Australian Bush Fires

Two Rock Wallabies having a conversation:

"Poor Bruce, he survived the drought, escaped the fire then a hundredweight of carrots fell out of the sky and crushed the poor b***r"

Neil

I would rather we had been permitted to discuss the eco-political issues, Neil.

MichaelG.

Neil,

That reminds me of a similar action that I took part in. In1953/54 the winter in Scotland was pretty severe and people got worried about sheep starving in the deep snow. I was in the R A F doing National Service, stationed at Thorney Island on the south coast.. We had Vickers Varsity planes and It was decided to send three of these to RAF Kinloss, where they were packed with 1/2 ton of straw bales. The door having been taken off. Two of us "erks" were then told to push the bales out whe ordered by the pilot. He was flying at 50ft and really enjoying himself, looking for any herds of sheep. We found several lots over the 3 days and emptied the plane on each flight.

It was only after the thaw that they told us we had killed more sheep by dropping the straw on them than had died of starvation!

Keith

I am surprised at you Neil, with you a chartered environmentalist and qualified ecologist I think the above is in bad taste and not funny at all if that is what its meant to be.

Ron

-1

Well I'm sorry if I've offended anyone.

I certainly don't want to make light of human or animal suffering, but I thought a touch of humour about what's really a good news story amidst all the gloom might lighten things up a bit.

Neil

Go Neil. I saw it for what it was. We don't want to start taking anti depressants. The Australia thing is an absolute tragedy but i'm sure you meant well.

Absolutely. Some people deal with this kind of tragedy by weeping, wailing and hand-wringing alone. Others lighten the load with a little humour. Either way may be valid depending on the person concerned. Neither way is "wrong".

If people get upset over a little fun then We better not delve into any really serious issues.The above humor was a little break from the bleakness of the day. This is a very well run forum, a bright spot to look forward to each day.

I am not upset just a bit of over reaction on my part I guess. I watched quite a bit of footage on the current situation yesterday and it is tragic beyond words just heartbreaking. Sorry Neil I didn't appreciate the humour at that time.

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Well, I thought it was funny. Who ever heard of a wallaby called Bruce? Bwahahahahahahaha!

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Just for some context, we shoot 1.5 million wallabies and kangaroos a year to stop them over-running farm land. Doesn't make the dreadful fire deaths any less awful of course. But 'tis a sobering thought.

I must admit I have met wallabies (at a zoo) and was amazed that they just hop up to you and wait for a scratch, so i actually have a bit fo a soft spot for them (I know that offering a wild kagaroo a scratch might not be the wisest thing to do).

There are wild wallabies in various part of the UK.

Neil

Yes, the ones in the wild are best not approached. But they are tameable in captivity. Some people keep them as pets. (Special permits required to keep native animals.)

Amazed to hear they run wild in UK. But i guess where there is grass, they will thrive. Same as introduced UK deer have done in parts of Australia.

Fires seem to have quietened down for now. Last I heard my mate was waiting to hear if his holiday house survived on Kangaroo Island. I hope so. I want to go and holiday there sometime.

500mm of rain the Northern Territory has put a damper on things a bit. Supposed to head south this week, but not in such epic proportions, and not much help in southern regions. But good news where it is. We're supposed to get 50mm here this week but so far just stinking hot and humid building up to it. Hopefully tomorrow...

Now that could be a hazard for thr TT! 😮

Posted with all due respect to those of us who like boats

**LINK**

......... and ............. we have deer and foxes and rabbits and hares and blackberry and ragwort in our paddocks ............ the rabbits and hares demolish our veg patches, didn't realise we had swapped and given you wallabies in exchange for them. Very keen to swap back if possible.

People are taking photos of the first green blushes of regrowth - Wont be long before some of the trees start to look a bit ridiculous with lots of leaves growing straight out of the trunks and branches - first response after the fires - looks like the trees have woolly jumpers on.

Bill

Edited By BW on 13/01/2020 08:39:52