Victoria weeps as the state burns....

I doubt there would be anyone in Victoria not touched by the death and destruction of these fires in one way or another... I have friends and family near a number of the fire locations... all safe to date... I'm thinking of you - please stay safe...

the death count is 108 and rising... many people missing... who knows how many loved pets dead or missing... countless 'farm' animals dead or injured (they're not commodities or chattels to me but sentient creatures - I don't eat or wear them but enjoy their beauty and uniqueness)... native wildlife and habitat decimated... thousands and thousands of hectares burnt... hundreds of houses lost... the destruction goes on and on... whole towns pretty much wiped out... you can view some of the devastation via the ABC website here... I have to say here the emergency services are doing an amazing job - it must be heart-wrenching... but they keep on going...

having lived in the country for a number of years - Metcalfe, Tallarook, Snake Valley - and seen the havoc that bushfires can wreak, I empathise and sympathise with the communities trying to come to terms with what's happened/happening - my heart goes out to them all... and I weep for the animals...

is this the future of our nation? record heat... record low water supplies... tinder-dry countryside... all possibly able to be dealt with, and come to terms with, if only there were no arsonists and pyromaniacs thrown into the mix... are they murderers??? I'm sure that's a debate that will be had when the immediate danger is over... and of course then there's the thoughtless idiots who throw cigarette butts out the windows of cars - are they also guilty of murder??? or at the very least manslaughter??? so many questions to be asked - so much anger to be dealt with... so much pain and suffering... and a lot of soul-searching for the nation...