DESKTOP 3272 - OTHERWORLD GATE

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 3265 - BIRDHOUSE

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 3231 - INVERNESS, SCOTLAND

Inverness (from the Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Nis [iɲɪɾʲˈniʃ], meaning “Mouth of the River Ness”) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Inverness lies near two important battle sites: The 11th-century battle of Blàr nam Fèinne against Norway which took place on The Aird and the 18th-century Battle of Culloden which took place on Culloden Moor.

It is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom and lies within the Great Glen (Gleann Mòr) at its north-eastern extremity where the River Ness enters the Moray Firth. At the latest, a settlement was established by the 6th century with the first royal charter being granted by Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim (King David I) in the 12th century. The Gaelic king Mac Bethad Mac Findláich (MacBeth) whose 11th-century killing of King Duncan was immortalised in Shakespeare’s largely fictionalised play “Macbeth”, held a castle within the city where he ruled as Mormaer of Moray and Ross.

The population of Inverness grew from 40,949 in 2001 to 46,870 in 2012. The Greater Inverness area, including Culloden and Westhill, had a population of 59,910 in 2012.  Inverness is one of Europe’s fastest growing cities, with a quarter of the Highland population living in or around it, and is ranked fifth out of 189 British cities for its quality of life, the highest of any Scottish city. In the recent past, Inverness has experienced rapid economic growth: Between 1998 and 2008, Inverness and the rest of the central Highlands showed the largest growth of average economic productivity per person in Scotland and the second greatest growth in the United Kingdom as a whole, with an increase of 86%.

Inverness is twinned with one German city, Augsburg, and two French towns, La Baule and Saint-Valery-en-Caux. Inverness College is the main campus for the University of the Highlands and Islands. With around 8,500 students, Inverness College hosts around a quarter of all the University of the Highlands and Islands’ students, and 30% of those studying to degree level. In 2014, a survey by a property website described Inverness as the happiest place in Scotland and the second happiest in the UK. Inverness was again found to be the happiest place in Scotland by a new study conducted in 2015.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

DESKTOP 3217 - VITERBO, ITALY

Viterbo is an ancient city and comune in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento  in its early history. It is approximately 80 kilometres north of Rome on the Via Cassia, and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and Monti Volsini.

The historic centre of the city is surrounded by medieval walls, still intact, built during the 11th and 12th centuries. Entrance to the walled centre of the city is through ancient gates. Apart from agriculture, the main resources of Viterbo's area are pottery, marble, and wood.

The town is home to the Italian gold reserves, an important Academy of Fine Arts, the University of Tuscia, and the Italian Army's Aviation Command headquarters and training centre. It is located in a wide thermal area, attracting many tourists from the whole of central Italy.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

DESKTOP 3166 - VICTORIANA

Many a Melbourne house in the inner city is original Victorian, complete with ironwork lace balconies and sculptural architectural decorations.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DESKTOP 3165 - SHY DOG

He's very outgoing once he gets to know you!

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

DESKTOP 3120 - BARK

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 3090 - BARK

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 3085 - NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas. It is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area which includes most parts of the local government areas of City of Newcastle, City of Lake Macquarie, City of Cessnock, City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council.

At 162 kilometres NNE of Sydney, at the mouth of the Hunter River, Newcastle is the predominant city within the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal, Newcastle is the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, exporting over 97 megatons of coal in 2009–10 with expansion of annual capacity to 180 megatons in 2013. Newcastle exported 160 megatonnes of coal in 2017. Beyond the city, the Hunter Region possesses large coal deposits. Geologically, the area is located in the central-eastern part of the Sydney basin.

Newcastle is on the southern bank of the Hunter River mouth. The northern side is dominated by sand dunes, swamps and multiple river channels. A 'green belt' protecting plant and wildlife flanks the city from the west (Watagan mountains) around to the north where it meets the coast just north of Stockton. Urban development is mainly restricted to the hilly southern bank.

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 3072 - TREES

Question 1: "When is the best time to plant a tree?"
Answer 1: "Twenty years ago."
Question 2 "The second-best time?"
Answer 2: "Today..." 

