Black Spur visual Story Part 2

Over Easter I took the time to drive over the Black Spur quietly, stopping to take photos, wandering quietly in amongst some of the trees but being very careful as there are still so many spots where a tree might fall.



The recovery of the bush continues, faster than the recovery of the animals or people. I was delighted to hear three bird calls, seeming strange in a blackened landscape but heartening. One was a kookaburra flying off across the Watts River. One of the interesting things we are finding is that some things are visible now that were hidden before by the lush growth of the forest. The Watts River is one of those, clearly visible now as it meanders along through the blackened land near Fernshaw.



It has taken me a while to get back to writing. Wandering through the black is both saddening and inspiring and I come and go in my capacity to sit with what has happened. Sometimes I feel so very small in all of this.



There are places on the Spur that hold special memories for us, but one is unidentifiable now. We used to call it 'purple corner'. An Australian mint bush on the high side of the road a few bends after Dom Dom. It was flowering in November the year we bought Taggerty and starting driving the Spur each day on our way to school in Croydon and work in Montmorency. Every year we watch for that burst of purple. I wonder which bend it is.

On the way back over the spur I stopped at another special place which holds many memories for me. St.Ronan's Well is untouched by fire so my memories came alive. The echo of children laughing as we filled our bottles, of Bon and Maria dunking their heads in the ice cold water, of quiet times on my own. I sat and let the cool of the water and green water weed restore my spirits.