Tribute to Black Saturday

Today is a special remembrance for the tragedy that hit our beautiful country one year ago! A large part of Victoria was devastated by uncontrollable bush fires that took not only hundreds of homes, far too many innocent lives but our wildlife and natural bushland. Details of this catastrophic event are on my blog posts for this time last year.

Our country shared one minute's silence at midday today. We must remember and never let it happen again. I can only pray that more is done and the land is cleared for fire break lines regularly and that a reliable warning system is in place, but even so, sometimes the elements are stronger than anything we as humans are able to do! The beautiful support shared by those who experienced that day is a remarkable show of strength from our people. They are re building - their homes, their businesses, their towns, their lives! They will never forget the loss from that day but their spirit is nothing short of remarkable. This post is to honor those who fight to rebuild and to honor those lost to us forever!

The photo above was taken by local Kinglake school teacher Steve Fleming only 4 weeks after the event. In an area that resembled a moonscape, a tiny bud emerged from a blackened peppermint gum! Such a force of nature's survival brings tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat!