Monday 30 November 2020

DESKTOP 2678 - VEGIES

Eating Vegetables Provides Health Benefits:
  • The nutrients in vegetables are vital for health and maintenance of your body.
  • Eating a diet rich in vegetables may reduce risk for stroke, cancer, heart diseases and type-2 diabetes.
  • One to four cups of vegetables are recommended each day, depending on how many calories you need.
 
This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.


Saturday 28 November 2020

Friday 27 November 2020

DESKTOP 2675 - SUMMER SKY

Today was a fine, hot day in Melbourne, the mercury climbing to 34˚C; it was the hottest day since last January. Looks like our Summer has arrived!

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.


Thursday 26 November 2020

DESKTOP 2674 - BLUE BINDWEED

Convolvulus Blue (Convolvulus sabatius) is a super vigorous, non invasive, easy to grow ground cover that covers those difficult to maintain places. The violet blue flowers appear in early spring and continue until early autumn.
It is native to the Mediterranean region and suitable for a full sun to part shade position in well drained soil, requiring little water once established. Suitable as a spillover plant ground cover plant hanging baskets and coastal gardens.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.


Wednesday 25 November 2020

DESKTOP 2673 - ALTONA WETLANDS

The Altona Important Bird Area (IBA) comprises several wetland sites on, or close to, the north-western coast of Port Phillip in Victoria, south-eastern Australia. Collectively they total 1223 hectares in area and lie within, or adjacent to, the western suburbs of the city of Melbourne. They were classified as an IBA because they support more than 1% of the world populations of Red-necked Stint, Chestnut Teal and Pacific Gull.

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.


Tuesday 24 November 2020

DESKTOP 2672 - LIPARI, ITALY

Lipari (Italian pronunciation: [ˈliːpari], Sicilian: Lìpari, Latin: Lipara, Ancient Greek: Μελιγουνίς Meligounis or Λιπάρα Lipara) is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town and comune, which is administratively part of the Metropolitan City of Messina. Its population is 12,734, but during the May to September tourist season, the total population may reach up to 20,000.
 
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.


Thursday 19 November 2020

DESKTOP 2667 - SOWTHISTLE

Sonchus oleraceus, with many common names including common sowthistle, sow thistle, smooth sow thistle, annual sow thistle, hare's colwort, hare's thistle, milky tassel, milk thistle, soft thistle, or swinies, is a plant in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family. It is native to Europe and western Asia. Its specific epithet oleraceus means "vegetable/herbal". The common name 'sow thistle' refers to its attractiveness to swine, and the similarity of the leaf to younger thistle plants. The common name 'hare's thistle' refers to its purported beneficial effects on hare and rabbits.
 
Leaves are eaten as salad greens or cooked like spinach. This is one of the species used in Chinese cuisine as kŭcài (苦菜; lit. bitter vegetable). The younger leaves are less bitter and better to eat raw. Steaming can remove the bitterness of older leaves. The younger roots are also edible and can suffice as a coffee substitute.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.


Wednesday 18 November 2020

DESKTOP 2666 - LEAF

While we are enjoying Summer weather here in Melbourne, I am sparing a thought for people living in the Northern Hemisphere. Keep warm and safe, take every precaution against the Virus and let's all hope the vaccines being tested will soon be available to fight this pandemic!

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.


Tuesday 17 November 2020

DESKTOP 2665 - TINOS ISLAND, GREECE

Tinos (Greek: Τήνος) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. In antiquity, Tinos was also known as Ophiussa (from ophis, Greek for snake) and Hydroessa (from hydor, Greek for water). The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of approximately 194 square kilometres and a 2011 census population of 8,636 inhabitants.
 
Tinos is famous amongst Greeks for the Church of Panagia Evangelistria (The Annunciation of the Virgin), its 80 or so windmills, about 1000 artistic dovecotes, 50 active villages and its Venetian fortifications at the mountain, Exomvourgo. On Tinos, both Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic populations co-exist, and the island is also well known for its famous sculptors and painters, such as Nikolaos Gysis, Yannoulis Chalepas and Nikiforos Lytras.
 
The island is located near the geographical centre of the Cyclades island complex, and because of the Panagia Evangelistria church, with its reputedly miraculous icon of Virgin Mary that it holds, Tinos is also the centre of a yearly pilgrimage that takes place on the date of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (15 August, "Dekapentavgoustos" in Greek). This is perhaps the most notable and still active yearly pilgrimage in the region of the eastern Mediterranean. Many pilgrims make their way the 800 metres from the ferry wharf to the church on their hands and knees as sign of devotion.

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.
 

