FIRE'S BURNING.....

It's that time of year again...the burn off !

And this is the spectacular fire which precedes the harvesting of the cane crop.....

For anyone unfamiliar with cane country, seeing a cane fire for the first time is an amazing experience, accompanied by the great roar as the fire takes hold....and then it's gone

This is a controlled burn, ridding the cane of pests and trash before the big harvesters go in, and the real work starts. Not as hard as it once was, with men, blackened by the soot, hand cutting the entire crop with a sharp cane knife....back breaking work.

But for people living in the vicinity, the harvesting is a mixed blessing.....as the blackened trash, thrown into the air with the upward draft then wafts gently to earth....settling on lawns, gardens, pathways, on the roofs and the tops of tanks, and worst of all, on freshly washed clothes blowing gently in the breeze.

"Black Gold " they call it.......I could think of a few other words...

I wonder what the carbon emissions crew would have to say about this lot !!