Pine plains on 539 after the fire

[autumn_mist]

Unfortauntely, the pines need fire to reproduce. It is there way of surviving, which is why every few years you get a fire somewhere (not always as big as this one). The area was so dry that you're right, something would have caused it soon enough anyway.

 

[autumn_mist]

Autumn Mist's photos are awesome. Thanks for the directory point.

And thanks for the compliments on the few I've posted. Seriously, most of what I've done at ground zero is kiss my lens to pine cones. As a result, I've been hogging up the recent photo section on the gallery page. For that, I apologize. Seems I clicked the shutter a thousand times the hour and a half spent browsing the plains. Golly, I must have photographed every pitch-pine cone in a two-acre stretch of plains -- thank God for digital cameras and huge-in-memory-space CF cards.


While there, I kept thinking to myself, "even after the disaster, there is so much life here." Birds were as active as ever. I heard pine barren tree frogs calling from the distance.
It's a vibrant miracle, how the diminutive cones react to fire.

http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showfull.php?photo=5495

As the sky darkened, I finally saw a single sprout of green emerging from the ground...

And the sun setting through the charred trees? That wasn't so bad, either.

http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showfull.php?photo=5496

Nice place.

Bill

I would say thank you, but you should really thank the firefighters that were there. I love your photos!

 

[whippoorbill]

I would say thank you, but you should really thank the firefighters that were there.

I hear you there. Does anybody know how many firemen were involved in the fight to douse the blaze?

I also wonder how much wildlife was exterminated as a result of the fire. During my one-and-only walk (so far) around the damaged area, I saw one snake that didn't make it. This poor fellow (which has been identified from this photo as probably being a pine snake http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showfull.php?photo=5497 ) was very close to the southern fringe of the burn territory; he didn't have much further to go to reach safe ground. Ouch, really.

On the other hand, my son was looking at one of the pine-cone photos I posted above (here it is again: http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showfull.php?photo=5495 ) and his keen eye picked out a speckle of life in the center of the left cone. See her?

Anyway, I'm betting the green is starting to poke through pretty good in the fire areas now, too. Guess it's time to go back and see ...

 

[Teegate]

and his keen eye picked out a speckle of life in the center of the left cone. See her?

Jessica noticed the ladybug


Guy