For some months now Graham and I have been hunting for a house in the country but not too far out from the city.  Many suburbs have crept into the hills and it is in one of these that we hope to make our new home - in effect our retirement home.

Our criteria is probably a little more stringent than some would have.  We want to be near bushland but don’t want to have a block that is too slopey - we are getting older and don’t want to be trying to climb steep hills to manage the land.

Graham is a ham radio operator so wants to be able to set up his antenna and aerials and be on a block that has some height.

We want to be able to have guests stay with us, like his sister and brother-in-law from South Australia and a couple of our daughters who travel back and forth between work and home, both from the country and interstate so we need guest bedrooms.

We need to be able to house Graham’s many mountain bikes, our office, gym equipment and make sure the cars are protected from the weather.

We thought we’d found the right house and had submitted offers for it, only for them to be rejected. And then on the day the tender was due to close we found another place that is more perfect for our needs. And it is this one we hope and pray will be the right home.

For me, it has been a longing for probably a couple of years or more now. Graham and I had always talked about living back in the country whenever we stayed at B&Bs over the past 15 or more years. But for Graham that longing has been more recent.  However, we used to live in the country in South Australia before we moved to Melbourne in 1991.

I’m hoping to report we have a new home to move to very soon and I long to share photos with you and stories of native birdlife and wildlife.  In the meantime, you can enjoy this bit of countryside.