Saturday 28 September 2019

CORELLA

The long-billed corella (Cacatua tenuirostris), or slender-billed corella is a cockatoo native to Australia, which is similar in appearance to the little corella and sulphur-crested cockatoo. This species is mostly white, with a reddish-pink face and forehead, and has a long pale beak, which is used to dig for roots and seeds. It has reddish-pink feathers on the breast and belly. The adult long-billed corella measures from 38 to 41 cm in length, has a wingspan of about 80–90 cm and averages 567 g in weight. It has a long bone-coloured beak, and a rim of featherless bluish skin around the eyes. The plumage is predominantly white with reddish feathers around the eyes and lores. The underside of the wings and tail feathers are tinged with yellow.

The long-billed corella can be found in the wild around western Victoria and southern New South Wales. Feral populations have sprung up in Sydney, Perth, Hobart and southeast Queensland from the release of captive birds. This has implications in Western Australia where this species may hybridise with the endangered southern race of the western corella. It has extended its range in the past 15 years or so and can now be found (and is common) right through central Victoria including areas around Melbourne.

Here they are foraging in the Darebin Parklands in suburban Melbourne. Breeding generally takes place from July to November. Long-billed corellas form monogamous pairs and both sexes share the task of building the nest, incubating the eggs and caring for the young. Nests are made in decayed debris, the hollows of large old [3] are laid on a lining of decayed wood. The incubation period is around 24 days and chicks spend about 56 days in the nest.

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


Friday 27 September 2019

LONG BAY, NZ

Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve protects a stretch of coastline on the east coast just north of Auckland city in New Zealand. The shores and waters of the reserve include a diversity of coastal habitats – the sandy beaches of Long Bay and Karepiro Bay; the rocky reefs off the two headlands at either end of Long Bay; and the sandflats and mudflats of the Okura River and estuary. Excellent public access and car parking facilities are found at adjacent Long Bay Regional Park, one of Auckland’s most popular weekend destinations.

Visitors to the marine reserve are welcome and activities like swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving, boating, photography and picnicking are encouraged. A walking track from Long Bay Regional Park extends northwards along the coast to the Okura River. A second walkway extends along the coast from Long Bay to Toroa Point.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

Thursday 26 September 2019

ECHINACEA

Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The nine species it contains are commonly called purple coneflowers. They are endemic to eastern and central North America, where they are found growing in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have large, showy heads of composite flowers, blooming from early to late summer.

The generic name is derived from the Greek word ἐχῖνος (echinos), meaning "sea urchin," due to the spiny central disk. Some species are used in herbal medicines and some are cultivated in gardens for their showy flowers. A few species are of conservation concern.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

LEAF

Spring is the time of new growth and green is the colour that predominates in the young burgeoning foliage, especially vivid as the sun shines through it.

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

Tuesday 24 September 2019

PORTOFINO, ITALY

Portofino is an Italian fishing village and vacation resort famous for its picturesque harbour and historical association with celebrity and artistic visitors. It is a comune located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore.

According to Pliny the Elder, Portofino was founded by the Romans and named Portus Delphini, or Port of the Dolphin, because of the large number of dolphins that inhabited the Tigullian Gulf. The village is mentioned in a diploma from 986 by Adelaide of Italy, which assigned it to the nearby Abbey of San Fruttoso di Capodimonte.In 1171, together with the neighbouring Santa Margherita Ligure, it was included in Rapallo's commune jurisdiction. After 1229 it was part of the Republic of Genoa.

The town's natural harbour supported a fleet of fishing boats, but was somewhat too cramped to provide more than a temporary safe haven for the growing merchant marine of the Republic of Genoa. In 1409 Portofino was sold to the Republic of Florence by Charles VI of France, but when the latter was ousted from Genoa the Florentines gave it back. In the 15th century it was a fief of families such as the Fieschi, Spinola, Adorno, and Doria.

In 1815 it became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia and, from 1861, of the unified Kingdom of Italy. In the late 19th century, first British, then other Northern European aristocratic tourists began to visit Portofino, which they reached by horse and cart from Santa Margherita Ligure. Aubrey Herbert and Elizabeth von Arnim were amongst the more famous English people to make the area fashionable. Eventually more expatriates built expensive vacation houses, and by 1950 tourism had supplanted fishing as the town's chief industry, and the waterfront was a continuous ring of restaurants and cafés.

