MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SKY, CAPTURED

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SUMMERY QUEENSLAND

Northern Queensland in Australia has a tropical climate and on the eastern coast, one may expect to see paradisiacal settings such as this below. A special hello to all Northern Hemisphere friends who are battling with cold, wet or snowy weather, and of course the consequences of the Pandemic and the lockdowns... Remember, however bad things may seem now, this trial will also pass!

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

FLY ME TO THE MOON!

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

GLADIOLUS

A garden hybrid variety of gladiolus in quite an unusual colour combination.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SANTORINI, GREECE

Santorini (Greek: Σαντορίνη), classically Thera (Greek: Θήρα); is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km southeast of Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera. It forms the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately 73 km2 and a 2011 census population of 15,550. The municipality of Santorini comprises the inhabited islands of Santorini and Therasia and the uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi, and Christiana. The total land area is 90.623 km2. Santorini is part of the Thira regional unit.

Santorini is essentially what remained after an enormous volcanic eruption that destroyed the earliest settlements on a formerly single island, and created the current geological caldera. A giant central, rectangular lagoon, which measures about 12 by 7 km, is surrounded by 300 m high, steep cliffs on three sides. The main island slopes downward to the Aegean Sea. On the fourth side, the lagoon is separated from the sea by another much smaller island called Therasia; the lagoon is connected to the sea in two places, in the northwest and southwest. The depth of the caldera, at 400m, makes it possible for all but the largest ships to anchor anywhere in the protected bay; there is also a newly built marina at Vlychada, on the southwestern coast. The island's principal port is Athinias. The capital, Fira, clings to the top of the cliff looking down on the lagoon.

The expansion of tourism has resulted in the growth of the economy and population. The major settlements include Fira (Phira), Oia, Emporio, Kamari, Perissa, Imerovigli, Pyrgos, and Therasia. Akrotiri is a major archaeological site, with ruins from the Minoan era. Santorini's primary industry is tourism, particularly in the summer months. Santorini was ranked world's top island for many other magazines and travel sites, including the Travel+Leisure Magazine, the BBC, as well as the US News.

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.

ORANGE STORY

Love amongst the clivias...

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

POLEMONIUM

Attractive, dense ferny foliage makes Polemonium pulcherrimum 'Blue Dove' (also known as Jacob's ladder) a valuable plant for all year round interest in the garden. As an added bonus loose sprays of open bell shaped flowers in a soft shade of blue can appear from spring right through to and including autumn. Its 'lacy' appearance makes it a useful plant for softening hard lines and edges created by rocks, garden edging or paving.

Polemonium is a genus comprising of around 30 species of mostly perennial herbs which are native to regions of North and Central America, Europe and Asia. An excellent plant for general garden use and suitable for most colour schemes. 'Blue Dove' looks particularly at home in woodland type settings or in the cottage garden. It may be grown in semi shade although this may decrease flower production. This, however, is not necessarily a reason to avoid planting it in such locations as the attractive foliage alone will lend a visual appeal to these often difficult landscaping zones. To accent the foliage further create a foil of foliage behind it using larger, broader leafed plants or those with tall slender foliage such as that of Irises.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

ST RAPHAËL - FRANCE

Saint-Raphaël (Occitan: Sant Rafèu) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Immediately to the west of Saint-Raphaël lies another, older, town called Fréjus, and together they form an urban agglomeration known as Fréjus Saint-Raphaël. The Var lies in the region called Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, often abbreviated to PACA. In the second half of the nineteenth century the township came under the influence of mayor Felix Martin and writer Alphonse Karr, and owing to their efforts and its beneficial climate the commune developed into a seaside resort popular with artists, sportsmen and politicians. It is the headquarters of the Fréjus Saint-Raphaël canton, which is the economic and cultural centre of eastern Var and lies in the arrondissement of Draguignan. Its inhabitants are called Raphaëlois in French generally, or Rafelencs in Provençal Occitan.

Saint-Raphaël is located at the extreme eastern end of the Var, along the border with the adjacent département of Alpes-Maritimes, which occupies the far south-eastern corner of France at the frontier with Italy. The commune has a total of thirty-six kilometres of Mediterranean coastline, owing mainly to the many coves and creeks formed between the natural region of the Esterel Massif and the sea. This places it second only to Marseilles, with fifty-seven kilometres of coastline. The commune is 89.59 km2 in extent. It is almost completely urbanised in the west, but includes over 60 km2 of protected areas of natural forest and the Esterel mountains. Saint-Raphaël has four large sandy beaches: One near the city centre, called the Veillat; one at Boulouris; one at Le Dramont, and the fourth at Agay. There are two smaller ones at Anthéor and Le Trayas.

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.

HEXAGONS

This is a digital manipulation and collage based on a drawing I have done using coloured pencils and watercolour. The edits using Photoshop and digital photos were merged with the original drawing.In geometry, a hexagon (from Greek ἕξ hex, "six" and γωνία, gonía, "corner, angle") is a polygon with six edges and six vertices.

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

More of my art here.

