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Smoke gets in my eyes

Trying not to think about smoke and fires, but it's been a smoky week ... until this morning, which is clear, brilliant, dewy and still. Walking back from school, listening to the little ipod shuffle, Lynn Miles singing how she's over someone, Bruce Springsteen climbing Jacob's Ladder, Jeff Buckley's gorgeous Hallelujah and some assorted 70s classics (they're everywhere here in Aus!). Then I see the smoke drifting over the hill. Distracting. We know it's not over, we had another big fire just to the south of us on Monday. Matthew, the principal of FCPS, had to evacuate his home on Monday. This one was started by a municipal mower (slasher) which sparked as it was driving along the side of a road cutting grass... not sure why they sent out equipment on a total fire ban day, but they did. As one of our neighbours said, "all you have to do on these hot days is hold up a match and bush a few metres away will ignite". We have been advised to not bring our kids to school tomorrow, Friday, if at all possible, as temperatures are slated to soar up into the high 30s with strong winds.

This is what happened locally:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25102754-5018723,00.html

In an effort to tear you away from the fire stuff, which is what we needed to do, here's what we did last weekend. We headed off to the coast south of here on Friday late afternoon, for a wonderful action-packed weekend sponsored by the South Gippsland Teachers Exchange group. Activities included a visit to a koala sanctuary on Philip Island, an 8 km walk along the stunning Bass coast, an evening barbeque on the inlet where the Wiebe Roberts gang won a cricket set by getting the most points (! no we're not competitive!) on the morning's beach artifacts quiz (and by the way, cricket is fun), surfing lessons on Sunday morning (Gabe and Kai were up on their boards within a few minutes of getting into the water, after we'd received excellent teaching), and a visit to a dinosaur dig on the coast on our way home. We stayed in Inverloch with Marg Callanan, a teacher who spent a year in Winnipeg in 2007.

For anyone interested, resarchers have discovered fossils and dinosaur pieces along this coast that have broken new ground in the dinosaur world. Monash University and the Victoria Museum jointly sponsor this dig, supported by many local Inverloch volunteers who chip away at a site that is only available during low tide in daylight hours. They were more than gracious as they showed us several amazing artifacts, including the smallest set of mammal teeth (jaw) ever discovered, and now called Ausktribosphenos nyktos (the Inverloch Cretaceous mammal), the oldest placental mammal, which has changed how researchers are thinking about dinosaurs.. warm or cold blooded?

The web site for this dig is found at http://www.sci.monash.edu.au/msc/dinodream. I certainly had zero interest in dinosaurs as a child, but am finding them more and more fascinating. So far the team has concentrated on the dig along the shoreline, but they have also identfied a dinosaur footprint (2, in fact, with their 3 toed, webbed foot print) turned into stone. They imagine there are more, but being under water for 12 hours at a time keeps them hidden for now. 100 million years ago, this area was the bed of a vast river that flowed in the great rift valley between Australia and Antarctica, when Australia was still part of Gondwana.

We were exhausted when we returned home, but hey, it was worth it! The ITF (Int'l Teachers Federation) is sponsoring several of these weekends, and we look forward to seeing much of the State of Victoria this way. The little Saab cruises along, and I'm starting to think of a name for "her"... SHEILA anyone? Have to pass it by the gang here first...

Killmore East-Murrindindi Complex Fire, Victoria

As seen from space, courtesy of NASA.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=37040

The fire down the road was 5 ha, not 15 as I said previously. Still, it's enough, and that's all the kids and parents were talking about at Ferny Creek Primary School on Monday morning. It's understandable that folks are quite jumpy, thus the differing opinions whether to stay or go. Apparently we are slated to have some rain in the next few days -- rainfall in Dec. and Jan. totalled 1 mm each month. And in the north, entire parts of Queensland and NSW are flooded. No ice storms that I've heard of!

An anecdote re: the fundraising done by the students at FCPS last week concerns a local blighter who couldn't resist the opportunity to score some free money. (The students had a free dress day -- hey Edenites, do you remember "dress up day"? Well, this is more casual, and you have to bring money to pay for your freedom, and the teaching staff wear uniforms ...!). He broke into the school to scoop the cash... in total, it was $4300. He got into the office through the first aid window, and started trashing the room looking for the cash. Had to break into the safe, too, I believe. It must have seemed dead easy and he was probably counting the cash ... Well, good news!! There is a silent alarm that goes off with the local police, and they drove up the hill and met the guy still in the building... Buddy had his court date on Monday. So the cash will go to its destination, which is the Marysville Primary school.

