DESKTOP 1765 - CHRYSANTHEMUMS

The last chrysanthemums of the season are blooming in Melbourne. Winter is arriving...

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1764 - UNLEY PARK

Unley Park is a southern suburb of Adelaide in the City of Unley. Its postcode is 5061. It is located on the north side of Cross Road and east of the Belair railway line. Access via public transport is from the Unley Park railway station and the Unley Road "Go Zone". It features Victoria Avenue—Adelaide's wealthiest street, containing many large and luxurious houses built between the two World Wars. Here is one of the stately mansions on Victoria Avenue.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 1763 - OUTBACK

The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia; the term colloquially can refer to any land outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush". The skies tend to be blue and the soil red in these outback locations and the photo below shows a particularly lush part of "the bush" as relatively much vegetation can be seen.

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,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme.

DESKTOP 1762 - WINTER APPROACHING

The last days of Autumn bring cold, rain and grey skies. One may still find pockets colour and good cheer.

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.

DEASKTOP 1761 - SUMMER BUSHFIRE

In the heat of Summer, when the temperatures in the outback hit the red, and when even during the night the warmth in the air will not abate, it's then the danger of bushfires is very high. Bushfires in Australia are a very common occurrence and especially so during the hot/dry months. Large tracts of bush will burn, often with dire consequences in terms of lost flora and fauna, and sometimes even loss of life and property for the bush dwellers.

One consolation is that the Australian flora has adapted and most plants and trees will regenerate after a bushfire. In fact, some native species of plants produce seeds that will only germinate after they have experienced the intense heat of a bushfire.

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 1760 - BUTTERFLY

Vanessa kershawi, commonly known as the Australian Painted Lady, is a butterfly that is mostly confined to Australia, although westerly winds have dispersed it to islands east of Australia, including New Zealand. There is debate surrounding the taxonomy of this species. Some believe that the Australian Painted Lady should be a subspecies to the Painted Lady due to the similarity in lifestyle and behaviour. Furthermore, the Painted Lady is found around the globe but Australia is the only location in which it varies enough to be considered a separate species. However, due to the distinct genitalia of the males, and variation in coloration, many others consider the Australian Painted Lady to be a separate species. 

During spring, adult butterflies migrate south in large numbers from northern states of Queensland and New South Wales. In order to find mates, male Australian Painted Ladies exhibit territorial behaviour, which involves a male perching on vegetation in a sunny spot on a hilltop, waiting for females to fly by. Despite urbanisation and invasive plants altering its habitat, populations of Australian Painted Ladies have not been significantly impacted by these changes.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,

and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

DESKTOP 1759 - SUNSET FLIGHT

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

DESKTOP 1758 - CORREA

Correa reflexa, commonly known as common correa or native fuchsia, is a shrub in the Rutaceae family, which is endemic to Australia.

 
Plants are quite variable and a large number of varieties and local forms have been identified. Heights vary from prostrate to 1.5 metres high. Leaves are generally oval in shape and range from 10mm to 50mm long. Their surfaces often have visible oil glands and short hairs.cThe pendant, tubular flowers occur in groups of 1 to 3 and are up to 40 mm long with 4 flaring triangular tips. Colour is variable including pale green, red with yellow tips and other variations.

 

The species was first formally described in 1800 by botanist Jacques Labillardière in Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse based on the type from Adventure Bay in southern Tasmania. He gave it the name Mazeutoxeron reflexum. The species was transferred to the genus Correa in 1803 by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in Jardin de la Malmaison.

 

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1757 - TWILIGHT

Autumn evening on the banks of the Yarra River in Southbank, Melbourne.
This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 1756 - TROPICAL

Tropical North Queensland is the northern part of Queensland, Australia, an area from about the city of Mackay north to the tip of Cape York. The tropical region of Queensland covers 54% of the state's area some 934,600 square kilometres, and includes the whole area above the latitude 23.5 degrees south, taking in an area from Rockhampton north. 

However, what is generally accepted as Tropical "North" Queensland includes the cities of Mackay, Townsville and Cairns and the Australian islands of the Torres Strait. It also includes several world heritage listed areas, such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics. Within the tourism industry, the phrase is used to mean varying areas of the tropical region of the state, usually within Far North Queensland.

One thing everyone agrees on, however, is that northern Queensland has some of the most beautiful beaches and crystal clear seas in the world!

