As it lifts we're beginning to see the extent of the fires in our valley, and to once again be grateful that we have a house to be cleaning up around.
It's been quiet today with no chatter on the walkie talkie, perhaps everyone is feeling more secure now.
There was a fresh spiral of smoke on the mountain behind us when the northerly first came up, but it settled quite quickly. Probably just one of the old gums that came down, still smouldering inside. It would be nice to get some rain, just a gentle fall to put out some of those coals and to settle the soil. It feels as though the ground is waiting and ready to burst into renewed growth with just a little encouragement.
Yesterday we were down at the little house working on cutting the roasted grapes off the vine, hoping to save it, when Kerrin called me over. There, coming out of bare earth, are three great green shoots, each about 10 cm long and each carrying a beautiful fresh flower bud, the Madonna Lilies are going to flower in spite of it all!
We went up to Alex yesterday for more water fittings (yes Aim we still didn't have the right ones!!!) and I bought some silver beet seedlings. I need to have some focus on the joys of what is to come as well as clearing up from what has been. I planted them in odd spots through the orchard last night, rejoicing to see that we seem to have stopped the hare from getting in.
Another surprise - I thought the celery had gone, it was brown and shrivelled, but now in the centre of some are little green shoots. Nature is persevering. And under the lemon tree, in some magical way, two pea plants have sprung up. I remember planting the seeds weeks ago and had given up on their germinating.
I received an email this morning asking for support for wildlife, and as we looked at the eucalypts next door which burnt and are to be pulped some time soon, I wondered how many dead and wounded animals are in there.
The Wildlife Rescue team are doing what they can but it's a massive task. That area was full of kangaroos, wallabies, echidna, snakes, lizards, birds, koalas. Our neighbours found a koala in one of their small gum trees the next day. He's been checked by Wildlife volunteers for breathing problems and I think got the all clear so he was one of the lucky ones, although his home is gone and probably his family.
We've seen a couple of kangaroo but nowhere near the usual numbers. Even though the wombats in the gully are a nuisance, some recently even digging their way up the hill towards our olives, I hope they were able to escape the heat. There have been a couple of scorched birds sighted too, with browned feathers but still able to fly. I thought of them as I cut the grapes off, leaving them on the ground for birds rather than putting them in the compost. There is very little food for wildlife at present and I was delighted to see some of the usual bird activity around the orchard which is still quite green.
Well it's time to get on with the clean up again. More ash, more burnt wood, more leaf litter.
The Wildlife Rescue team are doing what they can but it's a massive task. That area was full of kangaroos, wallabies, echidna, snakes, lizards, birds, koalas. Our neighbours found a koala in one of their small gum trees the next day. He's been checked by Wildlife volunteers for breathing problems and I think got the all clear so he was one of the lucky ones, although his home is gone and probably his family.
We've seen a couple of kangaroo but nowhere near the usual numbers. Even though the wombats in the gully are a nuisance, some recently even digging their way up the hill towards our olives, I hope they were able to escape the heat. There have been a couple of scorched birds sighted too, with browned feathers but still able to fly. I thought of them as I cut the grapes off, leaving them on the ground for birds rather than putting them in the compost. There is very little food for wildlife at present and I was delighted to see some of the usual bird activity around the orchard which is still quite green.
Well it's time to get on with the clean up again. More ash, more burnt wood, more leaf litter.
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