	Deep charcoal buttercream paired with torn edges of reflective hammered copper leaf
Wild Desert Agave & Sugar Succulents	Warm-weather poolside estates and cocktail parties	Lifelike dusty-blue sugar agaves nested against combed ivory buttercream ridges
Saddle Blanket Mosaic Wafer Paper	Vibrant, heritage-focused celebrations with artisan flair	Edible wafer paper cut into geometric southwestern diamond kilim patterns

1. Terracotta Stucco & Pressed Prairie Grasses

Blending baked earth tones with wild botanical silhouettes creates an immediate sense of warm, effortless frontier hospitality. The magic of this pairing lies in treating buttercream like artisan architectural plaster.

Terracotta Stucco Buttercream

Move past smooth, pristine bakery piping. Instruct your baker to tint Swiss meringue buttercream with natural gel pigments into a soft, sunbaked terracotta or warm desert clay shade. Using an offset palette knife, they should apply the frosting in wide, horizontal sweeps, creating a rough stucco or plaster texture that catches shadows across the tiers.

In a recent Scottsdale outdoor celebration, a single-tier extra-tall barrel cake featured this chalky clay finish. The raw, tactile exterior gave the cake an immediate earthen weight, standing out against a simple white table runner without needing a single ribbon or topper.

Pressed Prairie Grasses

Accent the clay-like stucco with sun-bleached dried prairie botanicals arranged asymmetrically up one side of the cake. Cluster delicate dried bunny tails, fine stalks of wild wheat, bleached thistle pods, and dried starflowers.

Because these botanicals are arid and featherweight, they appear to sprout naturally from the base of the cake, mimicking the wild flora growing along high-desert mountain roads. The contrast between the saturated terracotta base and the pale, sun-bleached stems is breathtaking and completely organic.

Botanical Safety Tip: Never push dried or wild florals directly into edible cake. Ensure your baker wraps the stem bases in florist tape and inserts them inside food-safe floral pick tubes before placing them into the tiers to prevent plant sap or natural dust from contacting the crumb.

2. The Deckle-Edge Adobe & Gold Leaf

For a celebration leaning modern, artistic, and gallery-worthy, pulling inspiration from historic adobe walls and high-end pottery delivers a minimalist showstopper.

Deckle-Edge Adobe Finish

Instead of slicing the top rim of the buttercream flat with an acrylic scraper, let the frosting push up past the top edge naturally, leaving a raw, irregular “deckle” rim reminiscent of handmade cotton paper or the lip of a hand-thrown ceramic vessel. Tint the buttercream in an unbleached bone or pale oat tone.

The sides of the cake should be scraped clean, leaving faint vertical grain lines that echo sun-dried adobe walls. The intentional imperfection of the jagged top edge gives the entire tier an artisan, sculptural profile that looks like fine pottery.

Hand-Applied Gold Leaf

To elevate the raw, organic rim into pure luxury, paint the rough deckle edge with sheets of edible 24-karat gold leaf. The metallic leaf should cling to the uneven peaks and crevices of the frosting, creating a broken, shimmering crown along the top of the cake.

Keep the rest of the cake body entirely clean, letting the contrast between matte bone-white plaster and reflective gold do all the work. It feels sophisticated, restrained, and completely celebratory.

Setting Scenario	Cake Base Styling	Why It Works
Santa Fe Adobe Courtyard	2-tier bone-white deckle-edge cake, raw mesquite cake stand	The matte white ceramic feel reflects natural desert light and mimics surrounding architecture.
Modern Loft Lounge	Single-tier extra-tall tier, black iron pedestal stand	High metallic contrast between gold leaf and dark wrought iron adds an urban, editorial edge.
Sunset Vineyard Toast	Semi-naked tiered base, raw-edge linen underlay	The warm organic gold catches the low-angle sun, matching sparkling wine in vintage flutes.

Application Note: Edible gold leaf is notoriously sensitive to air drafts and touch. If you are styling the cake table outdoors, place a heavy glass hurricane or cloche over the cake until it is time to cut to protect the delicate metallic flakes from sudden gusts of wind.

3. Tooled Leather Bas-Relief & Vintage Lambeth Piping

Nothing says classic cowboy heritage quite like the art of leather tooling. When combined with vintage piping techniques, the result is a cake rich in artisan depth and vintage charm.

