SUNRING

SUNRING

When you walk on grassy field

Ope’ your eyes and keep them peeled,

For Sunring golden may you find.

Angels came from Heaven high

To walk on fields with joy, so spry,

Bringing joy and love, mankind!

O, Sunring gold; O, Sunring round

Mine is good luck, fortune, found!

NJV

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

YUCCA FLOWER

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.

LORIKEET

The rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus) is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia and Tasmania. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Several taxa traditionally listed as subspecies of the rainbow lorikeet are now treated as separate species.

Rainbow lorikeets have been introduced to Perth, Western Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; and Hong Kong. Rainbow lorikeets are true parrots, within the Psittacoidea superfamily in the order Psittaciformes. They include two subspecies: Trichoglossus moluccanus moluccanus and Trichoglossus molucannus septentrionalis.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters 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.

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.

DRY & WET

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

SPRING MORNING

 In the Darebin Parklands, suburban Melbourne.

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.

IN BLOOM

 An Australian native (ID?), which I thought was a Philotheca, but apparently not. I encountered it on my walk this morning in Melbourne's Yarra Bend Park.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SURVIVOR

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

NATURAL

Rock -> Bark-> Water: A layer merge with Photoshop.

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

KANGAROO ISLAND, AUSTRALIA

Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia 112 km southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Point in Backstairs Passage which is 13.5 km from the Fleurieu Peninsula. Once occupied by Australian Aborigines, the native population disappeared from the archaeological record when the land became an island following rising sea levels several thousand years ago. It was subsequently settled intermittently by sealers and whalers in the early 19th century, and from 1836 on a permanent basis during the establishment of the colony of South Australia.

Since then the island's economy has been principally agricultural, with a southern rock lobster fishery and with tourism growing in importance. The largest town, and the administrative centre, is Kingscote. The island has several nature reserves to protect the remnants of its natural vegetation and native animals, with the largest and best-known being Flinders Chase National Park at the western end.

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.

DEWDROPS

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.

FISH & FOWL

Scale & 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.

BIRD LIFE

A walk in the Darebin Parklands is always a good way to relax and find serenity in nature right in the heart of a large metropolis, such that Melbourne has become. Even more delightful is spotting of some birds during one's walk. Here are some that I spotted...

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

From Top Right, clockwise: Indian Miner; Rainbow Lorikeets; Butcherbird; Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo; Purple Swamphen; Pacific Black Duck; Crested Pigeon; Bronzewing Pigeon; Willy Wagtail.

WAVE ROCK

Wave Rock is a natural rock formation that is shaped like a tall breaking ocean wave. The “wave” is about 14 m high and around 110 m long. It forms the north side of a solitary hill, which is known as “Hyden Rock”. This hill, which is a granite inselberg, lies about 3 km east of the small town of Hyden and 296 km east-southeast of Perth, Western Australia.

Wave Rock and Hyden Rock are part of a 160 ha nature reserve, Hyden Wildlife Park. A wall lies above Wave Rock about halfway up Hyden Rock and follows the contours of the wall. It collects and funnels rainwater to a storage dam. The wall and dam were constructed in December 1928 by the Public Works Department for the original settlers of East Karlgarin District. Both were renovated in 1951 to increase water capacity for the Hyden Township. Such walls are common on many similar rocks in the Wheatbelt.

Wave Rock has cultural significance to the indigenous Ballardong people. Local tribes believed that the rock was a creation of the Rainbow Serpent, and was created in her wake by dragging her swollen body over the land after she had consumed all of the water in the land. They respected this area as an icon of cultural learning; a moral from this Dreamtime tale was to be remembered for life. More than 140,000 tourists visit Wave Rock every year.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,

and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

SEASONAL

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

FALLEN GUM LEAF

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

PINK LAKE, AUSTRALIA

A few kilometers west of Dimboola, Victoria, next to the Western Highway, you can find Pink Lake. This lake is easily viewed from the rest-stop beside the highway and you can walk down the path to the edge of the lake. As you walk along the path to the lake, you will see yellow gums, buloke trees and paperbarks, giving way to the smaller and very distinctive salt tolerant plants that grow in this unique environment. The pink colour of the water comes from a pigment secreted by microscopic algae.

The intensity of the pink varies with the amount of water in the lake. When the lake is drier more light is reflected from the white crystallised salt reducing the impact of the pink. The salt was commercially harvested from the lake for many years and some of the relics from that time can still be seen near the edge of the lake. Harvesting and selling of Pink Lake Salt is now carried out again.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,

and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

XYLEM

xylem | ˈzʌɪləm |
noun [mass noun] Botany
The vascular tissue in plants which conducts water and dissolved nutrients upwards from the root and also helps to form the woody element in the stem. Compare with phloem.
ORIGIN
late 19th century: from Greek xulon ‘wood’ + the passive suffix -ēma.

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

SKYSCAPE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.