It has been six weeks since the fire devastated my place. Today was the first time I have been able to get about my property and see the extent of the damage the fire has done. I went mainly to check the fences as they are the things that have been severely impacted by fire.
The best thing was that I didn’t find any large animals that had died from the fire. I didn’t go poking around in burnt logs and under things so smaller animals and reptiles may have not survived.
I did find the recovery of plants starting to commence.
A Eucalypts lignotuber sends new growth from the ground. I love the red colour.
A burnt tree sprouts new growth from its trunk.
Early signs are often red gradually turning green.
This gold bummed ant was very protective of its tree. After a while it actually leapt onto the camera lens
Other ants were carrying treasures back to the nest
I did find the Bower Birds burnt bower which was near to my house. 
His blue treasures to impress the females a bit charred and molten.
Some people have asked how did the waterhole fare. The Lomandras in the water course have all started to sprout.
The rain on Christmas Day filled the waterhole and it still has a good amount of water. I am not too sure about the quality of the water. On the left under the fallen Brush Box tree is the rock I sit on to watch and photograph the birds. On the right hand side that tree has fallen across the track I use to get down to the waterhole. The rocky gully where the water comes into the waterhole has lots of trees over it but the small water hole up there a bit has water as well. The Powerful Owls weren’t around much to my disappointment.
This is what the water hole looked like
Dragonflies were flitting around one of the dams near the house.
I was pleased to see the White-winged Chough family patrolling through the bush. It looks like they have had a good year as there was around three chicks. I counted eleven birds. Last year when I saw a flock there were seven. Choughs are quite good at enticing other Choughs from other family groups into their family.
I was dismayed to see the big Ironbark tree still on fire. It will be a while until this tree stops burning. It is surrounded by a big burnt area so I am not concerned about it getting out of control. Unfortunately my tracks through the bush have so many trees over them I am unable to get anywhere near it and if I did I have no idea how I would be able to cut through the log to separate the burning bit from the rest of the tree. The tree is at least one meter in diameter.
So when I am next able to get about the property, I’ll write again about the recovery of Durranbah. I probably shouldn’t have walked as far as I did. I hurt my back a few weeks ago and am starting to feel better. I did come back to the house, have a shower, a bit of lunch and then went to bed for a few hours. Still am a bit sore still but the constant showers for the last three hours has been lovely. Not much rain I think but steady soaking rain has made me feel a lot better.
For Cee’s On the Hunt for Joy Challenge – Get Outside
LPM – Photo Adventure – Rural Life
