OUR WORLD & SkyWatch - A fiery start to the New Year

The afternoon sun breaking through a smoke cloud

on the 3rd. January

the paddock behind my house

but the fire still was two townships away.

Next morning  there was just a small smoke cloud in the area and 

we thought the worst was averted

until late afternoon when there was smoke everywhere

and my daughter packed me into my car and 

sent me away to Angaston, 35 km away.

A lonely night in an old-fashioned hotel with no news

except for a text from my daughter that our local 

hospital had been evacuated and it was raining ash at home.
Since the power was out on the farm and due to the thick smoke
satellite reception for the mobile was intermittent,
it was hard to communicate with the children.

Had the situation not been so dire, I would have sought 

shelter at the hospital but that would not have been 

an option in this case.

a fiery sunset from the hotel car park

when I went to release my dog from the car and take

him for a walk.

Luckily the wind changed and I could go home yesterday 

morning.

For the moment the fire is being roughly contained but the 

hospital is still empty for the next few days

as the temperatures are soaring again tomorrow.

Lightning storms forecast for Wednesday with temps 

into the 40's C.

My car is packed, the few old photos, my husband's violin,

documents, my trinkets, receipts for the farm tax return, 

a few clothes, dog food and some art materials to ward off 

boredom during the time of uncertainty, and water.

I would prefer to stay and fight but he grandchildren 

don't want to have to worry about me as well as

fighting the fire and keeping the animals safe

if I hang around

and all I want, is for them to be safe.

What a start to the New Year

Hope yours was a little less dramatic!

Linking with 

OUR WORLD

&
SkyWatch

MY WORLD ~ 37 Local Changes

All photos enlarge for better viewing.

There are some changes being made. We are building
a 17,000 gallon water tank and the long overdue shed.
The back end of the house is really the front end so some
tidying up and I hope a shade-house and gazebo on the
water tank will follow.



To clear the site, firstly the pine tree behind my little
car needs to go. Our son, on one of his rare visits, is having
another 'bonding' experience with his father.



Going out to assess the situation....



and getting to work.

It is not easy to cut it at such a high level but the reason

is that now it can be pushed over and uprooted with a

Bobcat.

Cutting up the debris and removing the large pieces

by tractor down hill onto an open space for burning.



Father and son togetherness tidying up, always the

worst part of the job.

A big bonfire at the end, and the coast is clear for

the next stage of the project.

The doings of the world will open with a click on the Logo.

As ever, my gratitude to Klaus and his Elves for keeping this

wonderful meme running like clock-work.

MY WORLD ~ 6 ... Our Ski Lodge

Last week I missed posting because we drove
over 1,000km to attend the 45th. annual general
meeting of the A.N.A.R.E. ski club. My husband
has been a member almost since it's inception, I
am only an associate member.
The initials stand for Australian National Antarctic
Research Expedition. The criterion for membership
is obviously, that one must have taken part in at
least one expedition. Members are quite diverse,
ranging from scientists through all necessary trades,
and, all expeditioners having undergone rigorous
psychological asessments, are easy to get along with.


My husband designed the lodge and made a model
from which an architect friend drew up the plans. We all
pitched in and spent many summers building it. From
the front there are two floors, from the back there are
three. Initially we had accomodation in the dormitory
for 12, four doubles and four singles. As regulations on
the mountain have changed, 6 more beds have been added.

The lodge is situated on Mt.Baw Baw in the Victorian Alps.

There are a few good down hill runs and a large plateau

excellent for cross-country skiing.

We arrived late afternoon and had a great view down the

chair lift easement into the Latrobe Valley.

Would you believe it, during the night it snowed!

Now for those in the northern hemisphere that's

no big deal, but we're on summer time here.

None the less , we were thrilled. We had not been
up here for twenty years, so snow was a real bonus.

Here are the same trees as in the first picture,
only slightly more bent from the added load.



This blue shot was at dawn the next morning
just in case it all melted away again.



The lodge sitting pretty in the fluffy
white stuff.

Meanwhile we were snug inside by the fire waiting
for the others to arrive. A happy reunion with those
of the old guard. After 45 years we were all a little
more mature and 20 years of absence had in no way

dulled old friendships.
Although the planned BBQ was out of the question since

it had a foot of snow on it, we all had a great time together.

With these snow laden trees I feel Christmas is
just around the corner.
Next week God willing, snippets from the 1,000km

treck back home.

For wonderful sights and stories from around the

world, click on the logo on the right.

Thank you MY WORLD team for gving us this splendid

opportunity to post what is dear to us.

MY WORLD ~ 5 Our House on the Mountain

This is our personal Phoenix, rebuilt with the
original walls from 1850 or so, after the extensive
bushfire of 1983, which devoured 76 homes including
ours. Not much survived in the historic garden as well.

The house itself stands on the ridge of Mt.Lofty at an
elevation of 650m, overlooking Gulf St.Vincent and
Adelaide, the capital of South Australia on the western
side, and on the other, the eastern foothills and on a clear
day Lake Alexandrina at the mouth of the Murray River
some 100km as the crow flies, to the east.



As you come into the yard from the driveway,
the first thing that strikes your eyes is this
magnificent Camellia tree. Three of these were
planted in front of the original house probably
in the early 1850's. They have withstood the
force of two major bushfires and managed to
regrow again. This one has recovered much
better than it's siblings which were closer to the
front porch and much more severely burnt.



Close up of the Camellia whose name has been lost
in the depths of time.



The shadow on the gravel is from a Beech my
husband planted, The flowering crab apple is
Malus floriunda.



On the right a massive Snowball bush, another
survivor, burnt to the ground and regrown.



Looking up to the back of the house over
terraces of lilacs, Syringa vulgaris, in lilac
purple and white.



View from one of the dining room
windows towards the west.



My precious white Rhododendron, before the fire
the size of the Crabapple above, has taken 25 years
to regrow to this. Again, the name has disappeared
into the mists of history.



Looking up fron the eastern terraces in spring



'Papa Meilland' and 'Mr.Lincoln' on our bedroom wall



Taken through my car window heading down the drive,
a kangaroo grazing in the orchard with a backdrop of
Camellias, Rhododendrons and bare Oak tree.

This is just a fleeting impression of the three acre
garden that surrounds the new old house.

Thank you SkyWatch/My World team for making
this venue a delight to us all.
To visit amazingly beautiful and interesting places,
click on the logo on the right.