Straddie is burning. We are enveloped in clouds of smoke & the islands appear & disappear like ghost ships. The russett of the she~oaks stains the mist & the trees are full of little birds. Our world is reduced to a few square feet of luminous & doubtful sunshine & the smell of eculypt burning. It is the smell of campfires & crisp winter nights but for there to be so much smoke an awful lot of Straddie must now be a blackened ruin.
There's no wind so at least this time we aren't being showered in glowing sparks & hot embers fallen from a blood red sky because when Straddie burns, it burns! We have watched the fires burn all down one coast, turn around & head back the way they have come, burning a new & destructive path, over & over because Straddie is part sacred land, part National park & nearly all completely untouched bushland.
Most of my life I have lived with water & the threat of bushfires leaping the divide, one of the less attractive problems of rural living. I have stood awstruck & dumb as the native animals have taken to the water prefering to take their chances in the suburbs than risk the firey hell at their backs.
I like fires. I like the way the flames leap for the sky, the walls of flame, the explosions & bursts of smoke. I like fireballs & the rushing sound fire makes. I do not like what it does. I wish I could have these lovely big fires without the death & destruction they inevitably bring.
2 comments:
At Yosemite National Park (as well as Sequoia/King's Canyon National Parks) in California, there are the giant Sequoia trees. Some of these trees are 3000 years old and are so incredibly large it boggles the mind. The bark is over 2 feet thick and they can take a 1000 years to decay. They are fire-resistent as well. In fact, fires are beneficial because it gets rid of all the other trees that compete with them in the forest. So you walk amongst these old, fire-scarred trees and just marvel at their resilience! God actually taught me a lesson from the trees that I'll be posting on my blog later in the week.
When Yellowstone NP had their fires, everyone thought it would be the end of this National Treasure. Now, the park is healthier and balance has been restored. I thoroughly enjoy sitting around a campfire or next to the fireplace. There's something hypnotizing about the flames. I pray that I never have to deal with a wildfire though, first-hand. Are you going to post any pictures?
Connie
We do lots of bushfires; the whole country thrives on them but they can be really scarey. Sorry, no pics. I'm computer illiterate & the one picture I did manage to post was a fluke. I haven't managed another yet. I really want to learn though. Some people have such cool looking blogs I feel like a real peasant by comparision ~ & don't do a Disraeli & tell me comparisions are odious. Sometimes they are motivating; I need motivating.
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