DESKTOP 1584 - SOCIETY GARLIC

Tulbaghia violacea, also known as society garlic or pink agapanthus, is a species of flowering plant in the onion family Alliaceae, indigenous to southern Africa (KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Province), and reportedly naturalised in Tanzania and Mexico.

Growing to 60 cm tall by 25 cm wide, it is a clump-forming perennial with narrow leaves and large clusters of fragrant, lilac flowers from midsummer to autumn. When grown as an ornamental, this plant requires some protection from winter frosts. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1583 - ULURU

Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock and officially gazetted as Uluru / Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory in central Australia. It lies 335 km south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs, 450 km by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Uluru is sacred to the Anangu, the Aboriginal people of the area. The area around the formation is home to an abundance of springs, waterholes, rock caves, and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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.

DESKTOP 1582 - TVER, RUSSIA

Tver (Russian: Тверь) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,606 (2010 Census). Located 180 kilometres northwest of Moscow, Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian Empire, with a population of 60,000 on January 14, 1913.

It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa Rivers. The city was known as Kalinin (Кали́нин) from 1931 to 1990. The city is situated at the conflux of three rivers, splitting the town into northern and southern parts by the Volga River, and then divided up again into quarters by the Tvertsa River, which splits the left (northern) bank into east and west halves, and the Tmaka River which does the same along the southern bank.

This post 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 1581 - SPRING SKIES

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

DESKTOP 1580 - FLYING

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

DESKTOP 1579 - CHICK

A dusky moorhen chick at home in its pond...

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the I'd Rather Be Birdin' meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

DESKTOP 1578 - BARE-BRANCHED

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

DESKTOP 1577 - HYDRANGEA

Hydrangea macrophylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to Japan. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2 m tall by 2.5 m broad with large heads of pink or blue flowers in summer and autumn. Common names include bigleaf hydrangea, French hydrangea, lacecap hydrangea, mophead hydrangea, penny mac and hortensia.

It is widely cultivated in many parts of the world in many climates. H. macrophylla blooms can be blue, red, pink, light purple, or dark purple. The colour is affected by soil pH. An acidic soil (pH below 7) will usually produce flower colour closer to blue, whereas an alkaline soil (pH above 7) will produce flowers more pink. This is caused by a colour change of the flower pigments in the presence of aluminium ions which can be taken up into hyperaccumulating plants. There are many proprietary 'bluing' chemicals that can be added to the soil around the plants to make the flowers blue.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1576 - TRACK

'Tis tough for one to trek a twisting track through thickets thorny.
Takes two to travel tirelessly and thrillingly and make for a trip well-travelled...

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.

DESKTOP 1575 - 12 APOSTLES, AUSTRALIA

The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage listed 243-kilometre stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I. It is an important tourist attraction in the region, which winds through varying terrain alongside the coast, and provides access to several prominent landmarks; including the nationally significant Twelve Apostles rock formations.

The Twelve Apostles is a collection of miocene limestone rock stacks jutting from the water in Port Campbell National Park, between Princetown and Peterborough on the Great Ocean Road. The apostles were formed by erosion: The harsh weather conditions from the Southern Ocean gradually eroded the soft limestone to form caves in the cliffs, which then became arches, which in turn collapsed; leaving rock stacks up to 45 metres high. The site was known as the Sow and Piglets until 1922 (Muttonbird Island, near Loch Ard Gorge, was the Sow, and the smaller rock stacks the Piglets); after which it was renamed to The Apostles for tourism purposes. The formation eventually became known as the Twelve Apostles, despite only ever having nine stacks.

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 1574 - THANKSGIVING

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

DESKTOP 1573 - UP ON A PLANE

Flying home after a trip interstate, I enjoyed this play of sun and shadow on the farms to the North of Melbourne. The evening light with its golden tones is especially beautiful when seen from the height of a plane...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

DESKTOP 1572 - MOTHERHOOD

A dusky moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa) feeding her chick.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the I'd Rather Be Birdin' meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

DESKTOP 1571 - CANOPY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,

and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

DESKTOP 1570 - ROSE BOUQUET

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme.

DESKTOP 1569 - SANDRINGHAM, AUSTRALIA

Sandringham is a beachside suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located 16 km southeast of Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the City of Bayside and its federal division is the Division of Goldstein. At the 2011 Census, Sandringham had a population of 9,309.

Sandringham Beach is a straight, 2.5 km long beach that faces the south-west. The southern half is backed by steep bluffs, which rise to 30 m at Red Bluff. This section has been eroding and is often narrow. Some seawalls and a groyne have been constructed to manage both the beach and bluff erosion.

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

DESKTOP 1568 - HELSINKI SUNSET

Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki has a population of 642,045, an urban population of 1,231,595, and a metropolitan population of over 1.4 million, making it the most populous municipality and urban area in Finland. Helsinki is some 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 390 km (240 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities.

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 1567 - MOSAIC

Today's mosaic is inspired by and (based on, literally) a real mosaic by artist Carol Hill who lives south of Adelaide, in South Australia. This is her website here, please visit and admire her fine mosaic work. The mosaic by Carol is in the lower part of the image, and on top of that I added my selected photos that seemed to me to harmonise with the themes of the three panels.

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

DESKTOP 1566 - DUCK

The Pacific black duck (Anas superciliosa) is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the north and French Polynesia in the east.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the I'd Rather Be Birdin' meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Best meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme.

DESKTOP 1565 - SUMMER GREEN

This post is part of the Weekend Green meme.

DESKTOP 1564 - SUNBURST

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

DESKTOP 1563 - FLORAL CARPET

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1562 - RAIN FOREST, AUSTRALIA

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

DESKTOP 1561 - COROMANDEL PENINSULA, NZ

The Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand extends 85 kilometres north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier to protect the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west from the Pacific Ocean to the east. It is 40 kilometres wide at its broadest point. Almost the entire population lies on the narrow coastal strips fronting the Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Plenty. In fine weather the peninsula is clearly visible from Auckland, the country's biggest city, which lies on the far shore of the Hauraki Gulf, 55 kilometres to the west. The peninsula is part of the local government areas of Thames-Coromandel District and the Waikato Region.

 

This post 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 1560 - QUILT

This post is part of the Mosaic 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 1559 - MAGIC CARPET RIDE

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

DESKTOP 1558 - POND

Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa) in a suburban Melbourne pond.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme,
and also part of the I'd Rather Be Birdin' meme.

DESKTOP 1557 - MOONRISE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

DESKTOP 1556 - VERONICA

Veronica peduncularis (creeping speedwell) is a plant in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. The ‘Georgia Blue’ Speedwell (USDA Zone: 4-9) was introduced a few years ago from Russia. This creeping speedwell has proven to be an outstanding selection for a bright display in the Spring garden.

Plants form a low creeping mat of deep green leaves, evergreen but turning bronze in the colder months. Small sapphire-blue flowers are studded all over during the spring, and sometimes again in late summer. Perfect for underplanting with spring flowering bulbs of all kinds, particularly miniature Narcissus. Plants may be easily divided in early Autumn. Clip back hard immediately after flowering, to maintain a tight, thick habit.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1555 - QUACK

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