BABIANA

Babiana is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae composed of about 80 recognised species. The majority of these species are endemic to the Cape Provinces of South Africa, especially Namaqualand, as well Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The genus name is derived from the Dutch word baviaan, referring to the Chacma baboon Papio ursinus, that consumes the corms of plants in the genus.

Babiana stricta (baboon flower, blue freesia) is widely cultivated as an ornamental and has been naturalised in Australia. Growing 10–30 cm tall by 5 cm broad, it is a cormous perennial with hairy leaves 10-20 cm long. The leaves show linear venation. There are many hybrids and cultivars with different coloured flowers, usually blue, mauve or pink with white additions. In mid- to late spring, each flowering stem produces six or more blooms, each to 5 cm across. They are grouped in an inflorescence and often have a pleasant lemon scent. The seeds are black with a hard coat, collected in round seed capsules. The specific epithet stricta means "erect, upright".

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

NATURE

Walking along the Yarra River in Abbotsford, Melbourne, enjoying the vast areas of parklands and nature reserve along the river. This is amazing as these vast tracts of natural bushland are within a stone's throw of the bustling city centre. Melbourne has a population of close to five, million people, so I consider myself very lucky to have such splendid conservation areas within walking distance of my home.

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.

SYDNEY CENTRAL STATION

Central Railway Station is located at the southern end of the Sydney CBD and is the largest railway station in Australia. It services almost all of the lines on the Sydney Trains network, and is the major terminus for interurban and interstate rail services; it houses the operations of The Rail Corporation New South Wales; it sits adjacent to Railway Square and is officially located in Haymarket. It is also the closest station to the University of Technology Sydney at Broadway.

There have been three terminal stations in Sydney. The original Sydney Station was opened on 26 September 1855 in an area known as "Cleveland Fields." This station (one wooden platform in a corrugated iron shed), called Redfern, had Devonshire Street as its northern boundary. When this station became inadequate for the traffic it carried, a new station was built in 1874 on the same site and also called Redfern. This was a brick building with two platforms. It grew to 14 platforms before it was replaced by the present-day station to the north of Devonshire Street.

The new station was built on a site previously occupied by the Devonshire Street Cemetery, a convent, a female refuge, a police barracks, a parsonage and a Benevolent Society. The remains exhumed from the cemetery were re-interred at a number of other Sydney cemeteries including Rookwood Cemetery and Waverley Cemetery. Bodies were moved to Botany by steam tram motors and flat cars. The new 15-platform station, still in use, opened on 4 August 1906, and included the previous Mortuary railway station used to transport funeral parties to Rookwood Cemetery. The last train departed platform 5 of the 1874 station at midnight. During the remainder of that night the passenger concourse was demolished and the line extended through the old station into the new station. The Western Mail train that arrived in Sydney at 5:50am on 5 August 1906 arrived at the new station.

Devonshire Street, which separated the two stations, became a pedestrian underpass to allow people to cross the railway line and is now known by many as the Devonshire Street Tunnel. A 75-metre clock tower in the Free Classical style was added at the north-western corner of the station, opened in 3 March 1921. Central Station was designed by the Government Architect, Walter Liberty Vernon, and has been described as the "grandest railway station in Australia." It is listed on the Register of the National Estate.

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.

TEMPUS FUGIT

Nay, every race on earth of men, and beasts,
And ocean-folk, and flocks, and painted birds,
Rush to the raging fire: love sways them all.
Fast flies meanwhile the irreparable hour,
As point to point our charmed round we trace.

Virgil - "Georgics" Book 3

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme,

YARRA BEND AUTUMN

Yarra Bend Park is the largest area of natural bushland near the heart of Melbourne. The park features steep river escarpments, open woodlands, playing fields and golf courses. It is always a pleasure to walk there, but especially so during Autumn near the plantings of deciduous trees, which display their beautiful Autumn colours. This is a post in sympathy with all you Northern Hemisphere denizens, that are in the midst of Autumn.

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

DUCK!

A male chestnut teal duck (Anas castanea). This is a dabbling duck found in Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.

Always funny when someone sees a duck and yells out "Duck!"; and the duck does.

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

SPRING SKY

Fluffy Spring clouds...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

POET'S NARCISSUS

Narcissus poeticus (poet's daffodil, poet's narcissus, nargis, pheasant's eye, findern flower, and pinkster lily) was one of the first daffodils to be cultivated, and is frequently identified as the narcissus of ancient times (although Narcissus tazetta and Narcissus jonquilla have also been considered as possibilities). It is also often associated with the Greek legend of Narcissus. It is the type species of the genus Narcissus and is widely naturalized in North America.

The flower is extremely fragrant, with a ring of petals in pure white and a short corona of light yellow with a distinct reddish edge. It grows to 20 to 40 cm tall. Poet's daffodil is cultivated in the Netherlands and southern France for its essential oil, narcissus oil, one of the most popular fragrances used in perfumes. Narcissus oil is used as a principal ingredient in 11% of modern quality perfumes—including 'Fatale' and 'Samsara'—as a floral concrete or absolute. The oil's fragrance resembles a combination of jasmine and hyacinth.

While all narcissi are poisonous when eaten, poet's daffodil is more dangerous than others, acting as a strong emetic and irritant. The scent is powerful enough that it can cause headache and vomiting if a large quantity is kept in a closed room.

This post is part of the Nature Notes meme,

and also part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MUSIC 4 - BUSKERS

Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is practiced all over the world and dates back to antiquity. People engaging in this practice are called street performers or buskers.

Performances are anything that people find entertaining. Performers may do acrobatics, animal tricks, balloon twisting, caricatures, clowning, comedy, contortions, escapology, dance, singing, fire skills, flea circus, fortune-telling, juggling, magic, mime, living statue, musical performance, puppeteering, snake charming, storytelling or reciting poetry or prose, street art such as sketching and painting, street theatre, sword swallowing, and ventriloquism.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA

Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, tr. Sankt-Peterburg) is the second largest city in Russia, politically incorporated as a federal subject (a federal city). Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was named Saint Petersburg in 1703. In 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd (Russian: Петрогра́д), in 1924 to Leningrad (Russian: Ленингра́д), and in 1991 back to Saint Petersburg.

Tsar Peter the Great founded Saint Petersburg on May 27 [O.S. 16] 1703. Between 1713–1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the imperial capital of Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow. It is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with five million inhabitants in 2012, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. Saint Petersburg is the most Westernised city of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. It is the northernmost city in the world with a population of over one million.

The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. A large number of foreign consulates, international corporations, banks, and businesses have offices in Saint Petersburg. We visited St Petersburg in 2001 and thoroughly enjoyed it, seeing an amazing number of significant sites, museums, historical and cultural areas. The people we met were courteous, helpful and friendly.

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.