The other day while at a market selling our candles a customer picked up a scent called “Australian bush”.
I made the comment …
“I don’t really know WHAT the Australian bush smells like….maybe like bushfires?”
Actually, that’s what Christmas smells like, here in Australia. Usually.
Golden sun ripe mangos, moist leg of ham and bushfire smoke.
Yep, that’s the aroma of an Aussie Christmas.
But it’s not even Christmas yet and already we have fires!
Heck, we’ve just dipped our toes into spring and already it’s been hot and DRY and yesterday fires broke out in the west, and the Blue mountains – the exact place we moved from just over a year ago, and the place where most of my family lives.
In fact, yesterday I got a call from my daughter saying she was trapped – couldn’t get home because there were so many fire outbreaks that all the roads were closed.
A temporary situation though, she did eventually get home.
Scary stuff, especially since it’s not even bushfire season yet. We watched the news reports all evening and were relieved to see temperatures and the relentless winds driving the fires, drop.
I’m glad we live where we live now. A great big lake across the road to jump into if need be.
Not to say though that we wouldn’t be impacted here on the coast.
I remember quite some years ago when we had a disastrous fire season. Couldn’t get anywhere…road closures, smoke so thick that it changed the colour of the sky, even changed the colour of the traffic lights – the weirdest thing.
Ash rained down from the sky onto my washing hanging on the line and at night we all slept on mattresses on the floor in the lounge room with all the windows flung wide open because the heat was so unbearably stifling.
And people always amaze me when they smile and say “Oh I LOVE summer!”
Really?
Are you brain damaged?
And that’s all I have to say today.
If you can’t already tell, I am decidedly grumpy.
I am so sick, and aching all over with a virus. Even my face aches. I have been freezing an eye mask to put on my face because it feels like my whole head is going to have a snot explosion.
It’s my own fault.
Never ever look at all the sick people around you and say “Oh, I haven’t had a good dose of the flu for AGES!” (Seriously, why would you do that?)
God is watching and he has a sense of humour.
Twisted Gypsy 
Oh you poor love though I am glad you have retained your sense of humour, as you head into a snot explosion. 😦 (that’s a visual) Yes I saw on the news about the fires and Mr. S and I both went “wtf – it’s only Spring!? So glad your daughter made it back home safely. It would be nice if we could have ‘doses’ of summer a few days here and there…but we are in Australia and me being Melbourne..well there’s no chance of that happening 😦 Take Care hope you feel better soon. xx
My husband has been in Melbourne the past three days and he’s been complaining bitterly about how cold it has been there.
Thanks for the well wishes. Please send tissues.
God definitely has a weird sense of humor, my sympathies, hope you are feeling better soon.
I’m afraid to say it ( God might be reading this ) but here in Florida (USA), on the North side
we have almost completely passed through the hurricane season without one major storm, knock on wood. With fires raging in our western states we have had too much rain here in the east over the past two months.
The gators are the only happy ones around here.
Love, hugs and prayers…ME and the Boss
P.S. I liked this post….
Thank you. I do hope you knocked really HARD on that wood!
At least we only have the fires to contend with. I can’t imagine hurricanes, tornadoes AND earthquakes too!
PS – please send some rain.
For the first time, this year has been free of brush fires in my valley in Spain. No helicopters or aircraft water bombing. The police here really crack down, normally jail if the fire starter is caught, usually from the DNA on a cigarette or some idiot having a bonfire which is not allowed between May and November.
I hope you are feeling better today Tracy. Ralph xox 😀
I only wish there were tougher penalties here Ralph. It breaks my heart not only for the people who are injured and lose their homes, but I get so upset thinking of all the animals who suffer also.
Glad to hear this year has been a non fire event for you over there.
And yes, I AM feeling slightly better this evening. 🙂
I’m sorry you have a virus. No fun at all and grumpiness is allowed. IN the UK we have no forest fires so I can hardly imagine what it is like, but it sounds a bit scary to me.
That’s rather unfair really. No fires, no tornadoes, no deadly snakes or spiders….cool summers…lots of gloomy days.
I want to move there!
Seriously, I would in a heartbeat. I have British blood in me, and it beckons.
Thank you for feeling sorry for me. I do too.
🙂
I love summer 🙂
Yes, well the word lunatic comes to mind.
How’s the bike riding in that HOT SUN going?
I hope by now you feel better, I am a bit late reading your posts… backwards…. also we always hear from your bush fires every year, it is awful, what is lost in them and scary. I would love to spend Summer in Australia, as here in England it is wet and windy, (definitley today) but I wouldn’t like those fires and snakes and other things creeping up on me….
Stay safe !