SL-Week 50: Fire

When I walk outside later in the day at the moment I can smell the fires. I can smell the burning wood and my memory immediately makes me feel the warmth the fireplaces must be giving inside our neighbors’ houses. I wish we would have a fireplace too. Nothing better than coming home from a winter day spent outside, being cold and then lighting a fire and sit there, listen to the cracking sound of the burning wood and warming slowly up. Silvain Landry chose this weeks photo challenge task Fire in the right moment. Only thinking about a nice fireplace or a beautiful campfire makes me feel warmer right away.

A fire can be a beautiful thing but I know there is the downside of it too. Every summer we experience intense bushfires, which not only destroy huge parts of our forests but also harm people and take lives. Right now we can all relax and enjoy our winter months but as soon as temperatures will go up again, the risk of bushfires will increase too. Yesterday our hike through an area that was hugely affected during Black Saturday made me think of the power of such a fire. Although green took over again, there are still many reminders of the destruction the area suffered a couple of years ago.

Many of you are heading into summer and that also means that wildfires will start burning in many places in the Northern Hemisphere. I have the utmost respect of all the fire fighters risking their lives by going out there and trying to fight the immense power of a bushfire. To all of them and to all of you: Stay safe this summer!