DESKTOP 1947 - MOON

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
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DESKTOP 1946 - LAWN DAISIES

Bellis perennis is a common European species of daisy, of the Asteraceae family, often considered the archetypal species of that name.

Many related plants also share the name "daisy", so to distinguish this species from other daisies it is sometimes qualified as common daisy, lawn daisy or English daisy. Historically, it has also been commonly known as bruisewort and occasionally woundwort (although the common name woundwort is now more closely associated with Stachys).

Bellis perennis is native to western, central and northern Europe, but widely naturalised in most temperate regions including the Americas and Australasia.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1945 - URN 3

urn | əːn | noun

1b: An ornamental sculpture shaped like an urn: Urns are features that are often found in formal gardens.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
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DESKTOP 1944 - MAURITIUS

Mauritius (French: Maurice), officially the Republic of Mauritius (French: République de Maurice), is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about 2,000 kilometres off the southeast coast of the African continent. The country includes the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, 560 kilometres east of Mauritius, and the outer islands of Agaléga and St. Brandon. The islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues form part of the Mascarene Islands, along with nearby Reunion island. The area of the country is 2,040 km2 (790 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Port Louis.

The island is widely known as the only known home of the dodo, which along with several other avian species, was made extinct by human activities relatively shortly after the island's settlement. Formerly a French colony (1715–1810), Mauritius became a British colonial possession in 1810 and remained so until 1968, the year in which it attained independence. The British Crown colony of Mauritius once included the current territories of Mauritius, Rodrigues, the outer islands of Agaléga, St. Brandon, Chagos Archipelago, and Seychelles. The Mauritian territories gradually devolved with the creation of a separate colony of Seychelles in 1903 and the excision of the Chagos Archipelago in 1965. Mauritius also claims sovereignty over Tromelin Island from France.

The people of Mauritius are multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual. The island's government is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system, and Mauritius is highly ranked for democracy and for economic and political freedom. The Human Development Index of Mauritius is the highest in Africa. Along with the other Mascarene Islands, Mauritius is known for its varied flora and fauna, with many species endemic to the island. Mauritius is the only country in Africa and outside of South Asia where Hinduism is the majority religion. The administration uses English as its main language. Tourism is one of the main industries of the island nation.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

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DESKTOP 1943 - RED, BLUE, YELLOW

Just playing around...

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
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DESKTOP 1942 - ORANGE

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HAPPY DOG

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DESKTOP 1940 - SUNSET

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DESKTOP 1939 - VERVAIN

Verbena rigida, known as slender vervain or tuberous vervain, is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the family Verbenaceae. It is native to Brazil and Argentina, and is not fully hardy in temperate climates, where consequently it is grown from seed as an annual. Growing to 60 centimetres, it has a spreading habit, with stalkless toothed leaves and bright purple or magenta, scented flowers in summer. Numerous cultivars have been selected for garden use. The species has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1938 - TI-TREE

Melaleuca alternifolia, commonly known as narrow-leaved paperbark, narrow-leaved tea-tree, narrow-leaved ti-tree (tea-tree or ti-tree? see here), or snow-in-summer, is a species of tree or tall shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Endemic to Australia, it occurs in southeast Queensland and the north coast and adjacent ranges of New South Wales where it grows along streams and on swampy flats, and is often the dominant species where it occurs.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

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DESKTOP 1937 - FREMANTLE BEACH

Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829. It was declared a city in 1929, and has a population of approximately 25,000. The city is named after Captain Charles Howe Fremantle, the English naval officer who had pronounced possession of Western Australia and who established a camp at the site. The city contains well-preserved 19th-century buildings and other heritage features. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for Fremantle is Freo.

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DESKTOP 1936 - SEASONS

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19th century French gilt statuettes of the Four Seasons.

DESKTOP 1935 - WATER MIRROR

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DESKTOP 1934 - SWIMMING

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DESKTOP 1933 - SPRING SKY

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DESKTOP 1932 - IRISES

Iris is a genus of 260-300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colours found among the many species. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also very widely used as a common name for all Iris species, though some plants called thus belong to other closely related genera. A common name for some species is 'flags', while the plants of the subgenus Scorpiris are widely known as 'junos', particularly in horticulture. Irises are popular garden flowers.

