Bushfire

A frog at the window

The ledge of my kitchen window is over a metre off the floor of the deck which is, itself, close to two metres off the ground. Yet despite these giddying heights, there was a small frog on the ledge last night, looking in as I looked out:

Warrandyte — burning off in the rain

That pile of ash and charcoal is all that’s left of a huge pile of dead branches, windfall and…

Nillumbik budget ‘highlights’, 2017–18

I live in North Warrandyte. That means I’m stuck with Nillumbik Shire Council. This is the most expensive council in Victoria. We pay an obscene amount in rates. This year, the council boasts that it won’t raise rates. Yay.

Optus network and EmergencyAus — update

Just thought I’d let everyone know that I can now access EmergencyAus via my browser!

To the mothers of Yarra Warra Pre-school in #Warrandyte [1]

Ladies, I know you have small children, and I know you’re run off your feet. You never have a minute to yourself, and sometimes you can’t even go to the loo on your own.

Vent — the worst New Year’s Eve ever

Here in Australia the countdown to the New Year has begun — 14.5 hours to go if my arithmetic serves — but my mood is anything but festive. I just learned that my car is ‘cooked’.

Fire season 2015, Warrandyte — it begins

The authorities have not yet declared fire season open for 2015, but the weather is thumbing its nose at our attempts to tame it with calendars and calculations.

A [small] flood with big consequences

Warrandyte is a very hilly area, and my house is near the crest of a hill so even heavy downpours simply flow away from us. See exhibit A to the left.

Thanks to my poor photography, the land in the photo looks flat, but it’s actually very…

Warrandyte swelters… and we all hold our breaths

Temperatures of 41 C [105.8 F] are forecast for today, with strong northwesterly winds pushing south before a cool change tonight.

What does all that mean for us? Very, very high fire danger, that’s what.