EDGARS CREEK

Edgars Creek flows along a 17km course from its headwaters in Wollert through the highly urbanised suburbs of Epping, Thomastown and Reservoir, finally joining the Merri Creek in North Coburg. It is a seasonal creek, susceptible to drying out during the hot seasons and flooding during periods of high rainfall. Parts of the storm water management systems in the Cities of Whittlesea and Darebin drain directly into the creek.

In the vicinity of Craigieburn Road East in the City of Whittlesea the creek runs through the 9000 dwelling Aurora estate development in Epping North. Here the creek is characterised by shallow banks and is often dry. Although sections of the creek around Coburg remind us of how the creek once was before urbanisation, much of the creek between the headwaters and Edwardes Lake Park in Reservoir is now artificially channelled.

Only 55% of the creek remains in semi-natural form with approximately 11% of the creek no more than a concrete drain. Nevertheless, the water attracts many birds, including grey gulls, ducks, brown ducks, purple swamp hens, moorhens, coots, and crested pigeons.

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.

CREEK

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CYCLING NOT SWIMMING

Cycling across the ford not recommended...

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and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

CREEK

By the creek, one early Autumn morning. Fine, warm Autumn days just as the season has turned are beautiful...

This post is part of the Weekend Green meme,
and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

DAREBIN CREEK

Darebin Creek is a creek that runs through the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the main watercourse of the Darebin Valley and a major tributary of the Yarra River. For tens of thousands of years it was used as a food and tool source sustainably by the Wurundjeri people, Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation alliance, who spoke variations of the Woiwurrung language group.

The creek arises on the northern urban fringe of Melbourne north of the suburb of Epping, following a general southerly route and meeting the Yarra at Alphington. The creek forms much of the municipal boundary between the City of Darebin and City of Banyule. Formerly an intermittent stream, increased stormwater runoff with urbanisation of the Darebin Creek catchment has resulted in permanent water flow.

The creek runs through Darebin Parklands, a large nature reserve one or two kilometres northwest of the junction at which the creek meets the Yarra. The Darebin Creek Trail runs along the banks in the lower reaches of the creek. This is the creek at the Darebin Parklands in Fairfield.

Good to see the dog walkers having their dog on a leash so that it doesn't disturb the birdlife in the Parklands. Some Rainbow Lorikeets and an Ibis not much further up the path.

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and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,

and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

VIVID LEAVES

On a mossy riverbank...

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WINTER GREENS

By the Darebin Creek in Melbourne in Winter.

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SUNRISE

"Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise." - George Washington Carver

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BUTTERCUPS

Ranunculus is a large genus of about 600 species of plants in the Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus include the buttercups, spearworts, and water crowfoots. The petals are often highly lustrous, especially in yellow species. Buttercups usually flower in the spring, but flowers may be found throughout the summer, especially where the plants are growing as opportunistic colonisers, as in the case of garden weeds.

Ranunculus repens, the creeping buttercup, is native to Europe, Asia and northwestern Africa. It is also called creeping crowfoot and (along with restharrow) sitfast. It is a herbaceous, stoloniferous perennial plant growing to 50 cm tall. It has both prostrate running stems, which produce roots and new plants at the nodes, and more or less erect flowering stems. The basal leaves are compound, borne on a 4–20 cm long petiole and divided into three broad leaflets 1.5–8 cm long, shallowly to deeply lobed, each of which is stalked.

The leaves higher on the stems are smaller, with narrower leaflets and may be simple and lanceolate. Both the stems and the leaves are finely hairy. The flowers are bright golden yellow, 2–3 cm diameter, usually with five petals, and the flower stem is finely grooved. The fruit is a cluster of achenes 2.5–4 mm long. Creeping buttercup has three-lobed dark green, white-spotted leaves that grow out of the node. It grows in fields and pastures and prefers wet soil.

Like most buttercups, Ranunculs repens is poisonous, although when dried with hay these poisons are lost. The taste of buttercups is acrid, so cattle avoid eating them. The plants then take advantage of the cropped ground around it to spread their stolons. Creeping buttercup also is spread through the transportation of hay. Contact with the sap of the plant can cause skin blistering.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
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FUN AT THE LAKE

Merri Creek flows about 60 km from the Great Dividing Range through Melbourne’s northern suburbs to the Yarra River. Merri Creek is an environmental, heritage and recreation corridor that draws its significance from its role as a continuous corridor as it does from the qualities of individual reaches. All areas of the Creek are important because they contribute to the linking of areas of environmental, heritage and recreational value along the Creek. At Coburg, one of Melbourne's northern suburbs, the creek has been dammed to form a lake.

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and also part of the Our Beautiful World meme,
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