Monday 18 March 2024

AUTUMN

Autumn arriving, waiting for the Equinox on the 20th of March!

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


Sunday 17 March 2024

ST PATRICK'S DAY

Happy St Patrick's Day! 

May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures.
May all life’s passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme


Thursday 14 March 2024

PINK FLOWERING GUM

Corymbia ficifolia or flowering gum also known as Albany flowering gum (previously known as Eucalyptus ficifolia) is one of the most commonly planted ornamental trees in the broader eucalyptus family. It is native to a very small area of south coastal Western Australia (measured in just tens of kilometres) to the east of Walpole (430 km Southeast of Perth), but is not considered under threat in the wild.

In nature Corymbia ficifolia prefers infertile, sandy soils but it is readily adaptable to most temperate locations, provided it is not exposed to severe frost or sustained tropical damp. It is an ideal street tree as it is hardy, moderately fast growing, and rarely grows large enough to require pruning.

This is the beautiful pink flowering hybrid (C.ficifolia C.ptychocarpa) known as Corymbia 'Summer Beauty'. The flowers do not have any petals, it is the many coloured stamen that give the flowers their fluffy appearance.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme


Wednesday 13 March 2024

SIGNS OF AUTUMN

After the sweltering heat of high 30s for the past few days, today we had rain and a maximum of 20˚C. The plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in our neighbourhood seemed to suddenly put on their autumn colours, although come to think of it, I have been raking fallen leaves for the past two weeks. March is the first Autumn month here in Melbourne and it looks like we may have an early Autumn. But who knows, with this worldwide climate change we are experiencing...

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


Tuesday 12 March 2024

SOUTHBANK

Southbank is is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1km south from Melbourne's Central Business District. It is nowadays dominated by high-rise development, although it was a former industrial area. It is one of the primary business centres in Greater Melbourne, being the headquarters of Foster's, Treasury Wine Estates, Crown Limited, Alumina, Incitec Pivot, The Herald and Weekly Times (including the Herald Sun), as well as regional offices of many major corporations, in a cluster of towers with over 340,000 square metres of office space in 2008.

Southbank is also one of the most densely populated areas of Melbourne, with a large cluster of apartment towers, including Australia's tallest tower measured to its highest floor, the Eureka Tower. Southbank Promenade and Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct, on the southern bank of the Yarra River, extending to Crown Casino, is one of Melbourne's major entertainment precincts.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme


Monday 11 March 2024

MOOMBA & LABOUR DAY

Moomba (also known as the Moomba Festival) is held annually in Melbourne, Australia. Run by the City of Melbourne, it is Australia's largest free community festival. This Melburnian tradition is celebrated over four days, incorporating the Labour Day long weekend, from Friday to the second Monday in March.

Moomba is culturally important to Melbourne, having been celebrated since 1955, and regularly attracts up to a million people, with a record attendance of 3.8 million (2.3 million tourists) set in 2018. In 2003, the event was renamed Melbourne Moomba Waterfest.

Traditional events include the Moomba parade, crowning of Moomba monarchs, fireworks displays, carnivals in the gardens along the river, river activities including watersports, water floats and the Birdman Rally, as well as live music and bands.

Labour Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.

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


Sunday 10 March 2024

THROUGH A CRYSTAL SPHERE

A photo taken through a crystal sphere (which I am holding). Note the inverted image.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme


Saturday 9 March 2024

DUCKS

The chestnut teal (Anas castanea) is a dabbling duck found in Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. The chestnut teal is darker and a slightly bigger bird than the grey teal. The male has a distinctive green coloured head and mottled brown body. The female has a brown head and mottled brown body. The female is almost identical in appearance to the grey teal. The female chestnut teal has a loud penetrating "laughing" quack repeated rapidly nine times or more.

The chestnut teal is commonly distributed in south-eastern and south-western Australia, while vagrants may occur elsewhere. Tasmania and southern Victoria are the species' stronghold, while vagrants have been found as far north as New Guinea and Lord Howe Island, and as far south as New Zealand. The chestnut teal prefers coastal estuaries and wetlands, and is indifferent to salinity. This bird is an omnivore.

Chestnut teals form monogamous pairs that stay together outside the breeding season, defend the nest site and look after the young when hatched. Nests are usually located over water, in a down-lined tree hollow about 6–10 m high. Sometimes nests are placed on the ground, among clumps of grass near water. The young hatch and are ready to swim and walk within a day.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme