Belated “Happy New Year” to everyone from Perth, Western Australia!
The photos below were taken on my morning walk today – we have had beautifully mild weather for the past few weeks in contrast to the heatwaves of November and early December. We are so lucky to enjoy unspoilt bushland in the city so close to our home but it is something never to take for granted.
It is heartbreaking to see the terrible destruction being wrought on such a vast area by the horrific bushfires burning out of control in virtually all states of Australia at present (this does include WA though mercifully so far the fires have been in relatively underpopulated regions).
There are many debates going on about causes, solutions and current and future planning but this is not the forum in which to discuss all of that. For now hearts go out to those affected and utter sadness for the loss of lives, homes, native bushlands and forests, wildlife, livelihoods and more…….
Copyright © 2020 Rosemary Thomas Le Chic En Rose. All rights reserved
Le Chic En Rose 
The fires are heartbreaking.
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Yes it is such a dreadful situation – heartbreaking to watch it unfolding. Hoping for some cooler weather and rain for the affected areas soon.
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We don’t know how blessed we are! Wishing you good health and happy times in 2020, Rosemay 🙂 🙂
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Indeed Jo – it just puts all our minor upsets into perspective. We had a burst water main in our street and no water for a morning last week plus our internet went out – that seemed such an inconvenience at the time but really was nothing in the great scheme of things. These bushfires are beyond horrific 😢 On a more positive note wishing you a Happy New Year too 😃😃
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All the best for 2020 to you too. We are watching what is happening in Australia with deep horror.
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Thank Anabel and hope you had a very happy New Year. The destruction and devastation wrought by these terrible fires is heartbreaking. Our daughter was due to go to Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia with some friends as part of her holiday next week but they have had to cancel – it’s tragic to see the loss of so many animals too on top of everything else. The island is home to the only disease -free colony of koalas in Australia and they fear about half have been wiped out and the survivors face loss of habitat and food sources. There are some amazing people helping with rescue and rehab operations in many places thank goodness.
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So awful. I saw videos of hundreds of dead animals lining a road and a farmer shooting his cows to put them out of their misery. Even though there has been comparatively little loss of human life, I wonder how some parts of Australia can ever recover.
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It is absolutely terrible to see Anabel – quite heartbreaking the toll on animals and wildlife is harrowing. Some rare native animals may now be extinct and there are great concerns about the loss of habitat for the survivors. For example koalas have lost so many eucalyptus trees that are essential for their survival. There are some amazing wildlife groups doing their best in difficult circumstances to care for the survivors. The Kangaroo Island Wildlife Centre is a now triage and recovery centre for injured wildlife on Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia – they reckon there may be as few as 9000 koalas left from an original population of 46000. There is going to need to be a massive conservation programme going forward. Apologies for late reply – have been getting my computer updated hopefully will all work much better going forward!
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Shocking 😢
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Yes it’s deeply upsetting – tragic 😦
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Rosemay, such lovely blue skies and I am glad no bush fires there. It is heartbreaking to watch the news and see so much devastation and loss of life. I wish you and your family health and happiness for 2020. Keep enjoying life and having fun.
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Thank you so much Gilda. It is truly heartbreaking on so many levels and the scale is unprecedented. Hoping for more positive things ahead but at the moment the news is pretty grim. Wishing you a very happy New Year though on a more positive note!
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So much beauty. Let’s hope the destruction comes to an end soon. Happy travels in 2020 Rosemary.
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It is truly heartbreaking to see the horrible devastation and so many losses Jude. Hoping things will improve but it will take many years to rebuild what has been lost. Australia is a beautiful continent and faces an uphill battle to preserve its ecosystems and habitat not to mention the terrible cost to people and their livelihoods. On a more positive note wishing you the very best for 2020 🙂
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All best wishes to you, and all on your troubled continent.
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Thanks Margaret – it is heartbreaking to see so much devastation, unprecedented and deeply troubling for the future. On a happier note wishing you all the best for 2020 🙂
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If I knew about this covid coming badly I should have re-routed our stop over to Perth last end January instead of Melbourne to Auckland.
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It does seem surreal that we had no idea what was about to happen back in January- so much has changed since then. I’m thankful we were able to travel so much over the past few years as we may be staying close to home for some to time to come! Hope you’re doing ok with the current restrictions in Auckland.
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Yes fortunately we’re going back to level 2 some sort of normalcy with restrictions in place. Better than nothing.
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Moving in the right direction very best wishes! 🙂
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