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 23 September 2019

ON THE CUSP

As Winter turns to Spring, many a wonder to be seen...

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

Sunday 22 September 2019

Thursday 19 September 2019

GARDEN BOUQUET

A bouquet of Spring flowers gathered from our garden. You can find in it the following flowers: Freesias, anemones, bluebells, daisies, marigolds, stocks, ixias, rosemary, bergenias, lilies, sparaxis, canola, red valerian. The fragrance is delicious and it certainly brings Spring very effectively indoors.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

Wednesday 18 September 2019

KAYAK

A kayak is a small, narrow boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic Inuktitut language, where it is the word 'qajaq'. The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler. The cockpit is sometimes covered by a spray deck that prevents the entry of water from waves or spray and makes it possible for suitably skilled kayakers to roll the kayak: That is, to capsize and right it without it filling with water or ejecting the paddler. The kayak was first used by the indigenous Aleut, Inuit, Yupik and possibly Ainu hunters in subarctic regions of the world.

Kayaking on the Yarra River in Melbourne is a very popular pastime and there are many clubs catering to this sport. Most of the Yarra is navigable, but this area close to Dights Falls in Collingwood provides a barrier between the upper and lower reaches of the River. The man in the blue kayak had a little mishap here, but the experienced instructor in the red kayak had him right soon again. The trees in yellow bloom are wattles (= mimosas/acacias).

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



Tuesday 17 September 2019

DELFT, HOLLAND

Delft is a city and a municipality in the Netherlands. It is located in the province of South Holland, to the north of Rotterdam and south of The Hague. Delft is known for its historic town centre with canals, Delft Blue pottery, the Delft University of Technology, painter Johannes Vermeer and scientist Antony van Leeuwenhoek, and its association with the royal House of Orange-Nassau.

The city of Delft came into being from a canal, the ‘Delf’, which comes from the word delven, meaning delving or digging, and led to the name Delft. It presumably started around the 11th century as a landlord court. From a rural village in the early Middle Ages, Delft developed to a city, that in the 13th century (1246) received its charter.

The town’s association with the House of Orange started when William of Orange (Willem van Oranje), nicknamed William the Silent (Willem de Zwijger), took up residence in 1572. At the time he was the leader of growing national Dutch resistance against Spanish occupation, known as the Eighty Years’ War. By then Delft was one of the leading cities of Holland and it was equipped with the necessary city walls to serve as a headquarters. An attack by Spanish forces in October of that year was repelled.

After the Act of Abjuration was proclaimed in 1581, Delft became the de facto capital of the newly independent Netherlands, as the seat of the Prince of Orange. When William was shot dead in 1584, by Balthazar Gerards in the hall of the Prinsenhof, the family’s traditional burial place in Breda was still in the hands of the Spanish. Therefore, he was buried in the Delft Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), starting a tradition for the House of Orange that has continued to the present day.

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.

Sunday 15 September 2019

Thursday 12 September 2019

CELOSIA

Celosia cristata is a member of the Amaranthaceae family, and is commonly known as cockscomb, since the flower looks like the head on a rooster (cock). It is called Chi Kuan in China. The plants are hardy and resistant to most diseases, and grow equally well indoors or out, though the perfect place is one with no shade and a well drained soil, as the plant is susceptible to fungal diseases. The plant is used frequently as an ornamental plant indoors. Their leaves and flowers can be used as vegetables. They are often grown as foods in India, Western Africa, and South America.

They are annual plants of tropical origin and are herbaceous meaning they lack a woody stem. They grow well in both humid and arid conditions, and their flowers can last for up to 8 weeks. A high number of seeds can be produced by each flower, up to 1,500 per gram. The plant often grows up to 30 cm in height, though many are smaller. The leaves are either green or bronze/maroon, depending upon the cultivar. The flower can be broken into three parts: Their spikes, plumes and crests vary from one another but have standard commonalities—they are usually brightly coloured, usually red, yellow, pink, or orange, though other colours can be present. In some instances, a variety of colours are present in hybrids.