This post is part of the Blue Monday,

and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

DESKTOP 1755 - SUNSET

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

DESKTOP 1754 - TIME

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 1753 - COWS

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

DESKTOP 1752 - AUTUMN SUNSET

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

DESKTOP 1751 - STRAWFLOWER

Xerochrysum bracteatum, commonly known as the golden everlasting or strawflower, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Australia. Described by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in 1803, it was known as Helichrysum bracteatum for many years before being transferred to a new genus Xerochrysum in 1990.

It grows as a woody or herbaceous perennial or annual shrub up to a metre tall with green or grey leafy foliage. Golden yellow or white flower heads are produced from spring to autumn; their distinctive feature is the papery bracts that resemble petals. The species is widespread, growing in a variety of habitats across the country, from rainforest margins to deserts and subalpine areas. The golden everlasting serves as food for various larvae of lepidopterans (butterflies and moths), and adult butterflies, hoverflies, native bees, small beetles, and grasshoppers visit the flower heads.

The golden everlasting has proven very adaptable to cultivation. It was propagated and developed in Germany in the 1850s, and annual cultivars in a host of colour forms from white to bronze to purple flowers became available. Many of these are still sold in mixed seed packs. In Australia, many cultivars are perennial shrubs, which have become popular garden plants. Sturdier, long-stemmed forms are used commercially in the cut flower industry.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1750 - SUNRISE

"There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope." - Bernard Williams

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

DESKTOP 1749 - HOBART, TASMANIA

Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony, Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as a "Hobartian".

The city is located in the state's south-east on the estuary of the Derwent River. The skyline is dominated by Mount Wellington at 1,271 metres high. The city is the financial and administrative heart of Tasmania, also serving as the home port for both Australian and French Antarctic operations. Hobart was named Australia's 6th most sustainable city, by the Australian Conservation Foundation in 2010. For economic and social innovation, Hobart was the 11th placed in Australia in 2009, and listed as an innovation influencer city in the Innovation Cities Global Index scoring equal with Reykjavik, Katowice and Casablanca by 2thinknow.

Hobart supports a huge tourist industry. Visitors come to the city to explore its historic inner suburbs and nationally acclaimed restaurants and cafes, as well as its vibrant music and nightlife culture. Australia's first legal casino was the 17-storey Wrest Point Hotel Casino in Sandy Bay, opened in 1973. Tourists also come to visit the massive weekly market in Salamanca Place, as well as to use the city as a base from which to explore the rest of Tasmania.

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 1748 - MOTHER DUCK

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

DESKTOP 1747 - DANTE

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 1746 - NOISY MINER BIRD

The noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, and is endemic to eastern and south-eastern Australia. This miner is a grey bird, with a black head, orange-yellow beak and feet, a distinctive yellow patch behind the eye and white tips on the tail feathers. Males, females and juveniles are similar in appearance, though young birds are a brownish-grey. As the common name suggests, the noisy miner is a vocal species with a large range of songs, calls, scoldings and alarms, and almost constant vocalisations particularly from young birds.

Noisy miners are gregarious and territorial; they forage, bathe, roost, breed and defend territory communally, forming colonies that can contain several hundred birds. Each bird has an 'activity space' and birds with overlapping activity spaces form associations called 'coteries', the most stable units within the colony. The birds also form temporary flocks called 'coalitions' for specific activities such as mobbing a predator.

Foraging in the canopy of trees and on trunks and branches and on the ground, the noisy miner mainly eats nectar, fruit and insects. Most time is spent gleaning the foliage of eucalypts, and it can meet most of its nutritional needs from manna, honeydew and lerp gathered from the foliage. This bird was feeding on a beautiful yellow grevillea, which is currently in full bloom in Melbourne.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,

and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

DESKTOP 1745 - CITY SUNSET

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

DESKTOP 1744 - ROSES

As we enter the last month of Autumn here in Melbourne, our mild weather has ended abruptly as a cold stream of air from Antarctica precipitated upon us rain, hail, and even snow on mountain peaks. And yet in our gardens and in the florist shops roses still bloom giving us joy before Winter finally arrives not too far in the coming weeks.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1743 - REVERIE

Reflection and reverie while regarding the river's relaxed route...

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

DESKTOP 1742 - MELBOURNE

Melbourne City Centre (sometimes referred to as "Central City", and colloquially known as simply "The City") is an area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the area in which Melbourne was established in 1835, by founders John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, and its boundaries are defined by the Government of Victoria's Melbourne Planning Scheme. Today it comprises the two oldest areas of Melbourne; the Hoddle Grid and Queen Victoria Market, as well as sections of the redeveloped areas of Docklands and Southbank/Wharf. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne.

