Hope ya all our safe

Just heard on the news abotu all the terrible fires and just wanted to stop by and send out well wishes hoping that ya all are safe and yoru firends and families too.

be safe all,

Absolutely! Terrible times...our thoughts are with not only our DG friends in Oz, but all of you there who are going through this right now. Hoping for a swift resolution for you. Stay safe.....

We're thinking of you all and hoping this disaster is soon over so recovery can begin. I will never understand how people can do this.

Hi Jean, Chrissy and everyone, So sorry to hear this dreadful news.
Has anyone heard from Sue (Weed woman)?

Thinking of all of you in Australia. Had 19 arson fires here in Montana 2 years ago, all set by one person. We breathed smoke for the entire summer. What can we do to help?

Terri.. I wa shopign you had heard from her. I really worried about her and her family.

Any Austrailian folks if ya have fire damage , don't worry, when ya get yoru life settled again, we'll round ya up plenty of flowers and seeds for yoru gardens.

Bless you dear friends your kind words are like a soothing balm ...we are all broken hearted.
How can there be so much pain and yet so much love ...
A grateful hug from your mates in Australia.

Thank's Guy's, The bush fires down south (Victoria) have claimed 170 lives and more missing people are still looking for loved ones. There is also flooding in the north (Queensland). I am so lucky to be in the middle (NSW) my heart and prayers go out to all that have been affected. Once again thank you all for your love and concern these Australian's need all the support they can get.
Thanks again Hel

Aussie friends!

Please, we all here at Dg will do what we can, if ya just let us know. I knwo it gonan be a bit, but while we may not be able to rebuild homes , we cna help ya rebuild all the gardens and the landscape.

So when things get a bit settled, if you have organizations you can contact or folks willign to send otu seed sto folks, pelase, please let us know. We will be ready to help.

We may be a continent or two apart but ya stil our Dg family and friends. (((((((((((Hugs))))))))))))

Starlight - what a wonderful sentiment, offering to help with plants & seeds is very kind.
Australia (&NZ) have very strict bio security laws & sending plant material in from overseas is heavily regulated.
Donating a couple of dollars to the Red Cross Bush Fire Fund would be a good way to help fire victims.
The money I was going to use to buy new plants for my garden is going to the fund, it is a small thing but I know it all adds up.
I used to live in Australia & still have family & friends there so seeing the news reports is heart breaking.
Take care everyone
Dalfyre

Dalfyre.. Do you happen to have a link to that bush red cross place. That way we can post it aroudn on soem of our other gardening places too.

Ya I knwo they have strict imports adn onyl comercial sealed seed can travel in to customs.

It is going to take years to recover for them eventually they will replace everything but can,t replace lives lost :( :(

Australian Red Cross Bushfire Fund

http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm

Edited to add: The Aus dollar is approximately .66 to the U.S. dollar. For example, $25 U.S. will be about $37 Aus dollars. Hope this helps.

This message was edited Feb 9, 2009 5:13 PM

Thanks for the link Kaper. Gonna donate and see what I can do about puttign a fund raiser up with some of my plants for them with link for payment to the bush fund.

I know, my heart was in tears listening and watching. So many gone and in hock. Have daylily friend sthere too. My very first penpal I ever had when i was younger was from Austrailia. Nevr forgot her and we woudl send thinsg back and forth and letters. It was great.

Anybody know if Weedwoman was in the immediate area of the fires?

There's another thread here you might check - scroll down for news. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/949084/#new

Terri,
Sue posted on Sunday she has been away Iam sure we will from her soon.-----Sammut.

My cousins live in Kinglake which is all but gone now. One of the worst places for the fires. They had 15 minutes and got out but many, many people didn't. It's absolutely terrible what has happened there. My heart is very sad. I'm in touch with her brother by email daily. They will try and rebuild their lives. They had just retired a few years ago.

You are in our prayers.