A fire... down the road

Here's Tom's description of the events of Sunday afternoon, February 15:
Turns out we really are in the thick of it. I was cooking on the barby, and Brigitte was sending some email pics-dial up, so we weren't listening for phone calls.

One neighbour, came by to say that there was currently a fire 2 km away, at the bottom of the hill towards Belgrave. His wife and kids were going to leave and he would stay. We decided to pack a bag, with our passports, and get ready to go. Our other neighbour, came by to say 'No worries', the wind was blowing the fire toward the Ferny Creek Primary School, in a slightly different direction away from us. So now what? One neighbour says staying is a possibility, one says his family is going.

All roads except one were closed.

I started filling buckets and 2 wheelbarrows with water. This took ten minutes, as we had to hook up the hose. All the while, helicopters flew overhead.

We decided to eat supper, as this might be our last meal-not thinking we would burn, but that we might not have a stove and a fridge to cook a hot meal.

We had a toast of chilled white wine-Australian, and as we were clearing up, both neighbours came by to say the fire had been downgraded.

We listened to one of the ABC channels, devoted mainly to fire news when the fire event is urgent, still with our one bag by the door, but the crisis was over.

I still worried about embers flying over, and tried to watch T.V., with one eye to the sky, but I just could not relax.

The stress made me dog-tired, and I went to bed.

More from Brigitte:

ABC is doing a wonderful job of using one of its radio channels to provide information for fire-affected areas and people. Announcements are read every 15 to 30 minutes, so you know what's up for your area. The CFA also has a web site that is constantly updated. It's one thing to have your radio on constantly, but when you need it, it's an excellent resource (this is one of the recommendations that came from the last huge fires, that there needed to be a way to inform the public of the danger/threat.)

The scoop is that this fire likely was lit by someone... forensics are at the scene figuring things out. Yesterday was relatively cool (approx. 26 C), with winds that were manageable with regard to fighting a bush fire, and the fire authority had enough resources available to throw a lot of firefighting power at this fire -- in all, 26 "appliances" were available to fight the fire, including people, trucks, and helicopters. A lot of helicopters were flying overhead. (One helicopter is called "Elvis" -- I've been asking why but don't have a coherent response yet; This paticular unit has a large appendage dangling from it, used to suck up water ?? Was Elvis supposedly well endowed?) All neighbours were on the threat after the siren went off -- they came to tell us. Two people phoned us to let us know of the danger. Our decision was to go as soon as there was an immediate threat to our particular area, up the hill to a town called Sassafras, and we could head down from there.

Rob asked me about my thoughts about the article from The Australian... We haven't been here one month, so all I can do for now is listen to what I'm hearing around me. I have been listening to the radio a lot, and reading a variety of articles in The Age and other newspapers. It is the interface here between people and nature that is being discussed. This is where you want to be, of course. Why wouldn't you want to live in hills with exotic birds, with temperatures at least 5C lower than down at the bottom, with gorgeous plant life all around (pics are coming, I promise!), and with fabulous, generous and thoughtful neighbours? People have had homes and cottages and homes here for at least 100 years, and now there are many communities (suburbs of urban Melbourne) that are spreading out. This is idyllic at many levels. What happened was like that "perfect storm" we've read about -- extreme temps, high winds, sudden fire events. And the CFA were there, but it was stronger than they had experienced.

I read that the Aboriginal people of Australia used winter and autumn fires to control the threat of huge summer bush fires by burning off a lot of the underbrush. I don't know what the historic data are regarding drought, but Australia is still in a serious drought situation, so the hills, the fields, and the cities are dry. One small smark can create a conflagration. Probably there will be new building codes, new requirements for bunkers to be built, new code for reducing the amounts of trees close to houses. This doesn't bring back the people who were lost last weekend.

The "experts" are saying this interface of a larger population, drought and dry landscape and trees is what created the gigantic fires. There will be a royal commission to see what happened, and to find new ways of living safely in this beautiful and awesome place. If people and communities have the money, certainly new ways of building and preparing will have to be part of the plan.

We were certainly not prepared for what we experienced last night -- I think we have been living in a bit of a bubble, given that we are still settling in. However, everyone got involved, we were given information that was useful, and we are now more prepared. No people were hurt in the fire, although approximately 14 hectares burned. It's a blessing that the CFA had available resources (the other fires are in a controlled state, relatively speaking), and they threw what they had at this fire.

People at the school this morning talked about their experiences -- some had to put out embers; others left; others were happy to eat out somewhere while they waited to hear. Everyone was talking about it, and you can feel there is anxiety in our minds. It's now much more real to us.

