Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours, by car
away from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I used to live
in one of the places they say it might hit tomorrow, glad I don't live there
now. It may get a bit closer to us tomorrow, but hopefully not close
enough. My poor 11 year old daughter was so nervous, she seems to have
settled now. The dog's been under our feet a lot, but the cats don't seem
to be bothered.


Jen

Jen wrote:

> Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours, by car
> away from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I used to live
> in one of the places they say it might hit tomorrow, glad I don't live there
> now. It may get a bit closer to us tomorrow, but hopefully not close
> enough. My poor 11 year old daughter was so nervous, she seems to have
> settled now. The dog's been under our feet a lot, but the cats don't seem
> to be bothered.
>
>
> Jen

Jen, My thoughts are with you and everyone in the path of this deadful
fire threat.
I hope the cooler weather change arrives sooner than later tomorrow.

Hugs,
Bronnie
Gold Coast (ex Victorian)

"Bronwyn" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> Jen wrote:
>
>> Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours, by
>> car
>> away from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I used to
>> live
>> in one of the places they say it might hit tomorrow, glad I don't live
>> there
>> now. It may get a bit closer to us tomorrow, but hopefully not close
>> enough. My poor 11 year old daughter was so nervous, she seems to have
>> settled now. The dog's been under our feet a lot, but the cats don't
>> seem
>> to be bothered.
>>
>>
>> Jen
>
> Jen, My thoughts are with you and everyone in the path of this deadful
> fire threat.
> I hope the cooler weather change arrives sooner than later tomorrow.


Thanks Bronwyn. I watched the news for the first time since the fires. It
is scary. The change tomorrow apparently is going to make it worse,
there'll be wind and lightning, but not much rain. I haven't been able to
watch the news because my daughter gets so scared, we've only got one TV,
and a small house, so I've been keeping up with it by the internet, and my
husband, who works for the local news.


Jen

"Jen" > wrote in message
...
> Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours, by car away
> from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I used to live in one of
> the places they say it might hit tomorrow, glad I don't live there now. It may get
> a bit closer to us tomorrow, but hopefully not close enough. My poor 11 year old
> daughter was so nervous, she seems to have settled now. The dog's been under our
> feet a lot, but the cats don't seem to be bothered.
>
>
> Jen


Jen,

Sorry to hear about that, and I hope you all stay safe. We had a similar experience
here a few years back, just before Halloween. It's nerve wracking, isn't it? Fire can
be unpredictable, so be careful, and please keep us posted.

kimberly

"Jen" > wrote in message
...
> Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours, by car
> away from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I used to
> live in one of the places they say it might hit tomorrow, glad I don't
> live there now. It may get a bit closer to us tomorrow, but hopefully not
> close enough. My poor 11 year old daughter was so nervous, she seems to
> have settled now. The dog's been under our feet a lot, but the cats don't
> seem to be bothered.
>
>
> Jen
>

They are terrible...Jen..We had them up here in Sydney area last weekend and
the first day or two of this week as well.. As bad as they were it was
nothing like what you are experiencing down in Victoria...

I have a friend who lives in Ballarat ..How far is that from the fires
?...She has smoke and haze and smells of the bushfires.. An elderly lady who
only lost her husband 1 year ago..I feel for her ....

What part of Victoria are you living in ..Jen ?

--
Bigbazza (Barry)..(The Boy from Oz)

"Bigbazza" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Jen" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours, by
>> car away from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I used
>> to live in one of the places they say it might hit tomorrow, glad I don't
>> live there now. It may get a bit closer to us tomorrow, but hopefully
>> not close enough. My poor 11 year old daughter was so nervous, she seems
>> to have settled now. The dog's been under our feet a lot, but the cats
>> don't seem to be bothered.
>>
>>
>> Jen
>>
>
> They are terrible...Jen..We had them up here in Sydney area last weekend
> and the first day or two of this week as well.. As bad as they were it was
> nothing like what you are experiencing down in Victoria...
>
> I have a friend who lives in Ballarat ..How far is that from the fires
> ?...She has smoke and haze and smells of the bushfires.. An elderly lady
> who only lost her husband 1 year ago..I feel for her ....
>
> What part of Victoria are you living in ..Jen ?


We're in Latrobe Valley in Churchill. Just a bit south west of the fires.
Ballarat is much further West.

