Dark Days of Summer…
Today’s one of those days you want to hate.
40 degrees, and after watching what’s been happening in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria and especially New South Wales, you just know that Tassie couldn’t possibly escape unscathed.
There’s a smoky tinge to the bush when there’s no smoke, as eucalypts release a vapour in the heat.
The day begins quietly after a cool evening – blues skies, light winds – a great day to spend time swimming at the beach. The temperatures bearable. In fact it’s quite easy to be lulled into a false sense of security.
But it changes suddenly – a great gale of hot wind from the northwest and temperatures climbing into the high thirties in eight minutes. I ‘m picking snow-peas, hear a gunshot crack and watch a massive branch from a eucalypt split and crash to the ground.
Then come the thunderstorms with no rain and dry lightning starting fires at Pelham Tier, Strathgordon, and the Fingal Valley. But nothing near us, thank heaven.
Power is out in masses of areas across the southeast, but touchwood, not around us. Yet. But just in case, I’ve got batteries in the transistor radio, have charged the laptop and phone and filled a thermos with hot water.
We’ve been through this twice. Once, in a city house on the edge of Hobart’s forested hills. A fire rushing down one side of a forested gully and up the other and us fighting it off the edge of our garden, unable to see the helicopters because of the smoke but able to hear them.
The other was in March this year, on the farm next to ours.. The choppers used our dams to fight it..
Every summer I remind myself to check my little firefighting bag– hat, long sleeves, wool socks, mask, gloves – and place it in my car. I also have a list of things to pack if we need to leave the house, not least of which is my dog, dog-lead, water, woollen blanket and my hard drive.
We lost close family friends in the awful Kinglake fires of Victoria in 2009. It sends a warning that one can never forget.
It’s why I’m always nervous through summer. Despite that I love the beach, sun, surf and sand.
Ironic, isn’t it?
Stay safe 🙁 Thinking of you.
Thanks Nicky. It’s going to be a long summer…
Keep safe Prue, thinking of you all x
Thanks, Libby. Will bee very glad for lower temperatures.
So frightening for everyone threatened by fire. Desperately worried for my daughter with her horse property in Victoria. Hope you all stay safe.
Oh golly, Shirley. Is she in Gippsland? I hope all is okay.
Fortunately last night we got rain and a weather change and everyone is just breathing deep. Till next time…
Keep safe – I can’t believe how quickly the temperatures rose as you described. After a couple of stormy days, with winds from the west, we could see fine, red dust over our garden furniture. It is all so sad and so worrying of what we can expect.
I agree. As I quickly walked the dog to and from the beach for a cooling swim for him, it was seering in the air and I, who loves all that summer offers in terms of beach life, was actually thinking how I prefer winter for living. I thought how awful the world might become and how I don’t want this for my grandson – where he has to spend days inside because of the heat. I want him to have the Swallows and Amazons life his own father had.
We really need to let politicians and multinationals know we are done with their money-grubbing and that our place in the world is so much more important.