REGENERATION

There were severe fires here in my area in January. This is the Black Ranges fire photographed out the front of home the day it began. The fire burned for days, threatening homes. Much of the area burned was on rocky hills so air bombing with water and fire retardant was the only way to control the fire.

This is the second time in eight years that the area has been devastated by fire. I managed to go out and have a walk around the Bunjils Cave area. Bunjils Shelter as it is also called has great significance in the Gariwerd Creation Story  The trees are beginning to shoot new foliage, beautiful colours against the blackened tree trunks.

Some of the foliage on the eucalyptus trees were scorched, while everything around them were destroyed. The ground is bare and covered in ash.

This is the thick bark of a burned out tree, beautiful in its own way.

The area where I live is one of the highest fire danger areas in the world. So summer is a nervous time around here. There is beauty in the regrowth, but it takes many years for areas to regenerate.

On the way home we came across this Echidna   Echidnas are one of only two mammals who lay eggs. They are difficult to photograph as they curl up and try to dig their way into the ground when they feel threatened. This one kept on putting his head up so see if we had gone. So I managed to get a photo that was not just a heap of spines.