Posts Tagged ‘Blue Mountains’

Catastrophes are here.

Posted in Accidents, Challenges, Death, Health, Life, Lyme Disease, Spirituality, Susan Jamieson, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged animall loss, bad policies, Blue Mountains, Bush Fires, Candle, Firefighter, homes lost, land care, land destroyed, Lyme disease, New South Wales, rescue volunteers, rural fire fighters, stock loss, volunteer fire fighters on October 18, 2013| 9 Comments »

image from http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au

A photo of the beautiful Blue Mountains in New South Wales. Their name is derived from the gases from the Eucalyptus trees making the mountains appear blue as they rise.

There is always something surprising when you realise that the unexpected has occurred. I have tried not to dwell on my travails with Lyme disease. It creeps in now and again since it is never far from your mind. You go about your daily routine, minimising any affects it is causing. In fact you begin to feel that apart from sudden spikes in your ‘woes’ you’re doing okay.

Perhaps it’s a safety thing, a form of illusion to enable you to handle everything. Yesterday was like every other, within the variables I have come to expect. I was focused on the bush fires in New South Wales and my fury at what I feel is the mismanagement of our land care policies. I refuse to even pay lip service to some of the inane arguments which rage around this issue.

image from news.ninemsn.com.au

It doesn’t help when an elected ‘leader’ of an inner city electorate (a member of the Green Party) decides to use this devastating event to take a sideswipe at the current Prime Minister. Politics at a time like this is a poor second when weighed against the people affected. We have one person dead and two fire fighters injured. We have no idea of stock or animal loss. I hope and pray that will be all we lose, it is too many, but more is always a heavier burden. Over 2000 fire fighters from throughout the country are traveling to help with the bush fires.

This is one reason I feel selfish when I am focused on my small woes. As I mentioned yesterday, Byron is a ‘green’ area and today we have had light rain all day, 3 ½ mm of rain. Not a huge amount by any means. The farmers here are grateful for the rain, since for Byron, we’ve had a bit of a ‘dry spell’, but nothing like elsewhere in the country.

image from amywellsblog.blogspot.com

However, I feel traitorous today. I did get some sleep last night, so deep I didn’t hear my husband get up. It should have been wonderful, and it was as far as the sleep goes. Vivid dreams, strange and perplexing. Perhaps I should write about them sometime.

I woke in hideous pain. Imagine, if you will, every bone in your body feels as though it is being crushed and pulled apart at the same time. Simultaneously there is an intense white hot sharp pain through each ‘major’ joint, but centering through the hips. Sitting, standing or lying down bring no relief. Wheat packs seem to have no effect or the painkillers I had to resort to.

I feel miserable and I feel ashamed and humiliated that I‘m thinking about myself when so many people are facing so much worse. I’m keeping all the people, fire fighters, people who live there, all the animals in the area, in my heart and praying for their safety. I’m also praying for our ‘leaders’ to refrain from trying to get any political mileage out of this tragedy and work together to help OUR country.

Perhaps in some small way this might help, help our country and perhaps help me feel less self-centered in the face of what is happening.

image from barefootbarn.wordpress.com

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” Buddha

My candle to focus my intention for all who are suffering tonight and in the days ahead. Why not join me?

Blessings, Susan x

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
Buddha
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/candle.html#x2MveAOCCesUjmTX.99

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Summer Love…Bushfire Season

Posted in Accidents, Challenges, Coping Skills, Death, Life, Life lessons, Motivation, Psychology, Spirituality, Susan Jamieson, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged backburning, Blue Mountains, bureaucracy, bush fire prevention, Bushfire Season, Bushfires in Australia, ecology, Fire, fire alert, fire breaks, Fire fighters, Firefighter, Green Terrorism, Greening Australia, land management, New South Wales, Red Tape, rural fire brigade, stock loss, Summer Love, wildlife on October 17, 2013| 10 Comments »

This is one of my favourite songs. I found the clip with the fire fighters and I couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to begin this. It encapsulates the heroism, the heartache, danger and loss that fire fighting and bush fires can mean. Bushfire season is now with us, as potent as Summer Love.

Every day now I hear the reports of how wonderful it is that Summer is coming… even though we are only in the early part of Spring, the temperatures are already fluctuating wildly. Yes it is wonderful and I adore the beautiful spring and summer flowers we have. The beautiful display of Jacarandas are amazing this year.

A jacaranda lined road.

After a relatively dry winter throughout most of the country, and some idiotic bureaucratic interference that has prohibited back burning and fire breaks by property holders to prevent their homes being caught up in bushfire situations, we have masses of tinder dry, bushfire fuel loads surrounding homes and properties.

The insanity of land management being taken away from property owners, which is so closely aligned to the land care Aborigines have used for hundreds of years, is not simply ludicrous, it is criminally insane. I am all for Greening Australia, protecting our heritage and doing the right things now, but we cannot and must not put our heads in the sand and have puerile decisions made based on land management that dates back into the last century and before.

image from http://www.sabushfiresolutions.com.au

This is typical of what farmers and landholders, rural and regional, have to sit back and accept. The fuel load here is enormous. As the foliage falls and builds under the canopy at ground level, and the dried grasses mound up, the gases from the eucalyptus trees can reach combustible proportions. Flash fires can occur, lightning can strike, but you cannot prevent the thoughtlessness of people throwing lit matches or cigarettes out of car windows. More despicable are those who delight in deliberately setting fires once the conditions are at their worst.

As the temperature rises and the winds come across the super heated land, conditions for spontaneous bush fires escalate. Add to this the intense fuel loads you see above and this is what can and does happen…..

image from http://www.whatarebushfires.com.au

We are very fortunate that we live in Byron Bay, in a beautiful green area, but we are still prone to the influence and devastation of bushfire. Just not to the same extent. Since last weekend there have been over thirty bush fires raging in the Blue Mountains area in New South Wales and over a hundred throughout the state. Thousands of hectares destroyed. Over a hundred homes lost, and this is just so far. There are fires raging in the deep gorges and valleys that cannot be fought. They have to burn themselves, and all the wildlife, out.

image from waterworksvalley.com – Waterworks Valley in the Blue Mountains

This is what the rural fire brigade and their cousins in the city fire departments and local volunteers have been fighting. Until the last fires are extinguished, the final devastating total will not be known. This is not the first bush fire this season. It will not be the last.

The crime is – much of this could be avoided with common sense.

Yes, I am angry. Our fire fighters, volunteers, home and land owners, our domestic animals and wildlife, none of them should be placed in harm’s way because a small minority of bureaucratic Green terrorists think removal of fuel load is not good for the land. Perhaps THEY should be in the front line fighting the fires.

Off my Soap Box, just for a while.

Blessings to all our fire fighters, home and land owners, our animals caught in the fires unable to escape, the injured wildlife, and all those left behind to try to put everything back together again.

Susan x