Tooled Leather Bas-Relief

Work with a decorator who understands subtle embossing. Rather than covering an entire cake in shiny brown fondant, create a dedicated central band or base tier wrapped in a thin, matte caramel-tinted fondant panel.

Using traditional leathercraft silicone impression mats or freehand modeling tools, emboss classic western floral scrollwork, acanthus leaves, and rope border trims into the surface. Dust the recessed cuts with a dry cocoa luster dust to give the carved lines authentic, weathered dimension. The finished piece looks remarkably like a custom saddle or artisan belt.

Vintage Lambeth Piping

Balance the masculine, structured weight of the leather base by crowning the top tier with intricate, vintage Lambeth piping in soft sand or antique cream. Overlapping shell borders, delicate swags, drop lines, and tiny piped fleur-de-lis motifs bring a feminine, nostalgic charm.

The meeting of rugged, dimensional leather detailing and delicate, confectionary piping creates a dynamic conversation piece that honors traditional craftsmanship without feeling heavy-handed.

Design Layer	Technique / Finish	Visual Role
Base Tier	Embossed matte caramel fondant, cocoa luster shadow	Introduces realistic, tactile heritage leather craft and structural weight.
Top Tier	Antique cream Swiss meringue, Lambeth drop swags	Softens the overall profile with delicate, nostalgic confectionary elegance.
Accent Detail	Tiny edible gold dragees placed at piped drop points	Adds subtle, twinkling metallic catchlights without needing novelty toppers.

Flavor Pairing: Complement the rich visual leather finish with an equally bold, grounded cake flavor: bourbon-infused butter cake layered with brown butter praline buttercream and dark caramel drip.

4. Pressed Prairie Meadow & Honeycomb Toppers

For countryside retreats, slow garden lunches, and rustic winery getaways, embedding real edible wildflowers directly into pale frosting delivers an enchanting, cottage-inspired frontier aesthetic.

Pressed Prairie Wildflower Collage

Wave goodbye to dense, artificial sugar flowers. Instead, press pesticide-free, food-grade edible blooms flat between paper towels for two weeks prior to the event. Work with varieties that carry an authentic prairie meadow vibe: miniature pansies, golden yarrow petals, wild chamomile florets, cornflowers, and delicate sprigs of flowering dill or fennel.

Press the dried, paper-thin blossoms directly against the freshly frosted, bone-white Swiss buttercream, smoothing them flat with an offset spatula. The vibrant colors and delicate veins of the petals show through with botanical clarity, turning the side of the cake into a living piece of prairie art.

Raw Honeycomb Crowns

Crown the top of the wildflower cake with a generous, irregular chunk of raw, golden honeycomb dripping fresh honey down one side of the tier. The geometric wax cells add sculptural texture, while the natural honey reflects light gorgeously.

Tuck a single sprig of flowering sage or dried wheat beside the honeycomb chunk. This style is sweet, romantic, and deeply grounded in the natural bounty of rural landscapes.

Sourcing Note: Ensure any pressed flowers used on edible food are 100% certified culinary-grade and untreated by floral preservatives or commercial pesticides. Reputable organic growers on specialty culinary sites provide vacuum-sealed packages of safe, edible pressed blooms.

5. Modern Matte Black & Charred Mesquite Leaf

For evening celebrations set in private dining rooms, historic steakhouses, or moody saloon lounges, flipping traditional bridal palettes on their head creates unforgettable, high-fashion drama.

Matte Charcoal Buttercream

Make a bold statement with a tiered cake coated in velvety, ultra-dark charcoal or deep espresso buttercream. Rather than using black food coloring that can stain teeth and taste bitter, have your baker use dark black cocoa powder—the same rich cocoa used in classic chocolate cookies.

The finish is matte, silky, and deep, carrying a rich, dark-chocolate aroma. Scrape the surface smooth with sharp 90-degree edges, giving the cake an architectural, contemporary monumentality.

Burnished Copper Leaf Accents

Slash across the dark surface with torn, jagged ribbons of burnished copper leaf. Copper provides an intense, warm orange-gold reflection that cuts right through the moody black backdrop.

Accent the metallic strip with a single dramatic cutting of dried silver dollar eucalyptus sprayed lightly in copper paint (ensure the stem is isolated in a food-safe tube). The combination evokes glowing embers, cast-iron campfires, and high-end western luxury.

