On February 7th, it will be 12 years since the Black Saturday Fires ravaged the Victorian landscape, killing 174 people, changing our lives in so many ways forever.

Visiting Marysville, a small country town virtually obliterated during the fires is always a stark reminder of the loss but also of the resilience and the regeneration that is possible. The town has re- built and geared up for tourists. It was packed with families enjoying the great outdoors. The wildflowers bloomed and the birds sang. The forest is regenerating but the scars are obvious reminders. The intensity of the fire was so fierce that many of the Eucalyptus, especially Mountain Ash were killed so that no regeneration from the old is possible.

These dead stags stand out, pale and tall, part of the old guard watching over the new growth that springs up around them. It will be decades before they won’t be so obvious.

The lessons we learnt from this fire saved many lives in the recent 2020 fires

Tags:   2021 birds fires Black Saturday Fires dead trees Eucalypt hill Marysville Victoria Nikon D750

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Following on from yesterdays post, an ICM of the dead Snowgums near the summit of Lake Mountain.

I will put a non-ICM up tomorrow of these trees for those that find this "hard to look at" (Sherpa's words ;-) ).

I felt the ICM worked to emphasize the post-fire blackness and my feelings when viewing the effects of the fire.

Flickr 2021 x100-3/100 Arty Farty

Tags:   Marysville trees ICM burn dead trees Lake Mountain snow gums Intentional Camera Movement

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I wanted to finish the series of trees at Lake Mountain with this image of the lush green understory.

The fog was quite thick on the way up to the summit. There were few places to pull over along the winding road but I found one spot and stopped there most days. After looking at the dead stags posted in my first tree upload, I was feeling abit sad. I was sending images along the way to a friend overseas. When I came to this view and sent this image, I wrote "this makes me feel alive".

There was not a car in sight, the birds were active, the fog drifting around with a life of its own, the air was cool and crisp and my breath formed little puffs of white that hung in the air.

The forest can do that to you.

Yep. I felt alive.

Tags:   Marysville fog Lake Mountain trees ferns gumtrees Eucalypt Nikon D750 Nikon

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Another one of our gorgeous Robins, the Flame Robin I missed seeing last winter but found it at Lake Mountain a few weeks ago. They come down to the lowlands in winter where we often see them at our local woodland, though the numbers vary greatly each year.

I do wish it's head was turned just alittle more towards me but this will do as I was lucky to capture this image.

There was a male and female hanging around the works depot at the top of the ski resort (summer at the moment). Just seeing the flash of red had my heart all aflutter as I knew who that red breast belonged too. I did follow him for quite some time but often, just as he was in focus, he disappeared from my view finder!

Tags:   Marysville birds Petroica phoenicea Lake Mountain Robin Flame Robin red Nikon D500 bird Australian Bird

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“Not all those who wander are lost.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring


An early morning wander along Leadbeaters’ Walk at the summit of Lake Mountain.A gorgeous short walk that highlights the impacts of both the 1939 and the 2009 fires on the Lake Mountain plateau. The trees are the regrowth Alpine Ash trees from 1939 and the new saplings growing since the 2009.

Tags:   Marysville Lake Mountain Leadbeaters' Walk hike trail mountain fog Summit ferns Mountain Ash regeneration path mist Nikon D750

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