"In the beginning"

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this blog are not necessarily the views of the blog management, (on the other hand, they are not necessarily not the views of the blog management).

No effort has been made to stay within the bounds of the truth in this blog as it has always been the view of the management that the truth should never be allowed to stand in the way of a good story.

Friday, November 27, 2009

On Tour With Frank!!

"On the road again" is more Willie Nelson than Frank but it describes things so well.

Just before leaving Shepparton Merle and I did the mandatory trip to the park where most of Shepps cows graze, they are constantly changing them.. all good fun.

I headed for the scene of January's disastrous bushfires to see how the area was regenerating, nature is
taking care of its own slowly but surely, there are places where the fire was so hot that the trees are all dead, but in most parts there is new undergrowth and either "suckers" growing from the roots of the trees or new growth on them.

Some trees grow new leaves along all their branches and the trunk too, my guess is that wherever the sap boiled to the surface during the blaze the new growth springs forth, they look a little eerie.
I refrained from taking photos of the human rebuilding as I found it a bit sad to see all the for sale signs on burnt out blocks of land where somebodies dreams had stood until recently, there is also a vast amount of rebuilding going on as well but it was all a bit depressing I found.

Next I went for a look at my childhood home at Dixon's Creek, rounding the bend on the still unpaved "Pinacle Lane" the now familiar sight of the lovely vineyards came into sight, back in the days when we lived there only cows dotted the landscape.

The burnt out hillside behind our tiny home came into view, a grim warning about how close the fires had been

And finally the site where once the house had stood.... bare except for some machinery which appeared to be preparing a new home site... whether the house had been destroyed by the fire or simply bull-dozed to make way for a new one I don't know, I felt a strong sense of sadness because it was gone and felt un-inclined to make inquiries..... a chapter had closed.

To lift my spirits I took this photo of a nice crop which will bring joy to a grateful farmer I'm sure.

12 comments:

kenju said...

Always enjoy your photos, Peter, and it's good to see Merle. Thanks for your Thanksgiving wishes.

Merle said...

Hi Peter ~~ How sad our old home is no more. It had history before we lived there and I thought it would always be there. Oh well - Progress.
Sad to see the fire areas that Feb 7th decimated and some regrowth, but some loss of trees. And the For Sale signs - not the best place to build or rebuild. The fires sure came close to Dixon's Creek, though we had our turn in 1939 when so many homes were burnt. Good post and of course interesting to me.
Glad you are safely at Wudinna - is
the harvest finished or close to?
Love to Vicki, Rex and yourself.
Merle.

Rachel said...

It's always sad (I think) to go back to our childhood homes again, and find them gone. I feel sad when I venture back. Great memories, but there is a sadness that we can't really go back.

Sad about the fires too, but glad to see that things are beginning to grow again. It is strange to see the leaves on those branches and trunks!

Puss-in-Boots said...

I have mixed feelings about revisiting my childhood and young adult homes. But I think it is something that is good to do, if only once.

I couldn't go to the bushfire area...I found the whole thing totally terrifying, and that was just the TV coverage!

Enjoy your meanderings.

Cliff said...

As one who still lives on the childhood farm, I often think about what it would be like to do what you just did. I can imagine it would bring some heavy, heavy reactions to your soul. This was a great post. One of the best. Thanks for doing it.

Fierce Blogs said...

Nice pictures you have here...

By the way, give my regards to Frank :)

Jack K. said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and photos. In a way, I rather envy your sadness at the discovery of the demise of your childhood home. I never had a childhood home as such. Both my father and step-father were in the Army and I spent my youth traveling. I believe I may have been in four different schools in one year.

The photos are great, as usual. We may have to compare notes on camera equipment and such. I am in the process of updating my equipment. I'll let you know how that works out.

I am intrigued by the vineyards in your old neighbourhood. What kind of grapes? Who is the vintner? I have grown to love many of the Australian wines. I want to know what to look for at our wine store.

Glad to know that you and Frank are having a wonderful journey. Our best to the family.

Marti said...

Hope this finds you well. I have been taking care of grandma and have had little time online. It's amazing how nature regenerates itself - I wish that worked for me :-)

Big hugs and good wishes to you!

Anonymous said...

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Pamela said...

I could hear the wistfulness of your voice Peter.

Dave said...

Nice picture of Merle, Peter... but where were you?
So sad to see where all those fires were....

Walker said...

Great pictures Peter.
Fire leaves little behind but out of the ashes a Phoenix will rise to give life where life can grow