Element	Material Choice	Visual Balance
Frosting Base	Dutch-processed black cocoa buttercream	Provides a velvety matte black backdrop with zero artificial chemical taste.
Metallic Tear	Edible hammered copper leaf	Introduces vibrant, warm reflective contrast against the dark background.
Botanical Accent	Preserved silver dollar eucalyptus branch	Adds organic branching lines that soften the strict geometric tiers.

Tasting Tip: A dark cocoa exterior pairs impeccably with rich, woodsy interior fillings. Consider a smoked vanilla bean sponge paired with blackberry coulis and a hint of smoky mezcal or rye whiskey syrup.

6. The Weathered Driftwood & Shed Antler Cake

If your bachelorette crew is heading toward alpine ranch towns like Jackson Hole, Sun Valley, or Lake Tahoe, incorporating mountain forest textures keeps your celebration rooted in the surrounding wilderness.

Weathered Birch & Driftwood Scraping

Turn the sides of a two-tier cake into an artistic homage to mountain aspens and weathered corral wood. Coat the tiers in a warm ivory buttercream, then lightly drag a palette knife loaded with tiny flecks of cocoa powder and slate-gray gel frosting horizontally across the surface.

The resulting distressed, striated texture looks just like aged driftwood fencing or silver-white birch bark. It is tactile, rugged, and entirely free of plastic party gimmicks.

Pale Shed Antler Accents

Nestle a petite, sculptural pair of sun-bleached deer shed antlers (crafted from edible modeling chocolate or food-safe resin) at the base where the top and bottom tiers meet.

Interweave the antlers with delicate sprigs of dried juniper, small pine cones, and dried white mountain heather. The bleached ivory bones provide an authentic, rugged silhouette that immediately communicates high-country cabin luxury.

Hygiene Warning: If you are using real shed antlers found in the wild as a cake topper, do not let them touch the frosting directly. Thoroughly scrub, sanitize, and seal the base of the antlers, then rest them on a small disk of clear food-grade acetate set directly on the cake top.

7. The Turquoise Mineral Crevice & Raw Rock Sugar

Turquoise is a sacred and beloved mineral of the Southwest. Reimagining the stone through edible crystal artistry creates an eye-catching, jewel-like centerpiece.

The Carved Geode Crevice

Instead of simply painting a tier blue, have your baker carve an organic, vertical crevice down the side of a tall, smooth ivory cake. Line the interior carved walls with edible rock candy crystals tinted in variegated shades of robin’s-egg blue, dusty seafoam green, and deep teal.

Use a fine detail brush dipped in edible gold luster paint to trace the outer perimeter of the crevice, simulating the natural metallic matrix and host rock found in authentic Kingman or Royston turquoise.

Smooth Desert Sand Tiering

Keep the surrounding buttercream completely smooth and finished in a warm, sandy beige tone. The contrast between the smooth, chalky exterior and the crystalline, glistening turquoise interior looks as though an exquisite desert stone has just been split open. It feels luxurious, artistic, and deeply connected to Southwestern geological beauty.

Crevice Component	Technique	Visual Effect
Crystal Filling	Crushed pure cane rock sugar in mixed blues	Creates sparkling mineral facets that refract candlelight.
Matrix Line	Fine-line gold and bronze luster paint	Replicates authentic natural host rock veins running through turquoise.
Smooth Shell	Matte ivory or warm sand buttercream	Provides a quiet, serene background that forces the eye toward the mineral cut.

Cutting Note: Rock sugar crystals are quite hard. Instruct the venue or host to slice around the crystal crevice during the cake cutting, serving the crystal pieces as crunchy dessert garnishes alongside the soft sponge rather than cutting directly through them with a knife.

8. Wild Desert Agave & Sugar Succulents

For summer bachelorettes celebrating poolside in Palm Springs or Scottsdale, botanical arrangements focusing on resilient, sculptural desert flora bring vibrant life to the dessert table.

Combed Dune Buttercream

Coat the cake in pale ivory buttercream and use a wide-toothed textured comb while spinning the turntable to carve deep, continuous horizontal ridges around each tier. The combed lines evoke the rhythmic, wind-blown sand dunes of the Mojave Desert, catching light and shadow with rhythmic precision.

Hand-Sculpted Sugar Agaves

Crown the tiers with an asymmetrical cascade of realistic, hand-sculpted sugar succulents. Feature a prominent baby blue agave with sharp, spiky leaves dusted in pale gray-green petal dust, nestled alongside plump purple-tipped echeveria succulents, fuzzy green string-of-pearls, and dried thistle pods.