Sirens

Just now, at 6:05, we were wakened by the local CFA siren. Much of the Country Fire Authority (CFA) is staffed by volunteers, and each town and area has one of those large siren towers. My Niagara friends and my siblings will remember the siren at the Virgil Fire Hall, both in practice (Monday nights?) and to call the volunteer fire force out to whatever the emergency demanded. Then we talk to the kids, because they are now awake as well, and worried. (Although Kai was just dreaming about enjoying a chocolate cake AND brownies...)

First step -- turn on computer, and wait for it to load (mental note: Keep computer on at night); while loading step outside and smell the air -- we can smell smoke this morning, but it's been "cold" this week (morning temps of about 15C) and the cool air keeps the smoke low to the ground -- I believe it's called an inversion; connect to the Internet and check on the local incidents page, and believe it or not, through all this, the information about the calls is uploaded almost as soon as the call is put out. Right now 2 trucks are out at a small fire a few kilometers away -- it doesn't yet say what it is, just lists it as "other".

This volunteer fire force is trained and reay to go, and they are still at the scene of the biggest bush fires, trying to contain them before this lovely cool spell (induced by those terrible south winds on Saturday) becomes another hot spell. The heat, and northern winds, is now in the forecast. So they are hurrying to contain those fires. The army (through its reserve force) is now helping as well, bulldozing areas so there is a fireguard of sorts. But most of this intense work has been done by local volunteers.

Tom and I were talking last night about the community spirit of these small town-like suburbs that dot the bush land and hills outside Melbourne. People made conscious decisions to move away from the "city", and live in these idyllic surroundings. (It often reminds us of our cottage at Vic Beach, with the bird life and the trees... just not the steep hills!) The surroundings include the bush, and steep winding roads, often narrow and surrounded at every step by the tall gum trees. (I still want to upload some pics, but I have to hit the library for that...)

Nicole went to her first Guides meeting last night, and we came home to find the men of the house watching the telethon that was raising money to support the communities that have been razed. Of course they trotted out the celebrities (I couldn't stay up to watch Nicole Kidman, sorry), but all were in on this fund raising and when we went to bed, upwards of $79 million had been donated. Local radio hosts, Hamish and Andy, offered to remove an item of clothing for every $60,000 raised, and were both buck naked (on air), but pics and a video clip were offered to illustrate their fund raising efforts!

Ferny Creek Primary School had a free dress day yesterday (no uniforms) and kids bring money to pay for the privilege of not wearing their unis... the money was donated as well, and their school raised $3500. A local tea room (whoever comes out for a visit will be taken there, believe me, it's GORGEOUS) donated all their takings and wages from Wednesday, and they raised $10,000. So people are diggin deep, even in the midst of the international recession. I think everyone has put themselves in the shoes of the others, and hopefully we can all contribute to the rebuilding in our own small ways.

A difficult time ..the hottest place on the planet

Hey all. When we heard the temp on Saturday was going to reach to the low to mid 40s (C, that is, not below, or anything like that), we decided to head for an ocean beach. Consultation with friends and neighbours followed, and we decided to drive SW toward the coast of the big bay below Melbourne city. Being described as the hottest place on the planet sounds great, but we thought we could ge cooler elsewhere. And there's something thrilling about jumping around on a beach on February 7...

Within 1 hour, we were at the coast, using the new freeway, which uses an electronic toll device as you drive under huge towers that record your passage through the freeways (that's another story, I think, being recorded every inch of your drive). There is a lot of public art, by the way, along these new freeways -- quite amazing to see.

We stopped at a little town called Rosebud, just to figure out what things looked like ... we were looking for a gentle, shallow beach, not the huge wavey steep sloped beaches that lure the surfers (that will come later for us in February). At Rosebud we used the public toilets (I must say the NZ'ers and Aussies do it right -- everywhere there are accessible public loos which just make things easier when you are travelling as a pack, kids and adults), and walked out on a jetty sticking out into the ocean. People were fishing, kids and a few adults were jumping off the deep end (cannon balls, "bombies", jumping for height and wave effect), and we were lurking. Spotted a "bird" with a beak, cruising in the water (reminded us of a loon or a cormorant), which soon dived under, and started zooming around -- looked like a fish in the water. Guess what? A fairy penguin, swimming fast, everywhere. The fishing guys affirmed that it was a penguin -- they said they are often around, looking for a light snack! We were more than thrilled, believe me!

