bushfires at home in NSW Nov 2019
I updated this page on 12th January 2020. Why?
The media is saturated with graphic images from tragic events including foods, cyclones, accidents and back in 2019, the bushfires across Australia that hit our property. The red-enhanced imagery, headlines and stories about the fires are damaging to adults and kids who have not even had direct contact with the tragedy. Damaging in the sense of anxiety, depression, worry and fear with concerns about other people, who are personally unknown to them.
Even though I am known to you in that you have bought my books, attended my clinics or have read my website, I don't want to add fuel to any bad thoughts about the fires in your mind; I have removed images of the bushfires that struck our home from this site.
I have turned my thoughts around and want you to do that as well.
Look for positives, no matter how bad or sad a situation appears to be.
- Out of tragedy emerges fantastic community spirit. People come together to help and support each others. Let's continue that wonderful spirit long after tragedies have gone.
- A smile goes a long way to make someone's day. A smile helps you be happy inside. Share genuine smiles with everyone you come in contact with. Although the person may not smile back, your smile may have lifted their day or made them think about why you are smiling. When you receive a smile back, it will be delightful. A true smile is truly valuable.
- Turn off morning shows, TV news and live updates, news feeds, facebook, and twitter feeds. They are just echo chambers for sensationalist trends. Delete and un-follow people whose accounts persistently deliver negative sad or bad news and images.
- Set aside part of each day or week for something that makes you smile, that you enjoy, that gives you pleasure and that is a personal interest/hobby. Even 10 minutes a day set aside free of outside disruptions will enrich your mind, feel fulfilling and be a positive accomplishment. Think of it as your very own time not anyone else's.
Now for a smile after the bushfires.
A very hungry Rock Wallaby with baby in pouch arrived a few days after our bushfire looking for food.
She quickly took a slice of wholemeal bread.
More red-necked and eastern grey kangaroos and wallaroos returned to the cleared area around the house. Green pick had started to appear where water had run off during fire fighting.
We've had about 50 mm rain since the fires. More green pick has emerged. New epicormic growth on trees lends a curious furry coat to tree trunks and limbs.
Echidnas started wandering about digging up the ground almost a week after the fires.
Liar birds are more easily spotted because they have no undercover to blend in with.
Shiny patterned burnt sticks look like red-bellied black snakes. The real snakes are easier to see without tall bladey grass in the paddocks.
The parrots and rosella birds have returned to the bare trees and feeding tray.
We've even watched platypus play in one of the remaining waterholes in the river.
Our's is a conservation property so it is lovely to see the survival of so many wild animals.
Look after what you've got. Look after yourself. Look out for your family and true personal friends.
2 months after
Another rock wallaby with baby feeds on new shoots from the base of a burnt tree. It is not just koalas that eat eucalyptus.
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2 months after
Second rain fall since the fires with water skimming over the land. The greenery shot up quickly after just the first few mm of rain. This downpour is not enough to be a drought breaker but perhaps enough to keep the green pick alive for wildlife.