The dusty, powdery matte finish on the sugar plants looks completely realistic, offering a fresh, modern green pop against the warm sand-colored tiers.

Keepsake Idea: Sugar succulents made from gum paste or fondant dry rock-hard and do not spoil. Carefully lift the sugar agave off the cake before slicing, wipe the base clean, and let the bride take it home inside a clear display box as a lasting keepsake from the weekend.

9. Saddle Blanket Mosaic & Geometric Wafer Paper

Celebrate the intricate weaving traditions of the American Southwest by turning edible wafer paper into a graphic, contemporary textile collage.

Wafer-Paper Kilim Patterns

Wafer paper (crafted from potato starch) is an ultra-versatile, paper-thin medium that can be printed with edible food inks and cut into precise geometric shapes. Have your cake artist cut thin triangles, diamonds, and chevron stepped borders printed in a disciplined desert palette: charcoal, warm terracotta, cream, and mustard yellow.

The geometric shapes are pieced together flat against the buttercream like mosaic tiles, wrapping around the central tier to mimic an authentic woven Navajo or Chimayo saddle blanket.

Frayed Fabric Edges

To push the textile realism further, gently steam and fray the top and bottom borders of the wafer-paper bands to simulate the woven fringe of a real wool blanket.

Pair this graphic pattern with an otherwise minimalist, clean-lined top tier topped with a single pale beeswax taper candle. It feels modern, culturally appreciative, and distinct from any standard floral cake.

Pattern Element	Color Palette	Design Function
Central Stepped Diamond	Terracotta, charcoal, cream	Serves as the primary graphic focal point of the central tier.
Fringed Edge	Steamed raw-edge wafer paper	Breaks the rigid line of the cake with realistic, soft textile fraying.
Companion Tier	Smooth, unadorned ivory buttercream	Prevents the geometric pattern from visually overwhelming the cake.

Moisture Warning: Wafer paper melts when exposed to high moisture. Ensure the buttercream has crusted firmly in the refrigerator before applying the wafer-paper pieces, and avoid storing the completed cake in a humid environment or direct rain.

10. The Vintage Stetson & Horseshoe Topper

If you love the iconic symbols of the American West but want to completely bypass cheap plastic novelties, turning to fine sugar craft and sculpted miniature millinery delivers playful charm with refined execution.

Miniature Felt Hat Sculpting

Crown the cake with a completely edible, hand-sculpted miniature western hat crafted from dark chocolate paste or modeling clay fondant. A talented sugar artist can shape an authentic cattleman crease, curve the brim with precision, and dust the surface with fine cocoa powder to give it the soft, matte texture of genuine 100x beaver felt.

Tie a tiny strip of frayed silk ribbon or a thin braided sugar leather cord around the crown of the hat for an authentic finishing touch.

Hand-Hammered Gold Horseshoe

Rest the miniature sculpted hat beside an inverted, hand-formed sugar horseshoe painted with metallic champagne gold. In western tradition, an upturned horseshoe catches good luck and holds it for the future.

Set atop a tier finished in warm, unpressed buttercream with a deckle edge, this composition pays direct, spirited homage to cowgirl culture while maintaining the elegance of a high-end wedding dessert.

Structural Note: Fondant hats and horseshoes can become heavy. Make sure your cake designer supports the topper by inserting internal wooden dowels or bubble tea straws directly underneath the top tier to prevent the weight from collapsing the sponge during display.

Copy the Principle, Not the Exact Cake

The most common frustration when ordering celebration cakes is falling in love with a multi-tiered, five-hundred-dollar staged photo from social media that turns out to be structurally impractical, wildly over budget, or impossible for a local bakery to replicate accurately.

When you attempt to copy a Pinterest cake down to the exact sprinkle, you hit three major obstacles:

1. The Bakery Skill Gap: Every cake decorator has unique strengths. Forcing a local baker to copy another artist’s bespoke sculpted modeling work often results in awkward, mismatched proportions.

2. Environmental Meltdowns: A buttercream texture built for an air-conditioned studio photoshoot in Maine will melt within twenty minutes on an open-air porch in Austin, Texas.

3. Budget Bloat: Intricate hand-sculpted sugar flowers and multi-tier fondant wraps require dozens of labor hours, pushing costs into the thousands for a casual weekend trip.