We walked around for a while, headed back to the (new, used) car, and drove on to a town called Sorrento, a reasonably high end tourist type/weekend place. Nice looking shops, people, and buildings, including some original colonial mansions. We bought some dogs from a few locals doing some fundraising on the side walk, purchased a "punnet" of strawberries (fresh from the field that morning, and that brings back memories), and sat down for a lunch before we headed back to the ocean to swim. We were trying to avoid the noon hour, bright, burning sun, trying to fry our northern skins. Found a gorgeous cappuccino (when can't I find a good coffee?) in a cool spot, discovered a great little gallery which sold local art, and moved on. We stopped along the ocean, set up shop under some trees, and walked into the water. Around 3:30 or 4, the "change" came -- this is a weather change which occurs when the wind starts blowing from the south, from the regions of Antarctica. The tide went out, and the kids had great sandbars and watery pools to play, rescuing jellies that had been beached by the wind and waves, and I walked along the beach looking for shells. There were great black scallop shells, and many live clams dug into the sand, just beneath the surface.

By 6:30 we were tired and hungry, so drove back to Rosebud to a little Italian resto we had seen, and tucked in -- pizza and pasta (and ice cream after the meal for the kids, who astonishingly, had enough room for gelati or ice cream). Driving back home on the freeway, we smelled smoke. Yes, there had been fire (extreme fire hazard for Saturday, Feb. 7) warnings, but we did not listen to the news all day. Coming toward our little road up the mountain, there was a road block. Apparently there had been a fire just at the train station in Upper Ferntree Gully, so we had to divert to another road (which I did not know existed...). We were all tired, so felt a bit anxious about getting home.

Without our realizing it, while we were escaping the heat, there had been devastating fires around parts of this State throughout the day, particularly when the wind got strong with the weather change. Today, on the news, we heard that 50 people are dead, and homes, properties, and farms burned to the ground, and more people in the hospital, some not expected to survive. I guess we were just thinking of escaping the heat, not of the potential danger of the weather conditions. On the news, it was reported that flames the height of a 4 storey building came roaring over a hill, and people had nowhere to go. Those who tried to escape were caught by fallen trees, or dense smoke, or more huge fires. It is shocking to see. The fire at Upper Ferntree Gully is small in comparison, but makes us realize that it could happen in an instant. Tom's Department Head has a farm near the fire area, but the fires did not reach him. I'm sure Tom will hear more about it tomorrow.

The kids' school has a fire evacuation plan. It is part of their training regarding possible emergencies. While it feels unreal when the neighbours talk about fire safety, it's a very real threat. The drought is in its 12th year, the eucalyptus trees (which smell great after a rain!) are dry, and there are leaves, grasses, and other combustible materials everywhere. If I'm here without a vehicle, I either leave early when the warning starts, or head for the horse paddock, where there is an open clear space. The local fire department (including many volunteers) will apparently hose it down for a safe and wetted spot.

Our thoughts go out to the people who died yesterday, and those who now face devastation as a result. It's mind boggling to consider... we were innocent and unthinking as we drove to the coast. Please send your prayers and thoughts to those who are now coping with the loss of loved ones, and those who are struggling for their lives in hospital.

Birds and animals

The birds and wildlife are noticeably different than at home... cockatoos screetch overhead as they fly by, often in groups of 3 or more. There are magpies, warbling and burbling away. The possums are overhead, several times/day or night, and we've seen their tails dangling over the edge of the roof, or have seen their sweet little faces perched up on a board in the garage.

Yesterday afternoon several kokaburras landed in the yard, looking around for eats... often you can hear their maniacal laughter in the distance somewhere. The kids note they are just like crazed monkeys when they laugh.

We often find blue and black and some red rosella feathers in the yard near the clothes line.

The sounds of the magpies are intruding on my dreams -- last night it seemed as if they were calling all night, but I'm guessing it was just from 5 or so onwards. The sound is like birdsong distorted through water pipes, just great. I came up the walk this morning from the kids' school, and one was hopping on the drive... "Hi", I said... "AWK", it said back. And several more exchanges. Then it hopped up and flew away to a tree, sat for a minute, then called in the warbling note to another bird, who immediately answered. It probably thinks I have some weird harsh voice, because that's what I got back!

A field of cockatoos in the horse paddock the other morning in the mist/rain. They must have found some good eats there... snails were crawling across our walking path as we went up the hill to school (they kids were rescuing the snails by taking them from the gravel path and placing them in the grassy slope beside is... like their worm rescue operation at VB!). Maybe the cockies like the snails. All we could see in the mist were about 30 white and yellow feathered heads, looking around. The horses were standing still. That night I dreamt I was feeding a great assortment of birds, many of them eating out of my hand... wishful thinking?

