CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT

In search of a change of pace and in hope of warmer weather today, I travelled to Berrima in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. Berrima is a quaint town dating back to 1836.

A hearty good day to you on what is an icy and windy day here in Canberra, AUSTRALIA. Just a brief note to let you know I have disabled the comment box feature on my blog.

Having had a busy day at work with more demands on my time than minutes to get everything done, I somehow survived the day and met all deadlines.

After three years of temperate summers, the summer heat of my youth returned with a vengeance. Over the past fortnight, not only did temperatures in my part of the world soar to thirty nine degrees Celsius and more, but the radiant heat also reached record breaking highs.

Here it is the afternoon of New Year's Eve in Australia, and I am still behind the times in 2012. Having been ill throughout December and having dragged myself through those days, I finally had the energy yesterday to capture a few photos of the annual letterbox festive celebrations. It certainly lifted this traveller's spirits as she travelled the byways of country roads.

Today, Tuesday 6th November was Melbourne Cup Day (also known as the horse race that stops a nation) and overseas, it was the US Presidential elections. The morning news was abuzz with both events although local interest was higher in the iconic horse race.

Australia is a landscape of extremes: drought, flood, and bushfire. I dread flood and bushfire.

Regular readers will know I grew up in a city environment and moved into the country. I live in a valley ringed by a dense wall of trees. The fencing is secure, and the valley is a sanctuary.

Spring budded and then blossomed. Temperatures rose, and we tasted the first dusting of heat, heralding the approaching dry summer meteorologists have forecast.