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 3064 - CHRISTMAS IN MELBOURNE

And with it the Omicron COVID variant, which is causing a great upset to many people's Festive Season plans. Many countries have nosedived back into lockdowns, others have introduced new restrictions and a great many more have reintroduced travels bans. Still, Christmas will be celebrated and people will survive and become stronger. Just take care and do your utmost to protect yourself and others around you!

Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings, Happy Holidays!

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 3053 - AFTERNOON

This was a fine afternoon and a beautiful place to enjoy it in. By the banks of the Werribee River in Melbourne's West.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

 

DESKTOP 3048 - ONIONS

French onion soup anyone?

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 3026 - SEA DOG

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

DESKTOP 2972 - CHANGE

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 2932 - DEADWOOD

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 2930 - SPRINGING

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

DESKTOP 2897 - CUT

Cut a tree down, plant another two to replace it...

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 2876 - CALLERY PEAR

Pyrus calleryana, or the Callery pear, is a species of pear tree native to China and Vietnam, in the family Rosaceae. It is most commonly known for its cultivar 'Bradford', widely planted throughout the United States and increasingly regarded as an invasive species.

 

Pyrus calleryana is deciduous, growing to 5 to 8 m tall, often with a conical to rounded crown. The leaves are oval, 4 to 8 cm long, glossy dark green above, on long pedicels that make them flash their slightly paler undersides in a breeze. The white, five-petaled flowers are about 2 to 2.5 cm in diameter. They are produced abundantly in early spring, before the leaves expand fully. Many people find the odour of the flowers objectionable, finding it a little fishy...

 

The inedible fruits of the Callery pear are small (less than one cm in diameter), and hard, almost woody, until softened by frost, after which they are readily taken by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings.

 

In summer, the shining foliage is dark green and very smooth, and in autumn the leaves commonly turn brilliant colours, ranging from yellow and orange to more commonly red, pink, purple, and bronze. However, since the colour often develops very late in autumn, the leaves may be killed by a hard frost before full colour can develop.

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 2875 - GALAXIDI, GREECE

Galaxidi or Galaxeidi (Greek: Γαλαξίδι/Γαλαξείδι), is a town and a former municipality in the southern part of Phocis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 126.088 km2. Galaxidi has a small harbour on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth. It is 7 km southwest of Itea, 15 km southwest of Delphi, 17 km south of Amfissa and 48 km east of Naupactus. The Greek National Road 48 connects Galaxidi with Naupactus, Itea and Delphi. Galaxidi is a 2.5 to 3 hour drive from the capital Athens and a relatively popular weekend retreat.

 

Modern Galaxidi is built on the site of ancient Haleion, a city of western Locris. Traces of habitation are discernible since prehistoric times with a peak in the Early Helladic Period (Anemokambi, Pelekaris, Kefalari, islet of Apsifia). A significant Mycenaean settlement has been located at Villa; the hill of St. Athanasios also revealed a fortified Geometric settlement (ca. 700 BC). In the Archaic and Classical periods (7th-4th centuries BC) was developed the administrative and religious centre at the modern site of Agios Vlasis. It seems that in ca. 300 BC the present site was settled and surrounded by a fortification wall; it is the period of the expansion of power of the Aetolian League. Haleion flourished throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods until the 2nd century AD. 

 

Galaxidi's small port is situated on a natural double harbour surrounded by mountains. The deeper main harbour provides docking facilities for yachts and small fishing boats and is lined with restaurants, bars, and stores. The smaller harbour is Chirolaka. On the rocky shoreline by the side of the larger harbour, is a pine forest planted by school children in the early twentieth century. There is a road behind the town that leads up the mountain to the Monastery of the Metamorphosis (actually a convent that was inhabited by one nun as of 2010). This provides a splendid view of the town and its surroundings. No traces remain of the town's medieval castle. The Church of Saint John of Jerusalem, built by the Hospitallers in 1404, survived until after World War I, when it was replaced by a modern church dedicated to Saint Nicholas.

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.