Elsa

OMG the world really is a small place now isn't it. Thankfully I am far from the fire, but I can still smell the smoke. The stories that are coming out on TV are heart warming and others totally devastating. We can only imagine what these poor people are going through.

This has made me tear up again although I don't think I have any left.
Thank you all for your sentiments.
Don't know what else to say .......
Steve

What we can say steve is that despite everything ...the World is full of both beauty and beautiful people ...daves garden allows us to reach out to each other ... how beautiful and how comforting is that.
chrissy

So very well said Crissy, and glad to see you here too as well as so many of our other Aussie friends.

Dg folks have time, ears and shoulders big enough to help hold you up too.

Thanks Hel, it's good to hear that Coffs Harbour is ok.
Sammut, Thanks for letting us know you heard from Sue on Sunday. I haven't heard a peep since then.
I am beside myself with worry. Please be safe Sue!
Hugs to everyone.
Terri

Thanks once again guy's.
Terri, Sue lives in my area in NSW so she is safe.
This morning 183 poor souls are no longer with us, some of the stories on our news is heart breaking.
Well said Chrissy, hugs all around.
Bru, so sorry to hear of your relatives in Kinglake, they are still not allowing too many people into that area yet.
Today they are worried about the wind change, lets pray it doesn't happen.
$31 million donated so far but much more will be needed.
Thanks to all our mates out there.
Hel

So much distruction, but I just saw somethign that made me start cryign again.

They rescued a baby kowala (sp) bear. Was such a precious sight to see. A sign of hope.

It is all so sad I am weeping inside and out God Bless them all :(

Sending my prayers to all of you....not knowing the geography of your area....Is it any where near Melbourne? I have been friends with Laura (Wonder down under) for a lot of years....I hope everyone is safe. HUGS....Jo

Kinglake is 100 km. northeast of Melbourne. That's where some of the worse devastation is.

Thank you. Jo

You have our prayers with you! Good info about the Red Cross. And I thought it was scary when the reeds in our salt marsh went up a couple of summers ago, also arson. No one's home was hurt, however. How can people do that to their fellow human beings?
Let us know if there is anything else we can do!
Martha

Hello from a newbie. Sending good thoughts to anyone affected by the fires and by the floods.

Yes we must remember the flood areas too

I'm OK! Sorry for not being in touch. I forget you internationals don't know the where abouts of us all! Its so touching that you've been concerned.
I watched the news all day sunday and was just devastated by it all. We live in a similar position to those homes, but luckily not as dry a climate. It's a wake up call to all Australians in the bush!
My heart goes out to all affected by this tragedy.
Hugs
Sue

Thanks for checkign in Sue!!!!!!!!! We all may be worlds apart soem of us, but Dg keeps our hearts all conencted.

I smiled this morning. That poor scourced kowala (sp) they took her to a zoon and she found a mate . Hopefulyl a new generation wil begin and help remindus that we are a strong people at heart and cna and wil rebuild.

The strange thing you non australians might not know is that koalas don't drink water. So it just goes to show how dehydrated the poor thing was. They say more than one million animals also perished in the fires.

Do they get their fluids from the leaves they eat, tinio?

KaperC - Koalas get most of their fluids from the leaves they eat as well as licking dew or raindrops from the foliage.
But when they are very thirsty the will search out puddles or pools of water to drink from.
They have been known to drown in swimming pools...

They get most of their water from the eucalyptus leaves that they eat and only drink when they are sick or there is not enough moisture in the leaves. So to drink 3 bottle of water, you can only imagine how dehydated the poor thing was. The word koala is actually aboriginal for 'no drink'.

very interesting about the koala's.

I know besides people, the animlas are suffering for sure. Is there a specific link for sendign funds to help this diasater of the wildlife too?

http://www.rspcavic.org/campaigns_news/news_bushfires.htm

They arrested a man over one of the bushfires that killed 21 people. They are still searching for others involved.