EASTERN ROSELLA

The eastern rosella (Platycercus eximius) is a rosella native to southeast of the Australian continent and to Tasmania. It has been introduced to New Zealand where feral populations are found in the North Island (notably in the northern half of the island and in the Hutt Valley) and in the hills around Dunedin in the South Island.

The eastern rosella is 30 cm long. It has a red head and white cheeks. The beak is white and the irises are brown. The upper breast is red and the lower breast is yellow fading to pale green over the abdomen. The feathers of the back and shoulders are black, and have yellowish or greenish margins giving rise to a scalloped appearance that varies slightly between the subspecies and the sexes. The wings and lateral tail feathers are bluish while the tail is dark green. The legs are grey. The female is similar to the male though duller in colouration and has an underwing stripe, which is not present in the adult male. Juveniles are duller than females and have an underwing stripe.

The diet of eastern rosellas mainly consists of fruit, seeds, flowers and insects. The eastern rosella is sometimes kept as a pet. These birds are desired for their beautifully coloured plumage. They are intelligent creatures, which can be trained to whistle a wide repertoire of tunes and may even learn to speak a few words or phrases. Rosellas can make good companion parrots; however, they require a great deal of attention and many toys to satisfy their need for social interaction and mental stimulation.

These birds sometimes won't adapt to life as a family pet. Hand-raised birds can be fully domesticated, but usually they turn out still wild. Usually, this species doesn't like getting “petted” or “cuddled” and can bite in response to this type of handling. Many people believe that rosellas are best housed in large aviaries that enable them to fly freely with minimal human socialization. Despite these difficulties, many people enjoy the eastern rosella as a beautiful but sometimes feisty pet bird.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

and also part of the My Sunday Best meme.

HELLEBORE

Helleborus niger, commonly called Christmas rose or black hellebore, is an evergreen perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is poisonous. Although the flowers resemble wild roses (and despite its common name), Christmas rose does not belong to the rose family (Rosaceae).

The plant is a traditional cottage garden favourite because it flowers in the depths of winter. Large-flowered cultivars are available, as are pink-flowered and double-flowered selections. It has been awarded an Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

It can be difficult to grow well; acid soil is unsuitable, as are poor, dry conditions and full sun. Moist, humus-rich, alkaline soil in dappled shade is preferable. Leaf-mould can be dug in to improve heavy clay or light sandy soils; lime can be added to 'sweeten' acid soils.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SUNSET

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

WINTRY LANDSCAPE

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LUNAR ECLIPSE

A total lunar eclipse occurred in Melbourne on May 26th 2021. A total lunar eclipse happens when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Full Moon and blocks all of Sun's direct rays from lighting up the Moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned (in syzygy) with Earth between the other two, and only on the night of a full moon.

The type and length of a lunar eclipse depend on the Moon's proximity to either node of its orbit. A totally eclipsed Moon is sometimes called a blood moon for its reddish colour, which is caused by Earth completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the Moon. The only light reflected from the lunar surface has been refracted by Earth's atmosphere. This light appears reddish for the same reason that a sunset or sunrise does: the Rayleigh scattering of bluer light.

Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly 2 hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only up to a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller. Also unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view without any eye protection or special precautions, as they are dimmer than the full Moon.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

ANTARCTIC BLAST

We are in late Autumn, so colder weather and short days are to be expected. This week, we've had an Antarctic blast that caused leaden skies, wet weather and cold temperatures.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday 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.

PIGEONS

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

FIERY SUNSET

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BROAD SKY

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SUNSET

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DOGGIE

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MOORHEN

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

OLD DEPOT

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SOCIAL DISTANCING

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GILT STATUE

In January 1911, the Archbishop of Melbourne, Archbishop Carr appointed Fr Joseph King as founder and first parish priest of the new parish of Our Lady Help of Christians East Brunswick. Fr King celebrated the first Masses in the parish on 22 January 1911, on an altar made up of packing cases, in Excelsior Hall at 767 Nicholson Street. At a parish meeting 10 days later, on 1 February, a decision was taken to build a church-school on a block of land, bounded by Barkly, Dean and Holden Streets, which Archbishop Carr had given as a gift to the new parish. The Sisters of Mercy were appointed to teach at the school and the church-school building was blessed and opened on 5 November 1911.

The statue of Our Lady, on top of the church tower in East Brunswick was carved by a Sydney artist from Queensland beech wood, covered with copper and then gold leaf. The statue was blessed and installed in October 1918 when Mr W. (Tas) Lennox and assistants hoisted it to the top of the tower with a wooden crane. It was the first statue of its kind in honour of Our Lady Help of Christians to be erected in Australia.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,

and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

EDEN

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

BLACKWOOD WATTLE

Acacia melanoxylon (Australian blackwood, black wattle, blackwood wattle, mudgerabah), is a tree up to 20 m high, with a bole of about 150 cm in diameter. The bark on older trunks is dark greyish-black in colour, deeply fissured and somewhat scaly. Younger branches are ribbed, angular, or flattened towards their tips and are greenish in colour. These branchlets are usually mostly hairless (glabrous or glabrescent), but the stems of younger plants are sometimes more obviously hairy (densely pubescent).

The pale yellow, cream or whitish coloured flowers are fluffy in appearance due to the presence of numerous stamens. They are densely arranged into small rounded clusters (5-10 mm across), each containing numerous (30-56) flowers. Each individual flower in this cluster is stalkless (sessile) and has five relatively inconspicuous petals and sepals. The flower clusters are borne on stalks (peduncles) 5-14 mm long and are alternately arranged on a short branch (6-40 mm long) emanating from a 'leaf' fork (phyllode axil). These compound flower clusters (axillary racemes) generally contain only 2-8 of the small globular flower clusters. Flowering can occur throughout the year.

Acacia melanoxylon is cultivated in forestry plantings as it is used for lumber, fuelwood and also in amenity plantings. The wood is used for light construction, tool handles, turnery and fence posts. It is used as a nurse tree in the rehabilitation of disturbed natural forests.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SUNRISE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.