Whether I write about the weather again this month, is anybody's guess.

The weather is a perennial topic in Blogland. A weather post is sure to bring a spate of responses in the comment box and the result is often a summary of weather reports across the countryside.

The northern hemisphere winter is a force to be reckoned with – in North America there are immense falls of snow and the dreaded polar vortex sweeps down and freezes people’s socks off. People talk about bitterly cold temperatures and how they wish the snow would go away.

Across the way in the sometimes-United Kingdom, the same theme continues.  Bleak, chill days and thick ice on footpaths make walking out dangerous. Snow is forecast and makes travelling by road hazardous. A handful of people don’t mind the colder weather and walking about outside is fine with them, even if the temperature is on the low side.

And I sit here, in the heat of a southern hemisphere summer, and wonder whether I am living on the same planet.

         Eucalyptus trunk                      January 2005