DESKTOP 2952 - BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme
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DESKTOP 2951 - LANDSCAPE

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 2950 - ROSEHIPS

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 2949 - WILLIE WAGTAIL

The willie (or willy) wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) is a passerine bird native to Australia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago, and Eastern Indonesia. It is a common and familiar bird throughout much of its range, living in most habitats apart from thick forest. Measuring 19–21.5 cm in length, the willie wagtail is contrastingly coloured with almost entirely black upperparts and white underparts; the male and female have similar plumage.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

DESKTOP 2948 - SPRING SKY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 2947 - DIOSMA

Coleonema is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae. The eight known species are all from the western Cape Province of South Africa. In Australia, where they are cultivated as garden ornamentals, they are often referred to as Diosma.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 2946 - SKELETON

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 2945 - PERTH GOVERNMENT HOUSE

Government House in Perth, the state capital of Western Australia, is the official residence of the Governor of Western Australia and was built between 1859 and 1864. The buildings and gardens are of exceptional heritage significance, being listed on the Western Australian Register of Heritage Places, classified by the National Trust of Australia (W.A.) and entered on the Register of the National Estate. The gardens are often open to the public, as is the House from time to time.

 

The building is a two storey mansion in the early Stuart or Jacobean Revival style set on 32,000 square metres of English gardens in the centre of the Perth business district, between St. Georges Terrace and the Swan River. The unique architectural character of the building is characterised by the use of stonework and bonded brickwork, incorporating square mullioned windows, decorated gables and ogival capped turrets. The attenuated gothic arcading at ground floor level derives from another form of Victorian Revival expression Fonthill Gothic.

 

The building has 16 rooms on the ground floor and 25 on the first floor. According to the Western Australian Register of Heritage Places Assessment, Government House is a 'unique example of a Victorian Gentleman's residence' set in landscaped gardens with mature plantings and a number of commemorative trees.

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,
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DESKTOP 2944 - RAINY

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
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DESKTOP 2943 - BY THE RIVER

A lovely Spring day in Melbourne today, so a nice walk by the Yarra River was just lovely. We are still in lockdown, so it's good to have a place like this to walk to, well inside the 5 km radius allowable.

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

DESKTOP 2942 - RESTING

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

DESKTOP 2941 - PIGEON SKY

Just don't park your car anywhere near here...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 2940 - EPIPHYLLUM

The plants known as epiphyllum hybrids, epiphyllums, epicacti or just epis, widely grown for their flowers, are artificial hybrids of species within the group of cacti placed in the tribe Hylocereeae, particularly species of Disocactus, Pseudorhipsalis and Selenicereus. In spite of the common name, species in the genus Epiphyllum are less often involved as parents of epiphyllum hybrids.

Epiphyllum hybrids need different treatment from semi-desert cacti. They should be protected from direct sunlight, with preferably 75% shading at midday. They are not frost hardy, so need to be protected from freezing conditions. It is recommended that the growing medium allows rapid drainage of water and is open, with at least one third of coarse material to prevent compaction. Plants should be kept moist. High nitrogen fertilisers are not recommended; no fertiliser should be given during the winter rest period.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 2939 - MORNING

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

DESKTOP 2938 - SINGAPORE

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, sometimes referred to as the Lion City, the Garden City or the Little Red Dot, is a sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree (137 km) north of the equator, at the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south. Singapore's territory consists of one main island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23% (130 km2), and its greening policy has covered the densely populated island with tropical flora, parks and gardens.

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 2937 - WINTER SUN

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
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DESKTOP 2936 - SUNBURST

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DESKTOP 2935 - PASTORAL

Countryside adjacent to the Melbourne outer suburbs. Still pastoral...

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

DESKTOP 2934 - ARTICHOKE SKY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 2933 - BLOSSOM

This post is part of the  Floral Friday Fotos meme

DESKTOP 2932 - DEADWOOD

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
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DESKTOP 2931 - HERAKLION, CRETE

Heraklion (Greek: Ηράκλειο, Irákleio) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete. It is the fourth largest city in Greece. According to the results of the 2011 census, the population of the city proper was 140,730 inhabitants, the municipality's was 173,993 while the Heraklion urban area has a population of 225,574 and it extends over an area of 684.3 km2. Heraklion is the capital of Heraklion regional unit. The Bronze Age palace of Knossos, also known as the Palace of Minos, is located nearby.

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and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
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DESKTOP 2930 - SPRINGING

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

DESKTOP 2929 - JAPONICA

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and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

DESKTOP 2928 - BLACK SWAN

Black swans are a common sight on the Yarra River in central Melbourne. They are very faithful birds and mate for life. They usually are seen in pairs.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

DESKTOP 2927 - RAINBOW

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 2926 - KNIPHOFIA

Kniphofia also called tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily, knofflers or poker plant, is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794. It is native to Africa. Herbaceous species and hybrids have narrow, grass-like leaves 10–100 cm long, while evergreen species have broader, strap-shaped foliage up to 1.5 m long.

 

All plants produce spikes of upright, brightly coloured flowers well above the foliage, in shades of red, orange and yellow, often bicoloured. The flowers produce copious nectar while blooming and are attractive to bees. In the New World they may attract sap-suckers such as hummingbirds and New World orioles. The genus Kniphofia is named after Johann Hieronymus Kniphof, an 18th-century German physician and botanist.

 

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 2925 - WEATHER CHANGE

We've been having some weird weather lately, with unseasonable warmish spells, quick changes from dry to wet and all sorts of precipitation from showers, to rain, to hail, to snow up in the mountains. Never a dull moment!

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 2924 - MANLY, NSW

Manly is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.

 

Manly was named by Captain Arthur Phillip for the indigenous people living there, "...their confidence and manly behaviour made me give the name of Manly Cove to this place". These men were of the Kay-ye-my clan (of the Guringai people). While scouting for fresh water in the area, Phillip encountered members of the clan, and after a misunderstanding he was speared in the shoulder by one of the clan; to his lasting credit, the progressively-minded Phillip ordered his men not to retaliate.

 

Manly is most notable for its sandy beaches right on the Pacific Ocean, which are popular tourist destinations. Manly features a long stretch of sand on the ocean side, that runs from Queenscliff Beach to North Steyne Beach and Manly Beach. This is followed by rock pools and sandy beaches called Fairy Bower and Shelly Beach. There are also a number of beaches on the harbour side of the peninsula. Norfolk Island pine trees are also symbolic of Manly and are a prominent feature of both the ocean and harbour beaches.

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and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
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CLOWNING AROUND

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and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
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DESKTOP 2922 - FUNGUS

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