Temperatures soar on Phillip Island, with the whole of Victoria on Bushfire Alert

Although Phillip Island is located about 1600 km south of Mitchell (Queensland), today's temperature on the island exceeded that in Mitchell. It was 37°C compared to 34C in Mitchell. But by evening, on the island, there'll be a cool breeze blowing off the ocean and tomorrow is only predicted to be 22°C.

With memories of Black Saturday still imprinted in the minds of all Victorians, days like this (with temperatures exceeding 40°C in some places, very strong northerly winds, low humidity and a high fuel load) cause most people anxiety. On Phillip Island, however, we are in a fortunate position with water all around. A bushfire on the island is limited in the distance it can burn. Penguin and mutton bird rookeries are the most vulnerable places because of all the dry tussocky grasses and coastal scrub that covers the burrows dug into the sand. Every mutton bird burrow contains a parent sitting on an egg; every penguin burrow is likely to contain one or two downy chicks . It would be an environmental catastrophe if a bushfire burned through a rockery.

Since arriving back on the island in early December, it's been consistently too cold for me; too cold for Stego lizard who's slipped into a state of hibernation (sensible boy!); and too cold for my bonsai bottle trees. There have been no new leaves since we left Mitchell.

Sitting in a loop of the Maranoa River, Mitchell faces the danger of floods

With the Queensland floods achieving top position in news broadcasts Australia-wide, my mind swings to the Maranoa River in Mitchell. Today's technology is so immediate and so accurate that with a few clicks of the mouse we can see a graph showing the rising level of water in the river, the exact river height (4.7 m), and also photos of swirling muddy water gushing over the weir wall and then sweeping under the bridge. The water level is over the top of the murals painted on the concrete pylons; and over "my" favourite mulberry tree growing beside the bridge.

Phone calls from Mitchell keep us up-to-date with the mood of the town: irritation due to swarms of sand flies and mosquitoes; gratitude that the rain grows grass to fatten cattle; anxiety about people cut off by flood waters; worry because heavy rain has fallen in the Carnarvon Ranges and will arrive in Mitchell in four days time. Will the river spill over into the town? Pallets of sand bags, positioned at "weak" spots along roads suggest rising concern by authorities. With all roads north, south, east and west cut off by flood waters, Mitchell is stranded with no mail or food deliveries. People who have been away on holidays or business can't get home.

While I sit here on the verandah at Phillip Island, our friend Angi from Mitchell tells me (by phone), "If things get any worse we're going around to your place to get to your dinghy." My imagination runs riot as I picture her and Rod rowing up the main street in Mitchell.

Mutton birds fly free yet live by the calendar

Birds soaring overhead, no matter the species, are a reminder of freedom, pure and simple. Yet, if the bird is a mutton bird, that freedom to swoop and glide is tightly controlled within a framework of dates that punctuate their calendar -- varying only by a day or so.

26 September Mutton birds arrive back on their breeding islands in Bass Strait
30 October Mate
25 November Lay their large single egg
15 January Chick hatches
18 April Adults leave rookery on their migration flight to the Bering Sea and Alaska
30 April Young birds leave to follow parents to the Bering Sea.

Then it begins all over again! For me, the mutton bird calendar is symbolic of my own migration from Phillip Island to Mitchell in Outback Queensland -- except that I don't lay a large single egg and raise a chick while spending the summer on Phillip Island.

Is the air within your home as fresh and clean as the air outside?

My new blog (http://chemicalfreehome.wordpress.com/) suggests ways in which you can detox your home. Reducing the use of chemicals in the home is my passion and one I'd like to share with you.

Everyone is affected by chemicals to some degree: everyone benefits by reducing their use of chemicals -- especially in the home. My best-selling book Chemical Free Home (published by Black Inc, Melbourne, Australia) continues to sell well; however, I see this new blog as an easy-to-follow and immediate way to help people all over Australia and the world.

The challenge of keeping the air indoors as fresh as outside is a big one. We must all be vigilant. Here on Phillip Island the wind blows off the Southern Ocean and we have some of the cleanest air on Earth. Mitchell in Outback Queensland (where we live during the winter and spring) also has excellent air quality. Large cattle properties surround Mitchell, and because there's no irrigation or cropping done in this area, pesticides and weedicides are seldom used. In Outback Queensland, most winds originate in the great yawning space of Australia's arid interior. The air is clean and dry.

Kites are flying high on Phillip Island

The distance between our home and the sea is about 100 m, and is made up of grass cut regularly by the Council, a narrow strip of coastal vegetation and then the cliff. The grassed area (because of lack of powerlines) is a favourite place for kite flying -- especially as wind is commonplace.

Today the wind was perfect, and judging by the number of kites flying, I'm guessing that Father Christmas gave out many colourful and exotic-shaped kites on Christmas Day. Interestingly, it is the fathers that are having the most fun, with their kids the spectators. Swooping, crashing head-first into the tea tree, sailing ever upwards, the kites entertained a group of a dozen or so people gathered together cheering, yelling out and clapping. Fun in the sun, with brilliant yellows, reds, blues and greens against a clear blue sky.

Tonight, mutton birds will swoop and glide overhead, playing in the wind
-- but they will be more graceful than the kites and come with chuckles and coos.

The Christmas / New Year message of love, peace and hope

Love, peace and hope: these powerful words express the Christmas /New Year message and all it means to me.

Kindness is another favourite word that extends from humans to all creatures great and small -- and also to our precious environment. We are all interdependent and connected.

For me, the highlight of Christmas and New Year is the opportunity to reconnect with family and friends all over the world. Doug and I do this by means of visits, cards, phone calls, e-mail and Facebook, and it's always a thrill to hear news and exchange good wishes.

A rare find on the beach on Christmas Day

Clusters of white cuttlefish egg-capsules are a rare find, but today -- Christmas Day on Phillip Island -- we found two lots washed ashore.

These pearly-white eggs are like strings of beads, clustered together. They're jelly-like, slippery and glisten with moisture. Because I wanted them to hatch into squid, I picked them up and tossed them out into the waves as far as I could -- unfortunately I'm not a natural when it comes to throwing balls or cuttlefish eggs!

It is, however, common to find cuttlefish (the internal skeleton of a squid) washed ashore on island beaches, and some people collect them for sale to pet shops where they're sold to people with caged birds, because the white lime of the cuttlefish keeps bird's beaks in good condition.