Happy New Year! You didn’t think I’d disappeared forever did you? I don’t blame you if you did.

Like Alice I stepped through the looking glass and emerged into wondrous places I’d only ever heard about: Port Fairy, the Twelve Apostles, Apollo Bay… and further afield the sumptuous landscapes of Tasmania.

We traveled with Sophie and Tyrone, escapees from the wrath of Blighty’s big freeze. But the worst of the weather waited till they arrived home. And as they brave this, the coldest month of the year, memories of warm breezes, deliciously scented eucalypts and the ear-stinging chants of cicadas have surely faded to distant memory.

After our travels, family health dramas gave me an anxious month in Sydney while, down here, the bush fire season was starting to look like a bad one. I fretted that if a bush fire broke out, my partner would be stranded without transport.

Such is the nature of re-location: while I was in Sydney I worried about my partner and friends down here; down here I worry about family and friends up there. There’s a lot to be said for staying in the moment.

Fortunately, the rain has allayed the bush fire worry – for the time being – and I’m happy to report that the progress of both patients is on track.

After returning from Sydney I’m amazed by the luxury of space on our little plot. It’s like living in a park filled with wallabies, kangaroos, possums and the occasional koala. The range of birdsong is astounding.

And after the cloying humidity up north in Summer, I prefer the dry heat here. I love the way our clear blue mornings fade to golden afternoons and long, deep-blue twilights and cool, star-strewn nights.

It seems that the  too-torrid days here this Summer have been mercifully followed by spells of rain.

After yesterday’s scorching morning –  just as the garden soiree of friends was hitting full swing – a southerly announced its arrival with lightning and thunder and lashings of monsoon rain. We scurried inside clutching glasses and plates and chairs and anything else that might blow away. Despite a lack of electricity, our plentiful supply of food, booze and laughter kept the party powering till the storm blew away and beyond.

This morning a cool stiff breeze and damp earth make for perfect work conditions in the long-neglected garden. With the heat set to return later I’d better get out there.

If my posts this year are a little sporadic you’ll know where I’ll be: either out in the garden or trying to earn a living by whatever means I can.

I hope, dear reader, you’ll check me out from time to time. I’ve a feeling the Year of the Tiger is set to be interesting… even for a bumpkin like me.