Instead of chasing an identical replica, extract the underlying design rule that makes a cake appealing, and execute that single idea using techniques and ingredients that fit your venue, climate, and budget.

Instead of Copying This Trend	Borrow This Timeless Design Principle
An entire 3-tier cake wrapped in heavy brown fondant	Use a subtle palette-knife terracotta stucco buttercream on a single tall tier.
Dozens of expensive, fragile sugar flowers	Press real, culinary-grade dried prairie wildflowers flat against bone-white frosting.
Cheap plastic pink cowgirl boot toppers	Crown the cake with a textured chunk of raw honeycomb or a single sculptural sugar agave.
Elaborate, multi-tier geode carvings	Paint a simple, torn deckle-edge buttercream rim with edible 24k gold leaf.
Loud, neon-pink cow-print fondant patterns	Use a clean, geometric wafer-paper chevron band inspired by woven saddle blankets.
A massive, real deer skull balanced on the tiers	Feature a delicate, miniature pair of shed antlers sculpted from modeling chocolate.

Build Your Own Cake Formula

Commissioning the perfect celebration cake doesn’t require culinary school training. It simply requires understanding how texture, color palette, and architectural focal points balance one another across a tier.

To design your custom cake with total confidence, use this straightforward, repeatable formula:

Mix and match elements across these four core categories:

• The Base Texture: Palette-knife terracotta stucco, windblown dune combed ridges, deckle-edge adobe rims, or distressed birch bark scraping.

• The Earth Palette: Sun-warmed sand, bleached oat, raw terracotta, muted sage, dark black cocoa, or desert clay.

• The Frontier Anchor: Pressed culinary prairie wildflowers, an edible sculpted mini Stetson hat, a chunk of raw honeycomb, or a cluster of sugar agaves.

• The Metallic Detail: Flecks of edible 24k gold leaf along torn rims, hammered copper leaf strips, or fine bronze luster matrix lines.

When you ground your dessert in thoughtful craftsmanship and authentic frontier textures, you deliver far more than a sweet conclusion to dinner. You create an artful, memorable centerpiece that honors the bride and anchors the celebration in enduring, elevated style.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I transport and store a custom cake during a destination weekend?

Always transport the cake fully chilled in a sturdy corrugated cardboard box set flat on the floorboard of your vehicle—never on a car seat or in a trunk. Crank the air conditioning to maximum during transit. Once you arrive at the vacation rental, place the cake immediately into the refrigerator until two hours before serving. Buttercream needs about 90 to 120 minutes at room temperature to soften for ideal slicing and optimal flavor release.

What cake flavors pair best with a western celebration theme?

Lean into regional, woodsy, and comforting flavor profiles that reflect the frontier setting. Popular favorites include brown butter vanilla cake layered with salted caramel and roasted pecans, rich bourbon-soaked sponge with dark chocolate ganache, spiced carrot and parsnip cake with maple cream cheese frosting, or a bright lemon-cornmeal sponge paired with wild blackberry compote.

How can I save money on an elevated western cake?

To maximize your budget, order a smaller, exquisitely decorated single-tier “showpiece” cake (6 or 8 inches) for photos and the ceremonial cutting, and order a plain, matching sheet cake kept in the kitchen to feed the rest of the guests. Sheet cakes use the exact same premium sponge and fillings but cost roughly half the price per slice because they require minimal decorative labor.

Can I use fresh wildflowers gathered from the property on the cake?

No, never place wild-foraged flowers directly on a cake unless you are a trained botanist who can verify the plant is non-toxic and pesticide-free. Many wild prairie plants (such as buttercups, wild hemlock, and certain thistles) are poisonous or carry bitter saps that can ruin your cake. Always purchase certified organic, culinary-grade edible flowers from specialty food purveyors.

How do I protect a buttercream cake from melting at an outdoor ranch dinner?

Keep the cake indoors in a cool, air-conditioned room for as long as possible. Bring the cake out to the dining table only 15 to 20 minutes before you plan to sing, take photos, and cut the slices. If the cake must remain outdoors, position it in complete shade under a covered veranda, away from direct sunlight, open barbecue grills, and fire pits. Ensure your baker uses a stable Italian or Swiss meringue buttercream rather than a soft American powdered-sugar frosting, as meringue buttercreams hold their structure significantly better in warm weather.