General Chat

Mother Nature at her best :-D

I do wish that some people would realise that we are a part of Nature, not above it.

Allan ...........

many have to be subject to cold treatment, or even repeated alternating cold/warm treatments, even in the UK and Canada ;-)

Give the Canadian flora another few thousand years or so and it too will evolve to cope with extreme heat.

The other side of the coin is that many species of flowers etc from the northern hemisphere have to be subjected to a cool environment (Fridge and/or freezer) before they can germinate here, at least in some areas.

Allan .................

re vegetation regeneration

I was absolutely amazed on our last trip to Australia in 2006.

Relatives in Bendigo told us to drive back to to Adelaide via Hall's Gap NP. A fire had gone through there in January 2006, this was late September/early October, only 8 months later.

There were fresh green shoots sprouting all along the whole trunk and every branch and twig of every Eucalyptus tree in the fire-damaged area. Not to mention herbaceous plants and grasses.

It was amazing!

We're both botanists and neither of us had heard of that kind of regeneration before!!

Our fire-damaged areas take many years to regenerate ................... I know of one large area that was destroyed by fire about 15 years ago. Trees and shrubs are re-growing, but they're little more than waist-high even now. The trees that were destroyed were huge spruce, cedar, etc.

Thank you all, the problem has now passed. As I said there were no impacts on us apart from loss of power and the noise of the aerial bombers. In fact an emergency evacuation centre was set up in Australind at the local leisure centre.

Belle, it is amazing how life springs back. Many plant species in Australia actually require heat and/or smoke to regenerate. Just one of those remarkable evolutions from generations of being exposed to such fires.

Alas, the same can't be said for the wildlife :-(

There was a news item on the late BBC last night showing ' incredible' signs of life returning to burnt bushes and charred trees......amazing :-)

Hope you are okay & family Barbara x

Stay safe Allan <3

Amazing how good a battery operated radio can be ;-)

When we had our cabin out in the wilderness, there were no services to it, except what we could supply with a generator.

The battery-operated radio was turned on 3 times a day (around breakfast, lunch and dinner times) and kept us informed.

There were also some really interesting programmes on there, that were really interesting!

Coolers filled with ice kept food fresh, ice was bought every 2 or 3 days from the "local" shop ............... 30 km away. That kept us in contact with real people.


The times up there were wonderfully relaxing!

One of the consequences of bush fires is the disruption to power supplies :-(

We lost power at about 0830 and didn't have it restored until 1330, a minor inconvenience compared to those elsewhere :-0

A good old battery powered radio kept us amused, whilst our mobile phones kept us informed ;-)

Maggie, the main causes of bushfires are a) Lightning strikes, b) using equipment that can cause sparks, eg angle grinders, or even tractors where the exhaust can cause a fire, c) people throwing cigarette butts out of car windows, d) deliberate arson.

A fire the other night in Perth was caused by thieves torching a stolen vehicle.

Unfortunately, the arsonists seem to prevail, and you'd be surprised how many members of Bush Fire Brigades have been prosecuted in recent years for deliberately lighting fires.

It seems that they get a 'kick' out of being hailed as heroes :-S

I will refrain from saying what I would like to do to these people for fear of giving offence, but it would not be pleasant :-|

Did I read the last sentence of that report correctly:
'The fire is believed to have been deliberately lit.'
I hope the catch the bar steward.

Stay safe, Allan <3

That's good news, Allan!

Bob, just done a quick search and Balaclava is in South Australia on the Wakefield River. It is close (48 km) to Adelaide. There was a bush fire recently affecting Adelaide, but which areas I don't know. Not much help if you are caught in one but they have not been as severe as those in NSW and VIC.

Sylvia, we are to the south of the current fire in Harvey, but according to the DFES (Dept of Fire and Emergency Services) website the threat has now been downgrade to Watch and Act, that was an hour ago

Stay safe, Allan.

I know how dangerous those bush fires are .............. I have a second cousin who was burnt out of their home and barely escaped with their lives in a bush fire in Victoria about 35 years ago.

Bob, not sure where those places are

I'm in Western Australia in a place called Australind in the Shire of Harvey

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/bushfire-emergency-in-wa-shire-of-harvey-people-urged-to-evacuate-their-homes/ar-BBZ8KkZ?ocid=spartandhp.

That was issued seven hours ago, and fortunately it is moving away from us. However it does bring back memories of when Yarloop was destroyed in 2016. They have only just rebuilt parts of the town

Allan,

Wakefield, Balaklava is that in the recent fires zone?

where are you?

Stay safe Allan <3

Hope it settles down soon Allan

A bit close for comfort so hope it can be brought under control and that you and your son stay safe. We will be thinking of you of course. <3