- Joined
- Feb 12, 2011
- Messages
- 4,795
To one and all -
@redwood66, @dk168, @bling_dream19, @AV_, @Polabowla, @JPie, @RayRay, @Vera W, @lissyflo, @missy, @Arcadian, @Gussie, @Alex T, @pearlsngems, @yssie, @Daisys and Diamonds, @luv2sparkle, @AGBF, @Bonfire, @Demon, @Calliecake, @MissGotRocks, @derbygal, @Redwoods-hiker-girl, and @Dancing Fire -
Thank you so much for your kind wishes, thoughts and prayers.
It rained.
It's not a lot, but it was enough to slow the progress of the fire and to allow the fire fighters to get the fire more under control. The heavy winds also didn't eventuate as dramatically as forecast, and this morning there was mist. MIST! How wonderful is that!
So we're extremely grateful this evening that things didn't turn out as we had feared.
On the other hand, of course, we are one happy result in the midst of hundreds of thousands of tragedies. We've been weeping for the destruction of our homeland, and most of all for its precious flora and fauna. How we will recover simply defeats comprehension.
For all those who have donated - thank you. For all the Aussies on this board - my heart and that of my husband are with you every minute of every day. For everyone who looked beyond their own lives to care - bless you. <3
What a lovely poem! Prayers are outgoing that your slice of paradise remains safe and that the entire country receives the critical rainfall needed to get the fire under control everywhere.
I’ve been trying to do my part by sewing pouches for the injured animals. I’ve cut up all extra sheets and some friends have given me their as well. I’ve made about 50 so far and will ship them to the SE hub here in the US to be sent over...it’s not much but it makes me feel less helpless.![]()
My heart aches when I think about all the devastation and all the animals and people that have been lost or hurt.
Hoping that the fire(s) can be brought under control very soon.
@Mayk, @rainydaze, @whitewave, @Daisys and Diamonds, @gregchang35, @Dandi, @Sparkles88, @maita13, @Mcgregor, @pearaffair, @sarahb, @Queenie60, @MeowMeow, @arkieb1, @Tekate, @missy, @jordyonbass, @diamondringlover -
Thank you for all your kind words. The fire near us is still burning but is categorized as 'Being Controlled'. Previously 'Out of Control' - not yet 'Controlled'. It's 50,000 acres in area (imagine the size of roughly 200,000 average/generous sized suburban lots) and is still only about 1 mile from my little house as the crow flies.
Even so, this is WAY better than previously when it was out of control, and we hope favorable weather conditions will keep it calm and allow it to be controlled and, ultimately, extinguished.
My apologies for the slowness of my update. My friend is still here and we've been trying to get out and about to distract ourselves, so not much computer time.
We need rain. The fires are so hot and large, and Australia has been in continuous drought for 5 years now and the earth is SO dry, we need a BUNCH of rain over a protracted period before we'll see much effect. This is unlikely to happen until we get the next El Nina cycle in a few years. It's such a nightmare.
But for all the Australians on Pricescope who are grieving this tragedy - here's a poem we all studied in school and which speaks to every Australian's heart:
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
The 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 see 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.
Dorothea Mackellar
What a lovely poem! Prayers are outgoing that your slice of paradise remains safe and that the entire country receives the critical rainfall needed to get the fire under control everywhere.
I’ve been trying to do my part by sewing pouches for the injured animals. I’ve cut up all extra sheets and some friends have given me their as well. I’ve made about 50 so far and will ship them to the SE hub here in the US to be sent over...it’s not much but it makes me feel less helpless.![]()