Jen

"Jen" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Bigbazza" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Jen" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours, by
>>> car away from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I used
>>> to live in one of the places they say it might hit tomorrow, glad I
>>> don't live there now. It may get a bit closer to us tomorrow, but
>>> hopefully not close enough. My poor 11 year old daughter was so
>>> nervous, she seems to have settled now. The dog's been under our feet a
>>> lot, but the cats don't seem to be bothered.
>>>
>>>
>>> Jen
>>>
>>
>> They are terrible...Jen..We had them up here in Sydney area last weekend
>> and the first day or two of this week as well.. As bad as they were it
>> was nothing like what you are experiencing down in Victoria...
>>
>> I have a friend who lives in Ballarat ..How far is that from the fires
>> ?...She has smoke and haze and smells of the bushfires.. An elderly lady
>> who only lost her husband 1 year ago..I feel for her ....
>>
>> What part of Victoria are you living in ..Jen ?
>
>
> We're in Latrobe Valley in Churchill. Just a bit south west of the fires.
> Ballarat is much further West.
>
> Jen
>

So Ballarat is in no danger then at this time...Jen ?...And what about
yourself..Are you in any type of danger from the fires changing directions
?.. I will check the map and see the positions :-)

--
Bigbazza (Barry)..(The Boy from Oz)

Jen said...

> Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours, by
> car away from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I used
> to live in one of the places they say it might hit tomorrow, glad I
> don't live there now. It may get a bit closer to us tomorrow, but
> hopefully not close enough. My poor 11 year old daughter was so
> nervous, she seems to have settled now. The dog's been under our feet a
> lot, but the cats don't seem to be bothered.
>
>
> Jen


Jen,

Geez... the satellite picture says it all. Oz is on fire again!

Have you gathered up enough supplies in the car in case you have to leave?

I remember Oz burning a few years ago and being worried about the birds!?!

Take care of each other,

Andy

"Bigbazza" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Jen" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Bigbazza" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> "Jen" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours, by
>>>> car away from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I used
>>>> to live in one of the places they say it might hit tomorrow, glad I
>>>> don't live there now. It may get a bit closer to us tomorrow, but
>>>> hopefully not close enough. My poor 11 year old daughter was so
>>>> nervous, she seems to have settled now. The dog's been under our feet
>>>> a lot, but the cats don't seem to be bothered.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Jen
>>>>
>>>
>>> They are terrible...Jen..We had them up here in Sydney area last weekend
>>> and the first day or two of this week as well.. As bad as they were it
>>> was nothing like what you are experiencing down in Victoria...
>>>
>>> I have a friend who lives in Ballarat ..How far is that from the fires
>>> ?...She has smoke and haze and smells of the bushfires.. An elderly lady
>>> who only lost her husband 1 year ago..I feel for her ....
>>>
>>> What part of Victoria are you living in ..Jen ?
>>
>>
>> We're in Latrobe Valley in Churchill. Just a bit south west of the
>> fires. Ballarat is much further West.
>>
>> Jen
>>
>
> So Ballarat is in no danger then at this time...Jen ?...And what about
> yourself..Are you in any type of danger from the fires changing directions
> ?.. I will check the map and see the positions :-)


This will help.
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenfo...2567CB000DB12D

Ballarat should be fine, it's much further, although there are spotfires all
over the state. I live very close to Traralgon, so we should still be fine
even if the wind gets too much. Although many say the fire will come right
down here as well. Fingers crossed.


Jen

"Andy" <q> wrote in message ...
> Jen said...
>
>> Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours, by
>> car away from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I used
>> to live in one of the places they say it might hit tomorrow, glad I
>> don't live there now. It may get a bit closer to us tomorrow, but
>> hopefully not close enough. My poor 11 year old daughter was so
>> nervous, she seems to have settled now. The dog's been under our feet a
>> lot, but the cats don't seem to be bothered.
>>
>>
>> Jen
>
>
> Jen,
>
> Geez... the satellite picture says it all. Oz is on fire again!
>
> Have you gathered up enough supplies in the car in case you have to leave?
>
> I remember Oz burning a few years ago and being worried about the birds!?!
>
> Take care of each other,


Thanks. We should be fine at the moment. But if it gets close, we'll get
the cats, the dog, the budgie, and the goldfish, and whatever else fits in
the car, and stay at my mum's, right near the coast. My husband would
probably come back and do what he can to help. The thing with Australian
bush is that it seems so used to it that many trees can't reproduce until
their seeds are affected by great heat, or burnt! I'm sure the birds can
fly to better places, but I feel for the wildlife that get trapped between
fires.


Jen

Jen said...

> I'm sure the birds can
> fly to better places,


True, birds can fly away but when more birds are shoehorned into smaller
areas and forced to compete for territory and food, the results can be
equally as devastating.

