DESKTOP 1005 - AUTUMN SILHOUETTE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

DESKTOP 1004 - STOCK LEAVES

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 1003 - CALENDULA

As Autumn progresses, the rose bushes die, but the calendula persists in its bright yellow blooming.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1002 - POMEGRANATE

Punica granatum

This post is part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footstep Creative Playroom meme.

DESKTOP 1001 - FLAMENCO IN SEVILLE

Flamenco is an artform native to the Spanish regions of Andalusia, Extremadura and Murcia. It includes cante (singing), toque (guitar playing), baile (dance) and jaleo (vocalisations) and palmas (handclapping) and pitos (finger snapping). First mentioned in literature in 1774, the genre originates in Andalusian music and dance styles.

Flamenco is strongly associated with the gitanos (Romani people of Spain) - however, unlike Romani music of eastern Europe, the style is distinctively Andalusian and the fusion of the various cultures of southern Spain is clearly perceptible in Flamenco music. Although there are many theories on its influences and origins, the most widespread highlights a Morisco heritage, the cultural melting pot that was Andalusia at the time (Andalusians, Moors, Castilian settlers, Romanis and Jews) fostering its development over time.

Flamenco music, as a theatrical representation of Andalusian musical tradition, was first recorded in the late 18th century but the genre underwent a dramatic development in the late 19th century.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 1000 - AUTUMNAL

It is 1,000 days that this blog has been running and this is the 1,000th post. Thank you for your visits and your kind comments. I hope to continue posting for some time yet and continue bringing you a new Daily Desktop.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 999 - FERN GULLY

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Saturday Show Off meme.

DESKTOP 998 - AEROPLANE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

DESKTOP 997 - EMERALD

Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) coloured green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the Mohs scale. Most emeralds are highly included, so their toughness (resistance to breakage) is classified as generally poor. It is a cyclosilicate.

The word "emerald" is derived (via Old French: esmeraude and Middle English: emeraude), from Vulgar Latin: esmaralda/esmaraldus, a variant of Latin smaragdus, which originated in Greek: σμάραγδος (smaragdos; "green gem").

Emerald is regarded as the traditional birthstone for May as well as the traditional gemstone for the astrological signs of Taurus, Gemini, and sometimes Cancer.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 996 - WATTLE

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 995 - OAMARU, NEW ZEALAND

Oamaru (Māori: Te Oha-a-Maru), the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connect it to both. With a population of 13,750, Oamaru is the 27th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the second largest in Otago behind Dunedin. The name Oamaru derives from Māori words meaning the place of Maru (compare with Timaru). The identity of Maru remains open to conjecture.

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also 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,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

DESKTOP 994 - KAKADU NATIONAL PARK

Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km southeast of Darwin.The park is located within the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory. It covers an area of 19,804 km2, extending nearly 200 kilometers from north to south and over 100 kilometers from east to west. It is the size of Slovenia, about one-third the size of Tasmania, or nearly half the size of Switzerland. The Ranger Uranium Mine, one of the most productive uranium mines in the world, is surrounded by the park.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,
 and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 993 - UP IN THE AIR

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 992 - AUTUMN COLOURS

This post is part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

DESKTOP 991 - AT THE PARK

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

DESKTOP 990 - GUM LEAVES

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 989 - LION'S TAIL

Leonotis leonurus, also known as lion's tail and wild dagga, is a plant species in the Lamiaceae (mint) family. The plant is a broadleaf evergreen large shrub native to South Africa and southern Africa, where it is very common. It is known for its medicinal and mild psychoactive properties. The main psychoactive component of Leonotis leonurus is leonurine. The name 'wild dagga' links it closely to cannabis as 'dagga' derived from the Khoikhoi 'dachab' is an indigenous South African name for cannabis species.

The shrub grows 1 to 2 m tall by 0.46 to 1.07 m wide. The medium-dark green 5–10 cm long leaves are aromatic when crushed. The plant has tubular orange flowers in tiered whorls, typical to the mint family, that encircle the square stems. They rise above the foliage mass during the summer season, with flowering continuing into winter in warmer climates.

Leonotis leonurus is cultivated as an ornamental plant for its copious orange blossom spikes and accent or screening qualities for use in gardens and parks. It is a moderate drought tolerant plant, and a nectar source for birds and butterflies in landscape settings. Lion's tail can especially be found in other subtropical and Mediterranean climate regions beyond South Africa such as California, Hawaii, and Australia where it has naturalised in areas. In cooler climates it is used as an annual and winter conservatory plant.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,

and also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme.

