beginnings

It's always sobering to see what devastation fire can have on the environment whether urban or rural. Perhaps some of my 'wiring' is a little different to the norm - many might agree - but the charred aftermath of trees do IMO have a beauty of their own. Don't misinterpret this, I DO NOT want to start a fire, it's merely a observation, even if slightly morbid.

This week I visited Hillbilly Cider HQ. The pictures below show a little of the aftermath of the fires at the end of October that swept the Blue Mountains and just how close the Hillbilly Cider command centre came to being raised to the ground.

From the air, the landscape must look reminiscent of a yin & yang symbol, with one side of a road lush green and the other burnt out. Which in a way is fitting. 

embers

Little known fact about working photographers. We don't spend all our time taking photo's. There are a few boring tasks including a lot of filing which is how I came across this picture of the Three Sisters rock formation near Katoomba.

The last time I was in the blue mountains was to visit some friends in Bilpin just prior to the recent bush fires. The friends are Shane and Tessa McLaughlin who produce Hillbilly Cider (which is delicious BTW) and Canonbah Bridge wines which I recommend trying by the bottle. Their homestead came exceedingly close to be raised to the ground with the fires getting as near as 50m. The SMH featured a piece on Shane who looks like he hasn't slept in 2 days, which he hadn't, spending all his time and energy pitching in with the fire crews and Bilpin community. 

This week I'll be in the Blue Mountains again. I'm looking forward to this seeing Shane and experiencing his bone dry sense of humour which he kept even through the fires. I'm also looking forward to sampling some more wine.

More tk...