Andy

"Jen" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Andy" <q> wrote in message ...
>> Jen said...
>>
>>> Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours, by
>>> car away from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I used
>>> to live in one of the places they say it might hit tomorrow, glad I
>>> don't live there now. It may get a bit closer to us tomorrow, but
>>> hopefully not close enough. My poor 11 year old daughter was so
>>> nervous, she seems to have settled now. The dog's been under our feet a
>>> lot, but the cats don't seem to be bothered.
>>>
>>>
>>> Jen
>>
>>
>> Jen,
>>
>> Geez... the satellite picture says it all. Oz is on fire again!
>>
>> Have you gathered up enough supplies in the car in case you have to
>> leave?
>>
>> I remember Oz burning a few years ago and being worried about the
>> birds!?!
>>
>> Take care of each other,
>
>
> Thanks. We should be fine at the moment. But if it gets close, we'll get
> the cats, the dog, the budgie, and the goldfish, and whatever else fits in
> the car, and stay at my mum's, right near the coast. My husband would
> probably come back and do what he can to help. The thing with Australian
> bush is that it seems so used to it that many trees can't reproduce until
> their seeds are affected by great heat, or burnt! I'm sure the birds can
> fly to better places, but I feel for the wildlife that get trapped between
> fires.
>
>
> Jen
>

You know what...Jen..This lot of bush fires remind me so much of the well
known Australian Poem , written by Dorothy Mackellar , who as a young girl
migrated to Australia from England as a child...

How true could her poem be about the Droughts and Fire Floods and Famine (to
the Animals)...

'My Country'....

The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes,
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins;
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies -
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.


I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror-
This wide brown land for me.


The stark white ring-barked forests,
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon,
Green tangle of the brushes
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops,
And ferns the warm dark soil.


Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart around us
We watch the cattle die -
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady soaking rain.


Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the rainbow gold,
For flood and fire and famine
She pays us back threefold.
Over the thirsty paddocks
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze


An opal hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land-
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand -
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.


Bigbazza..(Barry)..Oz

"Bigbazza" > wrote in message
...

>
> 'My Country'....
>
> The love of field and coppice,
> Of green and shaded lanes,
> Of ordered woods and gardens
> Is running in your veins;
> Strong love of grey-blue distance
> Brown streams and soft dim skies -
> I know but cannot share it,
> My love is otherwise.
>
>
> I love a sunburnt country,
> A land of sweeping plains,
> Of ragged mountain ranges,
> Of droughts and flooding rains.
> I love her far horizons,
> I love her jewel-sea,
> Her beauty and her terror-
> This wide brown land for me.
>
>
> The stark white ring-barked forests,
> All tragic to the moon,
> The sapphire misted mountains,
> The hot gold hush of noon,
> Green tangle of the brushes
> Where lithe lianas coil,
> And orchids deck the tree-tops,
> And ferns the warm dark soil.
>
>
> Core of my heart, my country!
> Her pitiless blue sky,
> When sick at heart around us
> We watch the cattle die -
> But then the grey clouds gather,
> And we can bless again
> The drumming of an army,
> The steady soaking rain.
>
>
> Core of my heart, my country!
> Land of the rainbow gold,
> For flood and fire and famine
> She pays us back threefold.
> Over the thirsty paddocks
> Watch, after many days,
> The filmy veil of greenness
> That thickens as we gaze
>
>
> An opal hearted country,
> A wilful, lavish land-
> All you who have not loved her,
> You will not understand -
> Though earth holds many splendours,
> Wherever I may die,
> I know to what brown country
> My homing thoughts will fly.


I've never heard the whole poem. It is apt.


Jen

"Jen" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Bigbazza" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>
>> 'My Country'....
>>
>> The love of field and coppice,
>> Of green and shaded lanes,
>> Of ordered woods and gardens
>> Is running in your veins;
>> Strong love of grey-blue distance
>> Brown streams and soft dim skies -
>> I know but cannot share it,
>> My love is otherwise.
>>
>>
>> I love a sunburnt country,
>> A land of sweeping plains,
>> Of ragged mountain ranges,
>> Of droughts and flooding rains.
>> I love her far horizons,
>> I love her jewel-sea,
>> Her beauty and her terror-
>> This wide brown land for me.
>>
>>
>> The stark white ring-barked forests,
>> All tragic to the moon,
>> The sapphire misted mountains,
>> The hot gold hush of noon,
>> Green tangle of the brushes
>> Where lithe lianas coil,
>> And orchids deck the tree-tops,
>> And ferns the warm dark soil.
>>
>>
>> Core of my heart, my country!
>> Her pitiless blue sky,
>> When sick at heart around us
>> We watch the cattle die -
>> But then the grey clouds gather,
>> And we can bless again
>> The drumming of an army,
>> The steady soaking rain.
>>
>>
>> Core of my heart, my country!
>> Land of the rainbow gold,
>> For flood and fire and famine
>> She pays us back threefold.
>> Over the thirsty paddocks
>> Watch, after many days,
>> The filmy veil of greenness
>> That thickens as we gaze
>>
>>
>> An opal hearted country,
>> A wilful, lavish land-
>> All you who have not loved her,
>> You will not understand -
>> Though earth holds many splendours,
>> Wherever I may die,
>> I know to what brown country
>> My homing thoughts will fly.
>
>
> I've never heard the whole poem. It is apt.
>
>
> Jen
>


What is 'apt'....Jen ? Do you like it..It was one that I was also taught in
school many years ago..