GRASS PARROT

The red-rumped parrot (Psephotus haematonotus), also known as the red-backed parrot or grass parrot, is a common bird of south-eastern Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin. Red-rumped parrots are slim, elegant, moderate-sized parrots approximately 28 cm in length. The male's plumage is a bright emerald-green with yellow underparts, a brick-red rump and blue highlights on the wings and upper back. The female's plumage is less vibrant, with pale olive underparts, dull green wings and back and blue-black wingtips. The characteristic red rump is only found in the male. Like many parrots, red-rumped parrots nest in tree hollows or similar places, including fenceposts and stumps. They lay 3-6 white eggs, Breeding usually takes place in spring (August to January), however, in the drier inland areas, breeding can occur at any time of year in response to rainfall.

Red-rumped parrots do well in aviaries and cages. They don't like to be in crowded spaces and will sometimes be aggressive towards other birds if they don't have enough space. Red-rumped parrots can also be hand reared, provided that they have a large cage and are taken out of their cage on a daily basis to prevent boredom, as it may result in the parrot pulling out its feathers to occupy itself. In captivity, if properly cared for, these birds will live from 15 to 32 years. Their green plumage provides such a good camouflage in ankle length grasses that they can hide quite effectively until the viewer is only 10–20 metres away. They spend a great deal of time feeding on the ground, and often call to one another with an attractive 'chee chillip chee chillip'.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

RHODES, GREECE

Rhodes (Greek: Ρόδος, Ródos) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece in terms of land area and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the South Aegean administrative region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Rhodes. The city of Rhodes had 50,636 inhabitants in 2011. It is located northeast of Crete, southeast of Athens and just off the Anatolian coast of Turkey.

Rhodes' nickname is The island of the Knights, named after the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, who once conquered the land. Historically, Rhodes was famous worldwide for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Medieval Old Town of the City of Rhodes has been declared a World Heritage Site. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. The name of the U.S. state of Rhode Island is based on this island. The photo is of a typical small street in the old town.

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.

PINK

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

COOL CAT

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

SWAN RIVER DAISIES

Brachyscome iberidifolia (Swan River Daisy) is a delightful, easy to grow small shrub 15cm to 45cm and is native to Western and central Australia. Masses of purple, blue or white flowers from Spring to Autumn. Ideal for mass planting along borders, rockeries, as ground cover, in tubs or hanging baskets.

Brachyscome is a genus of around 70 species of mostly annual and perennial herbs and a few subshrubs in the daisy family Asteraceae. 65 of these are endemic to Australia, the remainder being found in New Zealand and New Guinea. They have typical "daisy" flower heads with showy ray florets in shades of white, pink, mauve, violet or blue, surrounding a usually narrow group of yellow disk florets.

The leaves are often dissected to varying degrees but may be linear or spathulate. In growth habit they vary between plants with a rosette of basal leaves and more-or-less leafless flower scape, and those with mostly cauline leaves and often prostrate stems.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MILDURA, AUSTRALIA

Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura and nearby Wentworth, had a population of just over 53,000 in 2016. It is the largest settlement in the Sunraysia region. Mildura is a major horticultural centre notable for its grape production, supplying 80% of Victoria's grapes. Many wineries also source grapes from Mildura. Other key crops produced in the district include citrus, almonds and dried fruit.

The city's central business district is located just a short distance from the banks of the Murray. Langtree Avenue is the main shopping and dining precinct in Mildura, and part of the street is a pedestrian mall. The other major retail precinct is along Fifteenth Street in the Mildura South area, where a mid-sized undercover shopping mall and several big box stores are located.

The city's name was taken from the Mildura homestead, an early sheep station which covered most of the area. The urban area of Mildura is surrounded by a horticulture area, known as the traditional pumped district, where the original grape and citrus blocks were located with water irrigated from the Murray River.

The Murray River (or River Murray) is Australia's longest river, at 2,508 kilometres in length. The Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains, and then meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria as it flows to the northwest into South Australia. It turns south at Morgan for its final 315 kilometres, reaching the ocean at Lake Alexandrina.

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.

DALMATIAN BELLFLOWER

Campanula portenschlagiana, the wall bellflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae, native to the Dalmatian Mountains in Croatia. It is a vigorous, low-growing, mound-forming evergreen perennial with deep purple flowers in summer. Other common names include Dalmatian bellflower, Adria bellflower.

The plant forms a mat of foliage about 10 cm high and 50 cm or more wide, with many heart- or kidney-shaped leaves. Deep lilac or blue, funnel-shaped, 5-petalled flowers, 2 cm long, are borne in profusion, completely covering the plant from mid- to late summer. Flowers may be pollinated by beetles, flies, bees and butterflies, but are also capable of self-pollinating. The Latin specific epithet portenschlagiana commemorates the Austrian naturalist Franz von Portenschlag-Leydermayer (1772–1822).

Campanula portenschlagiana is an alpine plant requiring sharp drainage, so is suitable for an alpine garden, rock garden, or as groundcover, in sun or partial shade. Given suitable conditions, it will rapidly colonise cracks and crevices in walls and pavements. It is hardy to USDA hardiness zone 3. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

YOUNG & OLD

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.

