Wednesday 27 August 2014

Monday 25 August 2014

DESKTOP 388 - ABUTILON

Abutilon is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. General common names include Indian mallow and velvetleaf. The genus name is an 18th-century New Latin word that came from the Arabic ’abū-ṭīlūn (أبو طيلون) the name given by Avicenna to this or a similar genus. The species illustrated is A. pictum.

This post is part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme.

Tuesday 19 August 2014

DESKTOP 382 - PELARGONIUM

Scented Leaved Pelargoniums are shrubby, evergreen, perennials grown chiefly for their fragrance, and they may be species or cultivars, but all must have a clear and distinct scented foliage. Scent is emitted when the leaves are touched or bruised with some scents aromatic, others pungent and in a few cases, quite unpleasant. Several of the scented leaved pelargoniums are grown for the oil ‘geraniol’, which is extracted from the leaves and is an essential oil much used commercially in perfumery.
 

The scent of some species growing in their natural habitat, acts as a deterrent to grazing animals who appear to dislike the emitted scent. Conversely, it also attracts other insect life to visit the bloom and pollinate the plant. The scented leaves can be used for potpourri and they also have a use as flavourings in cooking. Leaves are lobed, toothed, incised or variegated.

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

Friday 15 August 2014

DESKTOP 378 - MELBOURNE SKYLINE

This is a view of Melbourne across the Flinders St Station train tracks, looking towards the Southwest. The Art Centre Spire and the Eureka Tower skyscraper (297.3 m) can be seen, as well as the Federation Square "patchwork" buildings.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

Wednesday 13 August 2014

DESKTOP 376 - LAKE EĞIRDIR, TURKEY

Eğirdir (Turkish: Eğirdir Gölü, formerly Eğridir) is the name of a lake and of the town situated on the shore of that lake in Turkey. The lake lies in the Turkish Lakes Region and is 186 kilometers north of Antalya. With an area of 482 square kilometres it is the fourth largest (second largest freshwater) lake in Turkey.

The town and the lake were formerly called Eğridir, a Turkish pronunciation of the town's old Greek name Akrotiri (= "cape"). Unfortunately, Eğridir means "it is crooked" in Turkish. Therefore, to remove the negative connotations of the name, in the 1980s the “i” and the “r” were transposed in a new official name, thus creating Eğirdir, a name that evokes spinning and flowers, although many people in Turkey still call both the town and the lake by its former name.

Lake Eğirdir has two islands, connected to the mainland by a long causeway into the town of Eğirdir: Can Ada (meaning "Life Island") the smaller of the two islands. Yeşil Ada ("Green Island," formerly known as Nis) - until 1923, was home to a Greek community living in stone and timber houses.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

Friday 8 August 2014

DESKTOP 371 - ATTIC SKY

The Academy of Athens was erected in the late 19th century at the expense of Simon Sinas on the basis of designs by Theophilus von Hansen; construction was supervised by Ernst Ziller. On plan the building is symmetrically organised and consists of three wings interconnected by two smaller lateral sections. The main wing houses the assembly chamber. It rests on a foundation of Piraeus stone that corresponds to the lower floor. The main floor is constructed entirely of marble.
 

The central wing is in the form of an Ionic temple with a colonnaded portico at each end, in visible imitation of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis. The side wings are lower in height and their façades are treated with pillars and an entablature. Two oversized Ionian columns flank the entrance portico, bearing statues of Athena, goddess of wisdom, and Apollo, god of light, that were sculpted by Leonidas Drosis. The main group on the Academy’s pediment, depicting the birth of Athena, is also his work. The smaller pediments on the side wings, made of terracotta, are the work of Fr. Melnitzky (1875).

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

Monday 4 August 2014

DESKTOP 367 - CALENDULA

In the midst of Melbourne's cold winter, it's a great consolation to see the calendulas brightening up the garden!

This post is part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Inspiring Photography meme.

Sunday 3 August 2014

DESKTOP 366 - POLYANTHUS

Happy First Year Anniversary for the 'My Desktop Daily' blog!

Here are some pink polyanthus to get everyone in the Southern Hemisphere in a Spring mood.
 

This post is part of the Pink Saturday meme,
and also part of the I Heart Macros meme.