Taking the pipe, I drew in the smoke and sat back, surrounded by the lush greenery of my home, a combination of indigenous and European trees, with the sounds of birds and distant chainsaws, and the crisp coolness of late spring.

Oh, Australia. How we seem to borrow from so many cultures - Greek, Native American, Indigenous, Chinese - and go out into our own landscapes to feel and learn. What an extraordinary post - tragic and heartfelt but also an amazing journey into yourself and out again, healed! How incredible. Of course we weave our narratives to make sense of the world, but this is a wonderful one - sorry to miss it when you first posted it three days ago!

I've not been to the Gammon Ranges - we're headed over to the Flinders Ranges over the holidays soon as that landscape is calling me big time!