The plants are hardy and can be grown easily from the seeds. Since the plants are of tropic origin, they thrive in areas with tropical climate. However, they can also be grown in summer months in the colder climate. The plants being annual plants, grow for only about one fourth of a year. A soil temperature of about 16 °C is ideal for growth. The plants are relatively easy to grow and care for, having few insects that feed on them. Mites, though, are known to feed on the plants. The plants are also susceptible to leaf spotting, root rot and root strangulation. However the former two can be prevented by avoiding a damp soil and the latter by frequent weeding. Also wetting the leaf and flowers should be avoided as they can lead to fungal diseases.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

Wednesday 11 September 2019

JELLYFISH

Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella-shaped bells and trailing tentacles, although a few are not mobile, being anchored to the seabed by stalks. The bell can pulsate to provide propulsion and highly efficient locomotion. The tentacles are armed with stinging cells and may be used to capture prey and defend against predators. Jellyfish have a complex life cycle; the medusa is normally the sexual phase, the planula larva can disperse widely and is followed by a sedentary polyp phase.

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

Monday 9 September 2019

SOFIA, BULGARIA

Sofia (Bulgarian: София, Sofiya) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. Sofia is the 15th largest city in the European Union with population of more than 1.2 million people. The city is located at the foot of Vitosha Mountain in the western part of the country, within less than 50 kilometres drive from the Serbian border. Its location in the centre of the Balkan peninsula means that it is the midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, whereas the Aegean Sea is the closest to it.

Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BCE. Many of the major universities, cultural institutions and commercial companies of Bulgaria are concentrated in Sofia. Sofia is one of the top 10 best places for start-up business in the world, especially in IT technologies. Sofia is Europe's most affordable capital to visit as of 2013.

Bulgaria (officially the Republic of Bulgaria - Bulgarian: Република България, tr. Republika Bǎlgarija), is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres, Bulgaria is Europe's 16th-largest country. Organised prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history saw the presence of the Thracians and later the Persians, Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian state dates back to the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 AD, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavs during the Middle Ages.

With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both world wars. In 1946 it became a single-party socialist state as part of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc. In December 1989 the ruling Communist Party allowed multi-party elections, which subsequently led to Bulgaria's transition into a democracy and a market-based economy. Bulgaria's population of 7.4 million people is predominantly urbanised and mainly concentrated in the administrative centres of its 28 provinces.

Most commercial and cultural activities are centred on the capital and largest city, Sofia. The strongest sectors of the economy are heavy industry, power engineering, and agriculture, all of which rely on local natural resources. The country's current political structure dates to the adoption of a democratic constitution in 1991. Bulgaria is a unitary parliamentary republic with a high degree of political, administrative, and economic centralisation. It is a member of the European Union, NATO, and the Council of Europe; a founding state of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); and has taken a seat at the UN Security Council three times.

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.












Saturday 7 September 2019

TROPICAL

While our Winter lingers here in the southern part of Australia, up north in Queensland, the weather is warm and tropical...

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





Thursday 5 September 2019

HYACINTH

Hyacinthus is a small genus of bulbous flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Plants are commonly called hyacinths. Hyacinthus is native to the eastern Mediterranean (from south Turkey to northern Israel), north-east Iran, and Turkmenistan.

Three species are within the genus Hyacinthus:
Hyacinthus litwinowii;
Hyacinthus orientalis - Common, Dutch or Garden Hyacinth;
Hyacinthus transcaspicus.

Some authorities place H. litwonowii and H. transcaspicus in the related genus Hyacinthella, which would make Hyacinthus a monotypic genus. The Dutch, or Common Hyacinth of house and garden culture (H. orientalis, native to southwest Asia) was so popular in the 18th century that over 2,000 cultivars were cultivated in the Netherlands, its chief commercial producer. This hyacinth has a single dense spike of fragrant flowers in shades of red, blue, white, orange, pink, violet, or yellow. A form of the common hyacinth is the less hardy and smaller blue- or white-petalled Roman hyacinth of florists. These flowers should have indirect sunlight and are to be moderately watered.

Several types of brodiea, squill, and other plants that were formerly classified in the lily family and have flower clusters borne along the stalk also have common names with hyacinth in them. Hyacinths should also not be confused with the genus Muscari, which are commonly known as grape hyacinths.

