DESKTOP 2556 - DOG WALK

With appropriate social distancing!

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

DESKTOP 2555 - PLUM BLOSSOM

Prunus cerasifera, or the purple leaf plum is a small deciduous tree commonly planted for its deep reddish-purple leaves and white/pale pink flowers that are among the first to appear in spring. Although it is short lived, it is fast growing and great for use as a specimen or shade tree.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 2554 - SHHHHH!

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 2553 - FREMANTLE

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.

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 2552 - AND SEW ON

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 2551 - A PEAR

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DESKTOP 2550 - BLACK CATS

I have edited this in Photoshop using the cutout filter and upped the contrast.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

DESKTOP 2549 - HOME TRAIN

Home-time for the commuters returning from work...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

WILD PLUM

Prunus americana, commonly called the American plum or wild plum, is a species of Prunus native to North America from Saskatchewan to New Mexico east to New Hampshire and Florida. It has often been planted outside its core range and sometimes escapes cultivation. Many cultivated varieties have been derived from this species. It forms an excellent stock upon which to graft the domestic plum.

The wild plum grows as a large shrub or small tree, reaching up to 4.6 m. It is adapted to coarse- and medium-textured soils, but not to fine soils. The shrub is winter-hardy, but has little tolerance for shade, drought, or fire. Its growth is most active in spring and summer, and it blooms in midspring. It propagates by seed, but the rate of spread by seed is slow. 

The wild plum is used for both ornamental and culinary purposes. The white flowers are decorative in spring and its short, single leader makes it a popular residential landscape tree. Sargent says of it: "As an ornamental plant P. americana has real value; the long wand-like branches form a wide, graceful head which is handsome in winter and in spring is covered with masses of pure white flowers followed by ample bright foliage and abundant showy fruit.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 2547 - RAINDROPS

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 2546 - SWAN RIVER, PERTH

By the banks of the majestic Swan River in Perth, Australia. A winter's day.

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

DESKTOP 2545 - YARRA BEND PARK

Yarra Bend Park has been one of Melbourne’s largest expanses of inner suburban parkland for nearly 150 years. Yarra Bend Park and neighbouring Studley Park were reserved in 1877. Both park areas and several reserves were combined in 1929 to create one large park. The combined area became known as Yarra Bend National Park despite never being raised to formal national park status.

During the 1930’s additions included picnic and sporting grounds, toilet facilities and a public golf course. The Yarra Bend Golf Club House, officially opened in May 1936, is an original example of American ‘Country Club’ type architecture. The Park provides a great open space for walking, bike riding, riverside cafes, golf, boating, BBQs, picnicking and a host of other leisure activities.

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 2544 - FOGGY POND

Cold, showery, foggy, in Melbourne and under a lockdown again due to a second wave of COVID-19... At least we can walk in the Parklands for some exercise!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DESKTOP 2543 - CATNAP

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

DESKTOP 2542 - SILHOUETTES

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

DESKTOP 2541 - GERBERAS

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 2540 - GATE

A gate leading to paddocks in country Victoria, close to Kangaroo Ground. A lot of the land there has now been converted to organic produce growing and alternative farming practices with new crops that are more in harmony with the environment.

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 2539 - GIBRALTAR

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar at the foot of which is a densely populated city area, home to over 30,000 people, primarily Gibraltarians.

In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession on behalf of the Habsburg claim to the Spanish throne. The territory was ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. During World War II it was an important base for the Royal Navy as it controlled the entrance and exit to the Mediterranean Sea, which is only 13 km wide at this naval "choke point". It remains strategically important to this day, with half the world's seaborne trade passing through the strait.

Today Gibraltar's economy is based largely on tourism, online gambling, financial services and cargo ship refuelling. The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in the 1967 referendum, and the idea of shared sovereignty in 2002. Under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the British government.

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 2538 - VEGIES

Eating vegetables provides health benefits – people who eat more vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Vegetables provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body. They are rich in fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Eating lots of vegetables can increase your lifespan and reduce the effects of ageing in your body. Besides, they taste great!