The lyre birds are more shy, or at least we haven't seen any yet in our yard. They can apparently mimic all kinds of sounds... Tom heard a guy whistling for his dog, and then in the distance, a bird whistled back. The dog was looking around, as you can imagine!

The neighbours have king parrots on their deck... I will have to go over to see one.

Tom... Beaconhills awaits!

Looking good!

Tom and work and suits don't usually mix... he's someone who gets his hands (and clothes) dirty because he works with clay, paint, pastels, water, printing equipment, you name it... let's see how it goes!

Off to School... Ferny Creek Primary School

Kai, Nicole and Gabriel... first morning in the new unis... Hats are required in terms 1 and 4 -- the school year here is divided into 4 ten week terms (very civilized) with 2 weeks off in between each, and more time off during the summer months of December and January.

Hot, Damn Hot

As promised, some pictures will soon appear. We're using dial-up here, so it's slow... I will eventually get to a faster system, and then more pics will be there.

Since I last wrote, we have enjoyed 40+ C temperatures. Hot, damn hot, we've been saying, like a comment on one of our favourite albums, the music from the movie "Good Morning Vietnam".

Following the Australia Day holiday on the 26th of January, Tom had 3 days of meetings at Beaconhills College -- getting to know the new system, new school, new people, and new curriculum. On Friday, he had a day of instruction for using a canoe ... he will accompany a group of students on a canoe trip on the Murray River in March. One of the instructors lived in Golden, BC for a summer, and he commented that it was a bit ironic teaching a Canadian about the use of a canoe! Much hilarity ensued when the Canadian was asked to introduce himself, and he noted that paddles in Canada are made of wood, not a mixture of plastic and metal.

The kids and I spent last week trying to keep cool -- we found pools in two little towns near us -- Olinda and Belgrave (both very funky with friendly people and cool shops), in the town where Tom teaches (Pakenham), and in Lysterfield Lake Park (where Tom was having his canoe training). When you reach the highest temperatures ever officially recorded, your main goal is to drink much water, fizzy water, lemonade (they have fabulous lemon squash here), and try out different kinds of iced treats, all sold at the various pools. Believe it or not, it was too hot to drink the red wine I had in the house, until I added a few ice cubes (sacrilege, I know).

We've been invited to two bbqs already... the legendary Aussie hospitality is a real thing. Welcoming people, happy to talk about their world and ours, happy to learn about Canada (Saskatchewan is a name everyone loves to say! ... they've been getting the show "Corner Gas" on one of the interesting tv channels here), including a lot of knowledge about Canadian politics. Of course, I hadn't checked much prior to getting here, so I had to run to the internet and read a items on the Globe and Mail, Free Press, and CBC websites. By the way, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has some great radio shows, and an excellent tv station that we've found. We also have been reading a Melbourne paper, The Age, which is also fabulous, with some great articles and writers.

We've also found a car -- a 1997 Saab (something I've always wanted to own!!), red. Hopefully it will sell when we are ready to leave. One of Tom's colleagues is selling the car ... it's their 3rd car, and they don't need it. We are getting used to driving on the other side of the road, although I am cautious when I say it, because you always have to think before you make a quick move. The car is manual, so that will be FUN as well! Good for the brain, I think -- like a real, live Brain Age game. The kids weren't too happy with the back seat because the car only has 2 doors, but we assured them it's a "cool" car, and they thought that was ok! Apparently it has a 9 CD deck in it, so music will be part of our driving trips.

Nicole, Gabriel and Kai started school on Monday, 2nd of Feb. The school, Ferny Creek Primary School, is in a beatiful location on the side of one of the hills here. It's a 1/2 hour walk to the school (and a 10 minute bike ride back...) I think I will get whipped into shape on these walks/rides. This week is a bit cooler, with some rain and mist. This morning, as we walked up the hill beside a horse paddock, about 30 cockatoos were sitting in the field, just white heads and yellow top feathers sticking up amongst the mist and grass. Must have been some worms or snails ready for snacking. There were snails crossing our path, so I'm guessing that's what the cockies were eating!

Kai and Gabe's teacher is Hailey (sp?) and Nicole's teacher is Heather. The Principal is Matthew. Everyone goes by their first names, a distinct contrast from Tom's school, which is much more formal, with strict dress codes and rules regarding makeup, piercings, and shaving (for facial hair... with a dry razor). Our kids do wear uniforms, and Mr. Roberts is now clad in jacket and tie.

I get to dress less formally right now, shorts and t shirts, or whatever fits the temperature of the day.

Stay tuned... more to follow. I'm going to back track and talk a bit about NZ and what we did and saw there.