I heard from someone you're still pretty
Note the way the scorched leaves on the trees and the bracken are all leaning one way, which is the direction in which the wind was blowing which brought the bushfire. All the leaves on the trees are frozen like this, it's grouse.
To the left is the former site of the house two down from us which burnt to the ground. It was made of stone, ours was made of wood.
Mt William all burnt up. In order to see the damage better, I cunningly used my sunnies to create a MacGyver-like makeshift Polaroid filter for the camera, hence the odd color.
Toffee chasing a half-burnt tennis ball, which she was delighted to recover.
The tank on top of the hill burnt up and blew away. In the background the springs are visible.
A big redgum which burnt from the inside out and fell over, much to Dad's amusement.
Life sallys forth, spearheaded by bloody bracken.
Banging in new (inflammable) concrete posts, since all the old fences burned up. Features the tractor I've been cruising around in, which belongs to my uncles. Our tractor got torched.
A panorama of the damage.
Fun bushfire facts:
- There's a big redgum on our property which has burnt from the inside out, and still has red coals in the base. Two weeks after the fire. Crikey, jimbob. We noticed this while fencing, and Dad mentioned that he smelt smoke, and felt rather warm. Elementary deduction took us from there.
- The fenceposts burnt all the way underground, right to the bottom of the post. There are just fencepost sized holes with a touch of ash in the bottom. Coo-ee!
- I have so far seen dead roos, emus, stumpytail lizards, and sheep. However, I've also seen live counterparts of these animals, as well as an echidna which was wandering across a very bare paddock, rather conspicuously.
- To save money on fencing, the old man got the dept. of forests and lands out and had the springs classified as significant wetlands. This means they are going to pay for fencing and revegetation.
- Other stuff I'll add when I think of it.
Reef stories to come.
posted by dr. cok at 10:52 PM
19 Comments:
crap. Please tel G and J I'm sorry to hear about the damage.
You show those posts who's boss.
I am seeking sanctuary from two irate russian women who turned up to clean the house, only to find the mop was smashed into 3 bits across the street and up a bit. Who would do this, it's a motivationless crime... She told me I was 'no good', which is a little harsh upon first meeting, I thought, anyway...
I'm really glad to see Toffee is alright. She's a good kid.
J&G are ok about the whole thing, since nearly everything is insured. One of the farms we border on was not insured, and they lost a lot. They stayed and fought the fire around their house, which must have got pretty hectic. You can see where they had been tearing down burning ivy off the walls when it came through.
Toffee's alright. I'll pass on your regards.
bloody hell!
That exclamation applies to the entire post, but particularly the still-burning embers.
That panorama shot is a dozy.
Your blog is in danger of turning into the perfect plagiarism port of call for aspiring landscape photography students.
Yes, it is all pretty dramatic. Is it "bringing the community together" perchance?
Oh god yes. I should go dredge the local paper for similar nonsensical idioms.
Actually, I think "bringing the community together" is equivalent to saying "giving everyone a juicy common topic to gasbag about endlessly". And I mean endlessly. My grandparents squeezed a solid afternoon of natter out of the topic, and I get the feeling they're only just getting up steam.
I'd say it certainly has brought the community together from my parents' perpective - the day after the fires had gone through, people from the district came to help shoot & bury about 1000 or so of mum & dad's burnt sheep, and several people donated truckloads of hay for the sheep still alive, seeing as all the grass in the paddocks was reduced to ash. AND- I didn't have to cook for the whole week afterwards, cos people kept bringing casseroles! Thankfully no one around Willaura lost their house, unlike poor ol' Moyston.
Oh yes....didn't notice inverted commas!
Yeah, there's been plenty of gasbagging down mum & dad's way too, with a bit of bitching thrown in for good measure... these country folk!
Anything that increases the average density of casseroles in mid west Vicotoria can't be all bad...
But seriously, I am glad you guys got through the whole thing somewhat ok. It is a pretty amazing thing seeing what goes up and what doesn't. Almost enough to evoke the "hand of God" attitude (and I imagine that there has been a bit of that). Building fire-less-attractive housing is a pretty tricky business!! Any tips? From the sound of things, yr best bet is a grass house secured with tar and liberally doused in paraffin.
Cowabunga! It looks like the fire and the bush had some aggression issues towards one another. I am glad to hear your house didnt get in between the two of them, though how it managed to avoid getting stuck into a good old fashioned blue, i just dont know. Seriously, good work extracting money from the government, good luck with the rejuvenation, hope it all goes well. I am presently channeling all my positive energies in your direction. It probably wont do much, but it can't hurt right? Unless i do it while im doing something dangerous. Which i, obviously, wouldnt.
Country-grandparent-types need this kind of stuff to talk about - it breaks up the derogatory comments about aboriginals and city folk, in my experience.
Well, there's much bitching about our dear government going on at the moment. They are going to tax people's insurance payouts for stock loss! (their reasoning being, well it's just like you sold them - yeah, we sold them already BBQd! - ooh, we should charge GST on that...ahem...)
My word! Taxing insurance payouts? That seems a little left of sanity, to be sure.
Was the T-shirt black? I don't like its chances otherwise.
those piccies make me thirsty
thursty for more piccies perchance?
it´s a non-specific thirst, generally pointed in Mat´s direction.
argh! Mat - I am not coming onto you!
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