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

DESKTOP 2537 - EVENSONG

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DESKTOP 2536 - POND

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

DESKTOP 2535 - THE BIRDS

Worrying view from your window if you've just watched Hitchcock's "The Birds"...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

DESKTOP 2534 - STREPTOCARPUS

A popular house plant, Streptocarpus, is an Afrotropical genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae (the Gesneriads). The genus is native to Afromontane biotopes from central, eastern and southern Africa, including Madagascar. The flowers are five-petalled, salverform tubes, almost orchid-like in appearance, and hover or arch over the plant. In the wild, species can be found growing on shaded rocky hillsides or cliffs, on the ground, in rock crevices, and almost anywhere the seed can germinate and grow. For the home, there are now many hybrids of various colours and forms available.

The genus is defined by having a spirally twisted fruit (from Greek via Latin, where strepto = twisted, carpus = fruit - Greek: Στρεπτόκαρπος), although this character is also found in some other Old World genera of Gesneriaceae. Although generally referred to simply as "Streptocarpus", or "Streps", the common name for subgenus Streptocarpus is "Cape Primrose", referring to the nativity of several species to South Africa and their superficial resemblance to the genus Primula.

The common name for subgenus Streptocarpella is "Nodding Violet". There are a few odd Asian species of Streptocarpus that however do not belong in the genus. Molecular systematics has shown conclusively that they are not true Streptocarpus and should be placed in another genus. DNA studies have shown that, despite not having a twisted fruit, the genus Saintpaulia (African Violets) evolved from within the Tanzanian Streptocarpus subgenus Streptocarpella. This particular hybrid with the striking dark blue flowers is  "Anderson's Crows' Wings".

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 2533 - RAINY DAY

A really wintry day by the Yarra River in Yarra Bend Park in suburban Melbourne.

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 2532 - PRAMBANAN TEMPLE, JAVA

Prambanan or Rara Jonggrang (Javanese: ꦫꦫꦗꦺꦴꦁꦒꦿꦁ, romanized: Rara Jonggrang) is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimūrti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Transformer (Shiva). The temple compound is located approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of the city of Yogyakarta on the boundary between Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces.

The temple compound, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia and the second-largest in Southeast Asia. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu architecture, and by the towering 47-metre-high (154 ft) central building inside a large complex of individual temples. Prambanan attracts many visitors from around the world.

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 2531 - ON A WALK

Amazing what one sees on a long walk...

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 2530 - AT THE MARKET

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

DESKTOP 2529 - BOATS

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

DESKTOP 2528 - MORNING SILHOUETTES

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

DESKTOP 2527 - CYMBIDIUM ORCHID

Cymbidium, or boat orchids, is a genus of 52 evergreen species in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It was first described by Olof Swartz in 1799. The name is derived from the Greek word kumbos, meaning 'hole, cavity'. It refers to the form of the base of the lip. The genus is abbreviated Cym in horticultural trade. This genus is distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia (such as northern India, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Borneo) and northern Australia. The larger flowered species from which the large flowered hybrids are derived grow at high altitudes.

Cymbidium plants are sympodial and grow to a height of 60 cm and the racemes as high as 90 cm. The raceme grows from the base of the most recent pseudobulb. Each flower can have a diameter of 5 to 10 cm, according to the species. They bloom during the winter, and each plant can have up to fifteen or more flowers. The fantastic range of colours for this genus include white, green, yellowish-green, cream, yellow, brown, pink, and red [and orange] and black (and there may be markings of other colour shades at the same time), but not blue.

The flowers last about ten weeks. They have a waxy texture. The rounded sepals and petals have about the same dimensions. They show very diverse colour patterns, different for every species. Cymbidium is one of the most popular and desirable orchids in the world because of the beautiful flowers. These plants make great houseplants, and are also popular in floral arrangements and corsages. They have been cultivated for thousands of years, especially in China. Cymbidiums became popular in Europe during the Victorian era. One feature that makes the plant so popular is the fact that it can survive during cold temperatures (as low as 7˚ C or 45˚ F).

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 2526 - WEB

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.