The showy graceful blooms of Dutch Iris (Iris xiphium - also called Spanish Iris!) provide height and colour in mid- to late spring. Definitely one of the easiest and most reliable spring bulbs to grow, they perform well in both open sunny positions as well as in part or full shade. Flower colour varies from white and yellows through to many shades of blue and purple in either single colour standards and falls through to a combination of both. They are very frost hardy and prefer a sunny position with ample moisture during growth, but none during their dormancy in summer. They can be grown in pots and terrace planters and are ideal as cut flowers for vases and arrangements. Dutch Iris grow to a height of 40 to 50cm.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 1931 - SPRING 2

Spring steel is a name given to a wide range of steels used in the manufacture of springs, prominently in automotive and industrial suspension applications. These steels are generally low-alloy manganese, medium-carbon steel or high-carbon steel with a very high yield strength. This allows objects made of spring steel to return to their original shape despite significant deflection or twisting.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 1930 - BEACH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Observatory Beach is situated in the beautiful views in the coastline of Cape Le Grand National Park in Esperance, Western Australia. The beach has a prime location especially for those looking to enjoy a beach-side location. The distance is 5 min. stroll into town. You can examine the memorial placed at the viewpoint remembering the explorers named French Frigates, the L’esperance and the Recherche who took shelter from the storm in 1792. You can have the view of the remarkable sight of whales that can frequently be seen swimming through the surrounding ocean between the months of June and October.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
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DESKTOP 1929 - RED

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DESKTOP 1928 - ARMISTICE

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DESKTOP 1927 - SEAGULL

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DESKTOP 1926 - SUNSET AT SOUTH WHARF

South Wharf is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government areas are the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip. At the 2011 Census, South Wharf had a population of 66. South Wharf is a small inner suburb south west from Melbourne's CBD.

Its borders are the Yarra River to the north, Wurundjeri Way to the west, the West Gate Freeway and a small private car park bordering Ford Street and Munro Street, which is part of the City of Port Phillip, to the south and the former Port Melbourne railway line and Clarendon Street to the east. Gazetted in 2008 and formerly part of the industrial and shipping area of Southbank, the renaming is part of a wider urban renewal strategy to link Southbank with the Melbourne Docklands.

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DESKTOP 1925 - DAISIES

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DESKTOP 1924 - RAINSWEPT

rainswept | ˈreɪnswɛpt |adjective
Exposed to, or frequently experiencing, rain and wind: The rainswept countryside.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,
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DESKTOP 1923 - NORFOLK ISLAND

Norfolk Island (Norfuk: Norf'k Ailen) is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia, 1,412 kilometres directly east of mainland Australia's Evans Head, and about 900 kilometres from Lord Howe Island. Together with two neighbouring islands, it forms one of the Commonwealth of Australia's external territories. At the 2016 Australian census, it has 1,748 inhabitants living on a total area of about 35 km2. Its capital is Kingston.

Norfolk Island was first settled by East Polynesians but was long unpopulated when it was eventually also settled by Great Britain as part of its settlement of Australia from 1788. The island served as a convict penal settlement from 6 March 1788 until 5 May 1855, except for an 11-year hiatus between 15 February 1814 and 6 June 1825, when it lay abandoned. On 8 June 1856, permanent civilian residence on the island began when it was settled from Pitcairn Island.

In 1914 the UK handed Norfolk Island over to Australia to administer as an external territory. The evergreen Norfolk Island pine is a symbol of the island and thus pictured on its flag. Native to the island, the pine is a key export for Norfolk Island, being a popular ornamental tree on mainland Australia, where two related species grow, and also worldwide. Norfuk (increasingly spelt Norfolk) or Norf'k is the language spoken on Norfolk Island by the local residents. It is a blend of 18th-century English and Tahitian, originally introduced by Pitkern-speaking settlers from the Pitcairn Islands. Along with English, it is the co-official language of Norfolk Island.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

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DESKTOP 1922 - REFLECTION

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DESKTOP 1921 - CHINA

A beautiful arabesque pattern on some china plates we have.

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DESKTOP 1920 - ROWING

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DESKTOP 1919 - SUNSET

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add colour to my sunset sky.”― Rabindranath Tagore

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

DESKTOP 1918 - ROSA 'FRIESIA'

Rosa 'Friesia' (synonyms: 'Sunsprite'; 'KORresia') is a rose variety developed by Reimer Kordes and introduced in 1973. The rose was derived from the cultivars 'Friedrich Wörlein' × 'Spanish Sun', and is one of the most successful floribunda roses. It was named 'Friesia' after the region Frisia (Friesland), the home of the breeder, and was one of the first roses to be given a code name (KORresia for Kordes).

Its sunny yellow blooms are large and flat with 17 to 25 waved petals, reaching an average diameter of 8 cm and have a very strong fragrance. The high-centred flowers appear solitary or in small clusters in a blooming period lasting from June to September. Their bright yellow colour hardly changes with age. The flower is not well suited as a cut flower as it has short stems and only lasts for a short period of time after cutting.

The plant has light-green, glossy leaves, forms upright, bushy shrubs with about 40 to 75 cm height and up to 60 cm width, is very disease resistant and hardy (USDA zone 6b) and can be grown on the ground or in containers. It is used as a parent rose, leading to cultivars such as Rosa 'Sun Flare' (Warriner 1981) and 'Morden Sunrise' (Davidson & Collicutt) 1991.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.