Moods of the Mountain #59

Some more moodiness from my favourite bit of dolerite and basalt. The first shot is from just before sunset on 29 March.

Two days later, there was a subtle pink glow in the clear sky at sunrise, but the calm mild conditions meant that the authorities thought that it would be a good opportunity to do some controlled burns to reduce the risk of bushfires, and so by early evening there was a smoke haze shrouding the upper slopes.

In 1967 there were terrible fires in southern Tasmania, and the bush on Mt Wellington was all but completely burnt out. My recollection of the mountain from my youth is of its blue slopes, because the dolerite was exposed, but I keep being surprised that it appears so much more green at times these days. I confess to being slightly terrified and morose at the high likelihood that it will burn again.