Emerald Green Recovery March 17

We drove back up a few days ago, through the Black Spur. I am amazed at how my brain had glossed over some of the damage, maybe it was just too hard for my heart to absorb at first. There is a lot of damage between Healesville and Dom Dom and then amazingly it's ok for a while, until you reach the outskirts of Narbethong. There is so much burnt from then on, houses that are not much more than twisted blackened tin lying on the ground, the timber mills that must have raged hot with flame. Then some welcome sights - the Igloo with its Big Burger sign still out, Butters Cafe still open, the little white church still clean and white.




As we got closer to Taggerty I was ready for the blackened paddocks and the houses that were torn down in the fire's rage, but I wasn't ready for the emerald green! The grass is coming back (and so are a lot of weeds) and its brightness is such a stark contrast to the charcoal black of the ground that it is as though someone has strewn emeralds across the land. The sight of green is so soothing to eyes that are tired of black and still remember the red soreness of smoke for days and days and days.

The grass is greening but the mountain is browning as it becomes more and more evident how much burnt. At first sight it would seem that our whole mountain is going to be denuded of trees, but we went for a climb yesterday and were amazed at what is hiding in the blackness.

Climbing up the mountain from our side is always a bit arduous, but we found ourselves repeatedly stuck on steep climbs with shale underfoot that was shifting and falling. It was a bit hair raising and unexpected as we've climbed the mountain many times before with only a few patches of shale to navigate through. After a while we realized that there were countless rocks with bare clean faces and realized that we were walking through rocks exploded in the heat.



On that Saturday night, massive explosions were heard up the mountain and Kerrin eventually worked out that the small stone pieces that were hailing down on him like shrapnel were actually pieces of exploding rock. We had no idea how much had exploded until yesterday. In fact it's hard to remember what the landscape was like, but I think there was much more soil and more large boulders.




Then we began to glimpse little bits of green. Bracken pushing its way through the shale, new growth at the base of burnt tree trunks, small fern fronds beginning to uncurl under sheltering rocky outcrops and most startling of all, rows of young stems covered in small leaves appearing on big old blackened tree trunks. The bush is coming back.



The only sign of wildlife we saw were the birds, and in amongst the black there were very few of those. One lone butterfly was fluttering above the black, dancing in the sunlight for a while then gone. We met some of the bush inhabitants at the store yesterday - a big old koala sitting in a laundry basket and his two rolled up companions, young wombats curled up in towels. They were all on their way to Frankston to complete their recovery before being brought back for release. They all seemed very accepting of their human helpers and the wombats allowed us to gently touch their fur. I hope they received the loving blessing I sent with my touch.

Up the top of the mountain we sat for a while looking out at an unknown familiar view. We could see our land more clearly as there are less trees blocking the view, so we could make out the driveway up to the big house and the little dam. That used to be obscured by trees.



We could clearly see where the fire had been and the color of the Black Ridge across the valley was beautiful in its red browns and black. I took some photos even though the light was bad, only later realizing that in each photo there is a ray of sunlight coming through the clouds and falling on our house. One of those beautiful synchronicities which makes me recognize the greater plan of which we are just a little part.



Today we cleared more burnt fence debris and took it to the skip in town which is one for community use at present. Taggerty will need a community skip for a long time, there is so much to clear. We felt good to have taken one load down but it's just a little dent in what remains to be done. At least we can now see where the old harrows are - they had become overgrown with grass and we had wondered how we'd get them out. The fire fixed that!



Once we were up in town it seemed logical to sit on the verandah at the store and have a coffee. Gossy makes a great coffee and he's pretty good with the dandelion variety too. We sat and chatted for a while, caught up with some of the local news, saw some people we know. That's another change the fires brought, our store has been a hub of activity through the fires and beyond, and we, like other locals, are more inclined to stop for a drink now and hang out for a bit on the verandah.

Back at home. I've been working in the orchard - still battling the wildlife raiders who this week chomped the new broccoli seedlings off at ground level. I guess we're doing our bit keeping the wildlife fed but I'm beginning to think I'll just have to disguise the vegies better. The carrots are all being eaten still so I guess I just need to harvest them while I can still see where they are. At last we have two little pumpkins growing but I wonder if we'll get enough sun to ripen them, it seems a bit late in the year. The plants are all a bit confused - the sunflowers are trying to flower again, perhaps to make up for all the beautiful sun faces that were scorched in the burn.



The local bees are feeding off my marjoram which has decided to flower (I'm not sure when it's supposed to flower but I doubt whether it should be now). Our bee keeper neighbour explained that any flower is better than none, but what the bees really need is eucalypt flowers for pollen and nectar. They'll be waiting a while for that I guess.

Well it's time to go sit on the verandah while Kerrin poaches us some eggs for lunch, then to sit some more while we eat and enjoy the view.