 

Monday 16 November 2020

DESKTOP 2664 - SUMMER

We've had a couple of days of quite warm weather in Melbourne and there are more forecast in the week ahead. Looks like Summer is fast approaching...

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


Thursday 12 November 2020

DESKTOP 2660 - SHOWY EVERLASTING DAISY

Showy Everlasting Daisy, Schoenia filifolia ssp. subulifolia, (synonym Helichrysum subulifolium) is a native Western Australian daisy now threatened with extinction in the wild. Fortunately, this species responds well to cultivation and is being planted widely in parks, gardens and forested areas throughout Australia. It has many fine, bright green leaves and many upright stems to between 30 and 40 cm high. Each stem carries a large golden-yellow flower that is 2 to 4 cm across. The flowers are good for drying, to use in dried flower arrangements.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.


Tuesday 10 November 2020

DESKTOP 2658 - LONDON, UK

London is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. It was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-mile (2.9 km2) medieval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which today largely makes up Greater London, governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site comprising the Palace of Westminster (image below), Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church; and the historic settlement of Greenwich (in which the Royal Observatory, Greenwich marks the Prime Meridian, 0° longitude, and GMT). Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. London is home to numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events, and other cultural institutions, including the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, British Library, and West End theatres. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in 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.


Saturday 7 November 2020

DESKTOP 2655 - GECKOS

Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 to 60 cm. Most geckos cannot blink, but they often lick their eyes to keep them clean and moist. They have a fixed lens within each iris that enlarges in darkness to let in more light.
 
Geckos are unique among lizards in their vocalisations. They use chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckos. They are the most species-rich group of lizards, with about 1,500 different species worldwide. The New Latin gekko and English "gecko" stem from the Indonesian-Malay gēkoq, which is imitative of the sound the animals make. Many species are well known for their specialised toe pads that enable them to climb smooth and vertical surfaces, and even cross indoor ceilings with ease.
 
Geckos are well-known to people who live in warm regions of the world, where several species of geckos make their home inside human habitations. These (for example the house gecko) become part of the indoor menagerie and are often welcomed, as they feed on insects, including mosquitoes. Unlike most lizards, geckos are usually nocturnal.
 
This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.
 

Friday 6 November 2020

Thursday 5 November 2020

DESKTOP 2653 - ALSTROS

Alstroemeria, commonly called the Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Alstroemeriaceae. They are all native to South America although some have become naturalised in the United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Madeira and the Canary Islands. Almost all of the species are restricted to one of two distinct centres of diversity, one in central Chile, the other in eastern Brazil.

Species of Alstroemeria from Chile are winter-growing plants while those of Brazil are summer-growing. All are long-lived perennials except A. graminea, a diminutive annual from the Atacama Desert of Chile. The genus was named after the Swedish baron Clas Alströmer (1736 – 1794) by his close friend Carolus Linnaeus.

Many hybrids and at least 190 cultivars have been developed, featuring many different markings and colours, including white, yellow, orange, apricot, pink, red, purple, and lavender. The most popular and showy hybrids commonly grown today result from crosses between species from Chile (winter-growing) with species from Brazil (summer-growing). This strategy has overcome the florists' problem of seasonal dormancy and resulted in plants that are evergreen, or nearly so, and flower for most of the year. This breeding work derives mainly from trials that began in the United States in the 1980s.

The flower, which resembles a miniature lily, is very popular for bouquets and flower arrangements in the commercial cut flower trade. Most cultivars available for the home garden will bloom in the late spring and early summer. The roots are hardy to a temperature of −5 °C. The plant requires at least six hours of morning sunlight, regular water, and well-drained soil. 

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.


Wednesday 4 November 2020

DESKTOP 2652 - GRASSES

With Summer approaching, many of the grasses in the Parklands are flowering and setting seed. The cycle of the year is nearing completion and the great dry will spread the new generation far and wide; wind, animals and humans helping to disseminate the tiny packets of genetic information to new sites. Seeds to lie in wait for the Autumn rains, so as to sprout and start the cycle all over again.

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.


Tuesday 3 November 2020

DESKTOP 2651 - THE CUP!

ABC Bullion is the official manufacturer of the Melbourne Cup. Since ABC Bullion commenced production, the Melbourne Cup has been produced using gold that has been mined, refined, and crafted wholly in Australia for the first time in its 150-year history. Valued at over $200,000, the trophy contains 44 pieces that are hand spun over a 250-hour production process.

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.


Monday 2 November 2020

DESKTOP 2650 - REAL MOSAIC!

Detail of a mosaic in the foyer of the "Mosaic Republic" in Melbourne.

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