DESKTOP 988 - MELBOURNE, NIGHT

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also 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.

DESKTOP 987 - THE RIVER NILE

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is 6,853 km long. The Nile is an "international" river as its water resources are shared by eleven countries, namely, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt. In particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt and Sudan.

The Nile has two major tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile. The White Nile is considered to be the headwaters and primary stream of the Nile itself. The Blue Nile, however, is the source of most of the water and silt. The White Nile is longer and rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa, with the most distant source still undetermined but located in either Rwanda or Burundi. It flows north through Tanzania, Lake Victoria, Uganda and South Sudan.

The Blue Nile begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and flows into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet near the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. The northern section of the river flows north almost entirely through the Sudanese desert to Egypt, then ends in a large delta and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Egyptian civilisation and Sudanese kingdoms have depended on the river since ancient times. Most of the population and cities of Egypt lie along those parts of the Nile valley north of Aswan, and nearly all the cultural and historical sites of Ancient Egypt are found along riverbanks.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 986 - TREE TRUNK 2

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 985 - TREE TRUNK

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

DESKTOP 984 - SUNSET VISTA

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme.

DESKTOP 983 - BLACK NIGHTSHADE

European black nightshade (Solanum nigrum, or locally just black nightshade, duscle, garden nightshade, garden huckleberry, hound's berry, petty morel, wonder berry, small-fruited black nightshade, or popolo) is a species in the Solanum genus, native to Eurasia and introduced in the Americas, Australasia, and South Africa. Parts of this plant can be toxic to livestock and humans, and it is considered a weed. Nonetheless, ripe berries and cooked leaves of edible strains are used as food in some locales, and plant parts are used as a traditional medicine.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 982 - WAHLENBERGIA

Wahlenbergia is a genus of between 150–270 species of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution except for North America; the highest species diversity is in Africa and Australasia. Wahlenbergia species have dispersed widely, even to oceanic islands, and there are four species known from the island of Saint Helena, including the now extinct species W. roxburghii. The genus was named after Göran Wahlenberg (a Swedish botanist who taught at Uppsala University) by German botanist H. A. Schrader (Heinrich Schrader), in 1814.

This post is part of the Nature Footstep Digital Art Meme,
and also part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 981 - MORNINGTON

Mornington is a sea side town on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, located 57 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. It is in the Local Government Area of the Shire of Mornington Peninsula. Mornington is known for its "village" atmosphere and its beautiful beaches. Mornington is a popular tourist destination with Melburnians who often make day trips to visit the area's bay beaches and wineries.

The Post Office opened on 21 May 1856 as Schnapper Point and was renamed Mornington in 1864. The town centre runs into the foreshore area and local beach, which features a yacht club, restaurant and park with playground facilities. Mornington is an attractive destination for shopping and features some excellent restaurants and cafes. The north of Mornington is also home to several horse breeders and stables.

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also 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.

DESKTOP 980 - LANGADIA, GREECE

Langadia (Greek: Λαγκάδια) is a mountain village and a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Gortynia, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municipality was the village Langadia.

The village Langadia is situated on a mountain slope, at about 1000 m elevation. It is 5 km east of Lefkochori, 10 km north of Dimitsana and 36 km northwest of Tripoli. The Greek National Road 74 (Pyrgos - Olympia - Tripoli) passes through the village. The village has a school, a church, a post office, and a square. It is known for its local weaving mill.

Langadia used to be famous in Greece mainly because of its builders (called pelekanoi), that made stone-built houses all over the Peloponnese peninsula, and especially in Mani. Kanellos Deligiannis, one of the many heroes of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks in 1821, was born here.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 979 - IPOMOEA

Ipomoea is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 500 species. It is a large and diverse group with common names including morning glory, sweet potato, bindweed, moonflower, etc. The most widespread common name is morning glories, but there are also species in related genera bearing the same common name.

This post is part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 978 - HOPS

This post is part of the I Heart Macros meme,
and also part of the Saturday Show Off meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme.

DESKTOP 977 - BIRDS & MOON

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

DESKTOP 976 - GRAPES

"The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do." - Galileo Galilei

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.