7.00 am

I walk from my house to my studio. It’s through the garden and the air smells sweet a mixture of eucalyptus and heat.

I’ve been out here in the studio early this morning, but after a couple of hours or appliqué preparation I need coffee and I also need to prepare the house for the predicted 40 degree day. Its called a catastrophic day because it’s not only hot but its windy, A day when we rarely leave the house just in case a bush fire erupts. Even the bank decided not to open today, schools  never open on such a day, but it’s holidays right now so that’s not a problem.

We are able to water the garden and its a novelty after 7 years of drought restrictions.

In the back of my mind I make a mental list of where everything I need to grab in the event of evacuation.  The Quilts, specially the Bayeux, and my computers… almost everything else can be replaced but it’s just one of those things you have in your mind on such a day.

7.00 pm

Well as predicted the temperature those to 44 degrees and around 1.30, we had a phone call from our Daughter to tell us that there was a fire quilt close.

You know when you are inside you don’t see the smoke, the trees surround us and the horizon in obsucured.  Just 2 kms, but behind a freeway a grass fire took hold, I heard the helicopters and the  fire trucks and I whipped out the camera to capture as much as I could from the back yard.

Fortunately they managed to put most of it out and we averted a disaster. However, they will be watching it all night.

This time last year we were caught behind a fire in Tasmania and with 2000 other people we had to be evacuated which took over a week for some to get back home. So you never know.