Hyacinths are sometimes associated with rebirth. The Hyacinth flower is used in the Haftseen table setting for the Persian New Year celebration Norouz held during the Spring Equinox. Hyacinth bulbs are poisonous; they contain oxalic acid. Handling hyacinth bulbs can cause mild irritation to people with sensitive skin. Protective gloves may be worn to avoid irritation.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

Wednesday 4 September 2019

ITALY

Italy is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe, covering an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate climate. Due to its shape, it is often referred to in Italy as Lo Stivale (the Boot). With 61 million inhabitants, it is the 5th most populous country in Europe and a very highly developed country, having the third largest economy in the Eurozone and the eighth-largest in the world.

Since ancient times, Etruscan, Magna Graecia and other cultures have flourished in the territory of present-day Italy, being eventually absorbed by Rome, that has for centuries remained the leading political and religious centre of Western civilisation, capital of the Roman Empire and Christianity. During the Dark Ages, the Italian Peninsula faced calamitous invasions by barbarian tribes, but beginning around the 11th century, numerous Italian city-states rose to great prosperity through shipping, commerce and banking (indeed, modern capitalism has its roots in Medieval Italy).

Especially during The Renaissance, Italian culture thrived, producing scholars, artists, and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. Italian explorers such as Polo, Columbus, Vespucci, and Verrazzano discovered new routes to the Far East and the New World, helping to usher in the European Age of Discovery. Nevertheless, Italy would remain fragmented into many warring states for the rest of the Middle Ages, subsequently falling prey to larger European powers such as France, Spain, and later Austria.

Italy would thus enter a long period of decline that lasted until the mid 19th century. After various unsuccessful attempts, the second and the third wars of Italian Independence resulted in the unification of most of present-day Italy between 1859-66. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the new Kingdom of Italy rapidly industrialised and acquired a colonial empire becoming a Great Power. However, Southern and rural Italy remained largely excluded from industrialisation, fuelling a large and influential diaspora. 

Despite victory in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil, which favoured the establishment of a Fascist dictatorship in 1922. The subsequent participation in World War II at the side the Axis ended in military defeat, economic destruction and civil war. In the years that followed, Italy abolished the monarchy, reinstated democracy, and enjoyed a prolonged economic boom, thus becoming one of the most developed nations and the 5th largest economy in the world by 1990.

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

Tuesday 3 September 2019

TAOS PUEBLO, USA

Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo de Taos) is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Tiwa-speaking Native American tribe of Puebloan people. It lies about 1.6 km north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico, USA. The pueblos are considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States. This has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Taos Pueblo is a member of the Eight Northern Pueblos, whose people speak two variants of the Tanoan language.

The Taos community is known for being one of the most private, secretive, and conservative pueblos. A reservation of 38,000 hectare is attached to the pueblo, and about 4,500 people live in this area.The pueblo was constructed in a setting backed by the Taos Mountains of the Sangre de Cristo Range. The settlement was built on either side of Rio Pueblo de Taos, also called Rio Pueblo and Red Willow Creek, a small stream that flows through the middle of the pueblo compound. Its headwaters come from the nearby mountains.

Taos Pueblo’s most prominent architectural feature is a multi-storied residential complex of reddish-brown adobe, built on either side of the Rio Pueblo. The Pueblo’s website states it was probably built between 1000 and 1450. The pueblo was designated a National Historic Landmark on October 9, 1960. In 1992 it was designated as a UNESCO Heritage Site. As of 2006, about 150 people live in the historic complex full-time.The north-side Pueblo is said to be one of the most photographed and painted buildings in North America. It is the largest multistoried Pueblo structure still existing.

It is made of adobe walls that are often several feet thick. Its primary purpose was for defence. Up to as late as 1900, access to the rooms on lower floors was by ladders on the outside to the roof, and then down an inside ladder. In case of an attack, outside ladders could easily be pulled up.The homes in this structure usually consist of two rooms, one of which is for general living and sleeping, and the second of which is for cooking, eating, and storage. Each home is self-contained; there are no passageways between the houses. Taos Indians made little use of furniture in the past, but today they have tables, chairs, and beds. In the pueblo, electricity, running water, and indoor plumbing are prohibited.

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.