DESKTOP 3043 - CAPE COD, USA

Cape Cod is a geographic cape extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. As defined by the Cape Cod Commission's enabling legislation, Cape Cod is conterminous with Barnstable County, Massachusetts. It extends from Provincetown in the northeast to Woods Hole in the southwest, and is bordered by Plymouth to the northwest.

 

Since 1914, Cape Cod has been separated from the mainland by the Cape Cod Canal. The canal cuts 28.2 km roughly across the base of the peninsula, though small portions of the Cape Cod towns of Bourne and Sandwich lie on the mainland side of the canal. Two highway bridges cross the Cape Cod Canal: The Sagamore Bridge and the Bourne Bridge. In addition, the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge carries railway freight and limited passenger services onto the Cape. Cape territory is divided into 15 towns with many villages.

 

Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of just under 3,000, Provincetown has a summer population of as high as 60,000. Often called "P-town" or "P'town", the town is known for its beaches, harbour, artists, tourist industry, and its status as a vacation destination for the LGBTQ community.

 

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 3042 - COLOURBURST

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3041 - SKYSCAPE

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 3040 - KINGFISHER

Kingfishers are to be found all over Australia, but ­predominantly in coastal regions. We have 10 native species, including the kookaburra, which is the largest. Kingfishers nest in tree hollows, in burrows in riverbanks and in termite nests. They feed on small animals, including fish, frogs, yabbies, snakes, insects and nestlings of other birds. 

 

Covered in brilliant green, blue, turquoise and orange plumage, some kingfishers were once in danger of being hunted to extinction for their feathers. Despite their elaborate appearance, these stocky birds are tough, and hunt by darting upon prey in a flash of colour from branches above the river or forest floor. The kingfisher’s heavy beak is the perfect tool for killing victims quickly – they smack their hapless prey against tree branches before swallowing it whole.

 

The Azure Kingfisher (Ceyx [Alcedo] azurea) length, 17–19cm; wingspan, 25–29cm makes its home along the banks of coastal and inland rivers, swamps and mangroves. During breeding season, it lines its nest with fish bones and scales. Found along much of our northern and eastern seaboards, as well as Tasmania, this species hunts for small mammals, reptiles, fish and frogs. This one was seen in the Darebin Parklands in suburban Melbourne. They are shy birds, usually keeping out of sight and easily disturbed if encountered, flying off rapidly.

 

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

DESKTOP 3039 - ROOSTING TIME

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3038 - CARNATION

Dianthus caryophyllus, the carnation or clove pink, is a species of Dianthus in the Caryophyllaceae family. It is probably native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall. The leaves are glaucous greyish green to blue-green, slender, up to 15 cm long. The flowers are produced singly or up to five together in a cyme; they are 3–5 cm diameter, and sweetly scented; the original natural flower colour is bright pinkish-purple, but cultivars of other colours, including red, white, yellow and green, have been developed. Some fragrance-less carnation cultivars are often used as boutonnieres for men.

 

Dianthus 'Memories'  shown here is a modern version of the old-time favourite carnation variety 'Mrs Sinkins' introduced in 1863. It is an evergreen perennial with masses of highly scented, pure white flowers. Blooming in late Spring through Summer (with regular deadheading), the frilled blossoms rise on short, stout stems. Easy to grow, these carnations are perfect for a rock garden, a border or in containers. This hybrid belongs to the ScentFirst® series of carnations from Whetman Pinks.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 3037 - SAMARA

A samara (/səˈmɑːrə/, UK also: /ˈsæmər-/) is a winged achene, a type of fruit in which a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue develops from the ovary wall. A samara is a simple dry fruit and indehiscent (not opening along a seam). The shape of a samara enables the wind to carry the seed farther away than regular seeds from the parent tree, and is thus a form of anemochory. In some cases the seed is in the centre of the wing, as in the elms (genus Ulmus), the hoptree (Ptelea trifoliata), and the bushwillows (genus Combretum). In other cases the seed is on one side, with the wing extending to the other side, making the seed autorotate as it falls, as in the maples (genus Acer) and ash trees (genus Fraxinus). 

 

A samara is sometimes called a key and is often referred to as a wingnut, helicopter or whirlybird, whirligig, polynose, or, in the north of England, a spinning jenny. During the autumn months, they are a popular source of amusement for children who enjoy tossing them in the air and watching them spin to the ground. Some species that normally produce paired samaras, such as Acer pseudoplatanus, also produce them in groups of 3 or 4.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 3036 - SYDNEY

On a rainy night in Sydney!

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday,
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 3035 - TIME TRAVEL

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3034 - RED DOOR

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 3033 - LUNCH

A hungry fox, a careless duck, a lunch date.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

DESKTOP 3032 - TWILIGHT

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3031 - ISOTOME

Isotoma axillaris, commonly known as rock isotome or showy isotome, is a small herbaceous perennial in the family Campanulaceae. It usually has blue or mauve star-shaped flowers from September to May. It may also be called blue star, star flower, or laurentia.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

PARK

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 3029 - ELOUNDA, GREECE

Elounda (Greek: Ελούντα), is a small fishing town on the northern coast of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the municipality of Agios Nikolaos, until recently (2010) belonging to the prefecture of Lasithi and as of the passage of new legislation, the periphery of Crete. Elounda comprises seven villages and an uninhabited island area. The village of Schisma is by far the most populated one and is often understood as 'Elounda Centre'. The community of Elounda has a total of 2,193 inhabitants according to the 2011 census.

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

DESKTOP 3028 - BY THE POND

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3027 - SUNNY

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme
and also part of the Weekend in Black and White meme.

DESKTOP 3026 - SEA DOG

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

DESKTOP 3025 - EVENING WALK

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3024 - ORANGE ROSES

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

DESKTOP 3023 - PLANE TREES

A typical inner suburban street in Melbourne with majestic plane trees providing welcome shade and oxygen!

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 3022 - TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA

Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. It is in the dry tropics region of Queensland, adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2015 population estimate of 180,333. Considered the unofficial capital of North Queensland by locals, Townsville hosts a significant number of governmental, community and major business administrative offices for the northern half of the state.

 

Popular attractions include "The Strand", a long tropical beach and garden strip; Riverway, a riverfront parkland attraction located on the banks of Ross River; Reef HQ, a large tropical aquarium holding many of the Great Barrier Reef's native flora and fauna; the Museum of Tropical Queensland, built around a display of relics from the sunken British warship HMS Pandora; Castle Hill, the most prominent landmark of the area and a popular fitness destination; The Townsville Sports Reserve; and Magnetic Island, a large neighbouring island, the vast majority of which is national park. 

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

DESKTOP 3021 - COLOURED GRAY

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3020 - CITY

In Melbourne City, on Clarendon St, looking South.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 3019 - AQUARIUM

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

DESKTOP 3018 - AT THE PORT

Gantry cranes for shipping container loading and unloading at the Port of Melbourne. I was rather pleased this photo came out as I was stretching the zoom capability of my camera, these structures being about 3.5 km away.

 

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

DESKTOP 3017 - ROSES

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 3016 - OLD GARAGE

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme,

DESKTOP 3015 - MOSCOW, RUSSIA

Moscow (Russian: Москва́) is the capital and most populous city of Russia, with 12.5 million residents within the city limits and 17.1 million within the urban area. Moscow is one of Russia's three federal cities. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, and scientific centre of Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as the largest city entirely on the European continent. According to Forbes 2013, Moscow has been ranked as the ninth most expensive city in the world by Mercer and has one of the world's largest urban economies, being ranked as an alpha global city according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and is also one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world according to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index.

Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity and metropolis on Earth. It is home to the Ostankino Tower, the tallest free standing structure in Europe; the Federation Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Europe; and the Moscow International Business Centre. By its territorial expansion on July 1, 2012 southwest into the Moscow Oblast, the area of the capital more than doubled, going from 1,091 to 2,511 square kilometres, and it gained an additional population of 233,000 people.

Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia, making it Europe's most populated inland city. The city is well known for its architecture, particularly its historic buildings such as Saint Basil's Cathedral with its brightly coloured domes, from 1555–1561 on orders from Ivan the Terrible (see below). With over 40 percent of its territory covered by greenery, Moscow is one of the greenest capitals and major cities in Europe and the world, having the largest forest in an urban area within its borders—more than any other major city—even before its expansion in 2012.

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 3014 - FLOWERS

Spring is a flower-filled season, when almost all plants in the garden awaken to put on their finest colours and fill the air with fragrance.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.