COUNTRYSIDE

Victorian countryside in Gippsland, about 100 km East of Melbourne.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SWEET PEAS

The sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae (legumes), native to Sicily, Cyprus, southern Italy and the Aegean Islands. It is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of 1–2 metres, where suitable support is available. 

The leaves are pinnate with two leaflets and a terminal tendril, which twines around supporting plants and structures, helping the sweet pea to climb. In the wild plant the flowers are purple, 2–3.5 centimetres broad; they are larger and very variable in colour in the many cultivars. The annual species, L. odoratus, may be confused with the everlasting pea, L. latifolius, a perennial. 

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

TREES

At the Darebin Parklands, in suburban Melbourne, Australia.

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.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

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

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

AZALEAS

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CIRCUS MOSAIC

The circus mosaic in Melbourne's Victorian Arts Centre commemorates the important association between the site now occupied by the Victorian Arts Centre and the development of circus in Australia., The area referred to as "near Princes Bridge" was favoured as a circus location and "outdoor Playground" from the 1870's. One of the first tenants was the American circus, Cooper and Bailey`s which pitched its tents on the banks of the Yarra in 1877. Wirth Brothers Circus took over the lease in 1907 and demolished the existing temporary building erected earlier by Fitzgerald Brothers Circus. They built their own Olympia on the re-named Wirth Park, complete with a circus hippodrome, roller skating rink, race track, water chute and lake. It remained Wirth's Melbourne headquarters until 1953 when the buildings were destroyed by fire.

Wirth Brothers` Circus was billed as "the greatest show on earth" and became an Australian institution during its long history ( 1858 - 1953). Conveyed by its own special trains and drawing upon the major circuses of the world for its performers, it was a circus in the grand style. May Wirth ( 1895 - 1980 ) first performed with Wirth`s as a child and displayed an outstanding talent for horseback acrobatics. She went on to great international acclaim and was widely acknowledged as the finest circus equestrienne in the world. Unveiled on 7 June 1988 to mark the 150th anniversary of circus in Australia. A joint project between the Circus Fans of Australasia Inc. and the Performing Arts Museum, Victorian Arts Centre. Created by Joe Attard and David Jack of the Melbourne Mural Studio. Supported by the Commonwealth Department of Communications and the Arts.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

BEE

Bee on flowering gum. It's Spring!

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

ROCK ROSE

Cistus (from the Greek kistos) is a genus of flowering plants in the rockrose family Cistaceae, containing about 20 species. They are perennial shrubs found on dry or rocky soils throughout the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal through to the Middle East, and also on the Canary Islands.

Cistus, with its many hybrids and cultivars, is commonly encountered as a garden flower. The common name rockrose (rock rose in the UK) is applied to the species, a name also shared by the related genera Halimium, Helianthemum and Tuberaria, all in the family Cistaceae. The common name gum cistus is applied to resin-bearing species, especially C. ladanifer.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

EMPTY

As our lockdown continues, the City remains deserted and a lonely figure on this pedestrian bridge over the Yarra River is testimony to the fact that our lives have been changed quite radically in the last three months or so. Normally, this part of the City would have been crowded and buzzing with life. Despite the Spring sunshine, the newly sprouted vegetation and flowers on the banks of the river are more like a funereal wreath on the expiring body of our once lively metropolis... The new COVID-19 cases are almost down to zero now and we have few deaths lately, but nevertheless our restrictions remain Draconian and millions of Melbournians are suffering as a result.

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.

MOSAIC ART

This is a portion of a mosaic art piece on the sidewalk outside a primary school in our suburb. The children were involved in designing and making it, thus taking a prime role in beautifying their everyday surroundings in their school. A wonderful way to teach art techniques and art appreciation early on in life, as well as fostering creativity and developing talents.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

SPRING YELLOWS

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

COVID CITY

Deserted Melbourne City devoid of traffic during the COVID Lockdown...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia, with an estimated population of  two million living in the Perth metropolitan area. The metropolitan area is located in the South West Division of Western Australia, between the Indian Ocean and a low coastal escarpment known as the Darling Range. The central business district and suburbs of Perth are situated on the banks of the Swan River.

Shortly after the establishment of the port settlement of Fremantle, Perth was founded on 12 June 1829 by Captain James Stirling as the political centre of the Swan River Colony. As the business and administration centre for the resource-rich state, Perth has grown consistently.  Perth became known worldwide as the “City of Light” when city residents lit their house lights and streetlights as American astronaut John Glenn passed overhead while orbiting the earth on Friendship 7 in 1962. The city repeated the act as Glenn passed overhead on the Space Shuttle in 1998. Perth is tied for eighth place in The Economist’s 2011 list of the world's most livable cities.

Perth’s residents have traditionally enjoyed the highest standard of living of any of Australia’s big cities.  Until recently, the reason for this has been that, for most occupations, wages were only a little less than could be found in cities such as Sydney and Melbourne while house prices in Perth were considerably lower than the other cities.

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.