It is the core central activities district (CAD) of Melbourne's inner suburbs and the major central business district (CBD) of Greater Melbourne's metropolitan area, and is a major financial centre in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The Hoddle Grid in the City Centre is home to Melbourne's famed alleyways and arcades and is renowned for its distinct blend of contemporary and Victorian architecture as well as expansive parks and gardens which surround its edges. The City Centre is home to five of the six tallest buildings in Australia. In recent times, it has been placed alongside New York City and Berlin as one of the world's great street art meccas, and designated a "City of Literature" by UNESCO in its Creative Cities Network.

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 1741 - ALCHEMY

Rock to wood to leaf...

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 1740 - GREEN BOTTLE FLY

The common green bottle fly (Phaenicia sericata or Lucilia sericata) is a blow fly found in most areas of the world, and the most well-known of the numerous green bottle fly species. It is 10–14 mm long, slightly larger than a house fly, and has brilliant, metallic, blue-green or golden coloration with black markings. It has short, sparse black bristles (setae) and three cross-grooves on the thorax. The wings are clear with light brown veins, and the legs and antennae are black. The maggots (larvae) of the fly are used for maggot therapy of infected wounds.

Lucilia sericata is common all over the temperate and tropical regions of the planet, mainly the southern hemisphere, Africa and Australia. It prefers warm and moist climates and accordingly is especially common in coastal regions, but it also is present in arid areas. The female lays her eggs in meat, fish, animal corpses, infected wounds of humans or animals, and excrement. The larvae feed on decomposing tissue. The insect favours species of the genus Ovis, domestic sheep in particular. This can lead to "blow fly strike", causing problems for sheep farmers, though Lucilia sericata is not a major cause of blow fly strike in most regions.

The flower is Felicia amelloides (blue daisy, blue marguerite), which is a species of flowering plant of the family Asteraceae, native to South Africa. F. amelloides is synonymous with, and formerly known as, F. aethiopica, Aster amelloides, Aster capensis, and Aster coelestis.

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 1739 - WERRIBEE RIVER

The Werribee River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment that is located on the plain West of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The headwaters of a tributary, the Lerderderg River, are north of Ballan near Daylesford and it flows across the basalt plain, through the suburb of Werribee to enter Port Phillip. A linear park follows the Werribee River along much of its course. In total the Werribee River completes a journey of approximately 110 kilometres.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

DESKTOP 1738 - SUNSET SILHOUETTES

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

DESKTOP 1737 - DAFFODILS

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1736 - QUILT

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 1735 - SALAMIS IS. GREECE

Salamis (Greek: Σαλαμίνα Salamína, Ancient and Katharevousa: Σαλαμίς Salamís), is the largest Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, about 2 km off-coast from Piraeus and about 16 kilometres west of Athens. The chief city, Salamina, lies in the west-facing core of the crescent on Salamis Bay, which opens into the Saronic Gulf. The island's main port, Paloukia, in size second only to Piraeus, is on the eastern side.

Salamis island is known for the Battle of Salamis, the decisive naval victory of the allied Greek fleet, led by Themistocles, over the Persian Empire in 480 BC. It is said to be the birthplace of Ajax and Euripides, the latter's birth being popularly placed on the day of the battle. In modern times, it is home to Salamis Naval Base, headquarters for the Hellenic Navy.

Salamis has an area of 93 square km; its highest point is Mavrovouni at 404 metres. A significant part of Salamis Island is rocky and mountainous. On the southern part of the island a pine forest is located, which is unusual for western Attica. Unfortunately, this forest is often a target for fires. While the inland inhabitants are mainly employed in the agricultural sector, the majority of Salamis' inhabitants work in maritime occupations (fishing, ferries, and the island's shipyards) or commute to work in Athens. The maritime industry is focused on the north-east coast of the island at the port of Paloukia (Παλούκια), where ferries to mainland Greece are based, and in the dockyards of Ampelakia and the north side of the Kynosoura (Greek: Κυνοσούρα = "dog tail") peninsula.

Salamis Island is very popular for holiday and weekend visits from the Athens and Piraeus area; its population rises to 300,000 in peak season of which c. 31,000 are permanent inhabitants. This supports a strong service industry sector, with many cafes, bars, ouzeris, tavernas and consumer goods shops throughout the island. On the south of the island, away from the port, there are a number of less developed areas with good swimming beaches including those of Aianteio, Maroudi, Perani, Peristeria, Kolones, Saterli, Selenia and Kanakia.

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.