As the fire front approached our home it created its own weather system.  It was about 20km away at this stage.

Incredible definition in these clouds as they get closer.  If they didn't bring such destruction they might be considered beautiful.

A different view of the fire storm approaching our home in NSW.

The fire storm front approaches over bone dry countryside with a strong southerly wind blowing - the perfect conditions for a fire storm.

The view that greeted us on the road in to our property, immediately after the fire.

Blackened trees were all over our property after the fire tore through.

On the day of the fire, my brother-in-law and I cleared a path through one of our paddocks to allow firefighters to safely approach.  It remained clear as it had no fuel to burn on it and no fire trucks could come down our road.

Not much was left of our shed, including everything inside it.

Two days after the fire destroyed our home, there was still evidence of small fires burning in different places.

All that was left of our house but a new home will emerge from the ashes.

All that was left of our rubbish bin.  When I rang to cancel our collection service, they asked whether the bins survived!

The only non-flammable part of our house.  The only part of our house to survive the fire.

After almost 12 months with very little rain, our dam level was low when the fire came through.  Burnt trees collapsed into the dam during the fire.

Smoke continued to come from burnt trees for many days after the fire.

This tree stump was still burning many days after the fire and even after the rain that came a few weeks later.  My son and I put out this smoking stump about 3 weeks after the fire that claimed the tree.

The location of our property and the speed of the fire meant fire-fighters did not get a chance to use the water buckets we left around our house.

We couldn't rescue our home but we found this little fella on our driveway and were able to get him to a rescue shelter only 40 minutes from our home.  He is doing well!

When we left, we didn't really expect the fire to take our home so we left 95% of our things where they were, including my golf clubs.  

It's difficult to say but I am pretty sure this is my wife's bike.  Didn't stand a chance.

Less than a week after the fire there were signs of new life emerging from our burnt trees.  From the ashes - life!

One of my favourite images showing the new growth, contrasted with the burnt trees in the background.

On one of paddocks we had a pile of old trees, cuttings and leaves to be burnt the next winter when that would be allow again - we don't have to now.

During the 12 months we lived on our property, this chook shed grew from 2m2 to 12m2 to 30m2.... to zero m2.

All that remains of the fencing around the chook shed.

The fire behaved quite strangely, burning some things and leaving others alone - this teak chair from our outdoor setting was not so lucky.

A different perspective of our teak chair, severely burnt but managing to hang together.

Another water bucket left for fire-fighters but this one did not fare as well as some others.  This was located downwind from the direction of the fire so experienced higher temperatures. 

This piece of timber used to hold up the decking which surrounded our home.  Incredible how it is gone but still there, with some nails and screws almost frozen.

One of braces that held up our rear deck surrounded by shattered glass and screws, which look like the timber they held simply melted away.

Incredible to think that the fire destroyed our house but left this bucket in pretty good condition on our front steps and it's still full of water.

The weight of the roof collapsed onto what remained of our house during the fire, creating this interesting shape.

When the roof collapsed, it created some strange shapes - this one looks almost like a flower.

An abstract view of some part of our house.  Nails still in place but timber burnt to ash.  There were lots of nails in this house!

Almost the only water these gutters had seen in the previous 12 months came from me, when I plugged them up and filled them with water - didn't help!

These nails are sitting on the brickwork around the base of our house, looking almost lonely.  They did a good job whilst they could.

Almost nothing survived the fire in our shed.  Only a single crowbar survived although that is looking pretty rusty now too.

There were many burnt trees on our property but this one stood out to me.  It looks almost clean although it crumbles into black ash when touched.

All that is left of the hose I used to fill the gutters and wet the roof.  It was only 3 metres away from the house and melted.

The previous owners of our home installed a swing set for their children - this is all that is left.

How incredible that our teak outdoor table was burnt in this way.  The timber burnt but the bolt holding the table together remained in the same place - unbelievable!

We received this metal chook as a gift from family and it survived, although it did suffer some pretty extreme damage.

Many years ago I bought a decent toolbox filled with tools. Time for an upgrade.

As a way to reconnect with our land, we have built a cabin where we feel safely at home.  New growth is all around us. 

There is so much greenery blossoming everywhere!

There is also plenty of bright red growth that almost glows when against the ash background.

Our trees re huge and I wonder whether this little plant ever looks up wondering where the top is?

When I was looking for new plant growth to photograph this week, I discovered two animal friends that have returned.  Here is the smaller of the two.

Sometimes it looks like these plants defy gravity!

Despite considerable barriers, it looks like this shoot will be able to survive.

Whilst there are lots of well known native trees on our land, there are also some smaller examples of plant life beginning to pop up.

Some mushrooms aren't as luck and have to live on their own.

Even left totally on their own, some of our vegetables have found a way to survive and thrive.  Nice and spicy!

Here is the second animal friend I spotted just up the road.  I noticed the burrow because dirt had been thrown all over the road.  When I approached the wombat went inside but was still curious.