--
Bigbazza (Barry)..(The Boy from Oz)

Oh pshaw, on Sat 09 Dec 2006 05:17:31a, Bigbazza meant to say...

>
> "Jen" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Bigbazza" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>
>>> 'My Country'....
>>>
>>> The love of field and coppice,
>>> Of green and shaded lanes,
>>> Of ordered woods and gardens
>>> Is running in your veins;
>>> Strong love of grey-blue distance
>>> Brown streams and soft dim skies -
>>> I know but cannot share it,
>>> My love is otherwise.
>>>
>>>
>>> I love a sunburnt country,
>>> A land of sweeping plains,
>>> Of ragged mountain ranges,
>>> Of droughts and flooding rains.
>>> I love her far horizons,
>>> I love her jewel-sea,
>>> Her beauty and her terror-
>>> This wide brown land for me.
>>>
>>>
>>> The stark white ring-barked forests,
>>> All tragic to the moon,
>>> The sapphire misted mountains,
>>> The hot gold hush of noon,
>>> Green tangle of the brushes
>>> Where lithe lianas coil,
>>> And orchids deck the tree-tops,
>>> And ferns the warm dark soil.
>>>
>>>
>>> Core of my heart, my country!
>>> Her pitiless blue sky,
>>> When sick at heart around us
>>> We watch the cattle die -
>>> But then the grey clouds gather,
>>> And we can bless again
>>> The drumming of an army,
>>> The steady soaking rain.
>>>
>>>
>>> Core of my heart, my country!
>>> Land of the rainbow gold,
>>> For flood and fire and famine
>>> She pays us back threefold.
>>> Over the thirsty paddocks
>>> Watch, after many days,
>>> The filmy veil of greenness
>>> That thickens as we gaze
>>>
>>>
>>> An opal hearted country,
>>> A wilful, lavish land-
>>> All you who have not loved her,
>>> You will not understand -
>>> Though earth holds many splendours,
>>> Wherever I may die,
>>> I know to what brown country
>>> My homing thoughts will fly.
>>
>>
>> I've never heard the whole poem. It is apt.
>>
>>
>> Jen
>>
>
>
> What is 'apt'....Jen ? Do you like it..It was one that I was also
> taught in school many years ago..
>

appropriate

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

(...a short musical interlude...)

In article >, Andy <q> wrote:
>Jen said...
>
>> I'm sure the birds can
>> fly to better places,
>
>True, birds can fly away but when more birds are shoehorned into smaller
>areas and forced to compete for territory and food, the results can be
>equally as devastating.

Yeah, that's the other problem with fires in Victoria -- it encourages
the buggers to move to Queensland. ;-)

[ But as one who lives above a river bed full of dry guinea grass each
year, I can sympathise with Jen and others. It can get a bit hairy!
But fortunately our fires can *usually* be handled with adequate
protective clothing and decent pressure in the garden hose. Not like
those bloody southern things that burn in the tree tops and jump from
one ridge to the next. Bugger the southern winter snow and summer
fires; I'll stick to skin cancer and cyclones here in the deep north!]

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

Jen wrote:

> Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours,
> by car away from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I
> used to live in one of the places they say it might hit tomorrow,
> glad I don't live there now. It may get a bit closer to us tomorrow,
> but hopefully not close enough. My poor 11 year old daughter was so
> nervous, she seems to have settled now. The dog's been under our
> feet a lot, but the cats don't seem to be bothered.

Good thoughts headed that way!


--
Dan Goodman
All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies.
John Arbuthnot (1667-1735), Scottish writer, physician.
Journal http://dsgood.livejournal.com
Links http://del.icio.us/dsgood
Political http://www.dailykos.com/user/dsgood

"Jen" > wrote in message
...
> Have you all heard about the fires here in Australia? I'm 2 hours, by car
> away from them. There is smoke everywhere, I can taste it. I used to
> live in one of the places they say it might hit tomorrow, glad I don't
> live there now. It may get a bit closer to us tomorrow, but hopefully not
> close enough. My poor 11 year old daughter was so nervous, she seems to
> have settled now. The dog's been under our feet a lot, but the cats don't
> seem to be bothered.


Things have eased so far a bit today, but the worst is yet to come. They
say they fires may continue for months, and Thursday will be the worst yet.
Also January and February are usually the worst months for fire. It's
pretty coll here now, but windy.


Jen