Week 297

A BLACK DAY

The Cam this week is dedicated to the memory of the more than 131 (at 6.00 pm AEST) people who
have lost their lives in the worst bush fire in Australian recorded history, to their friends and family,
to those who survived, but lost all but their lives in the destruction of more than 700 homes, and to
the countless numbers of innocent animals which perished in these fires. A special dedication also
to the thousands of firefighters who selflessly risk their lives to save the lives and property of others.

The Australian Red Cross is running a special Victorian Bushfires Appeal; if you would like to make
a contribution, please go to the secure online Red Cross Page.

The images this week have been desaturated, as I felt that the original colourful images were just
inappropriate. The photographs were taken on Saturday and on Sunday, when I took a walk up
One Tree Hill in the Dandenong Ranges Park.

1. A quiet  stretch of water...

2. The Dandenongs hidden in the dust and smoke haze (Saturday).

3. One Tree Hill - the trees still show the marks of a previous bushfire.

4. The path winds steeply up the hill.

5. Fire scars on a dead eucalypt.

6. Almost on top and a welcome resting spot.

.

7.  Looking across a side valley to two houses nestled among the trees... idyllic, but a dangerous position when there are fires
about.

8. Everything on the hillside showed the effects of the dry summer thus far, but this little agapanthus was indomitable in its beauty.

9. As if to echo the fires below, the sunset sky was a livid one...

10. ... with the entire sky appearing ablaze.