RED VALERIAN

Valeriana rubra is a multi-stemmed perennial herbaceous plant up to 80 cm tall with red, pink or white flowers. The leaves are generally 5–10 cm long, the stem leaves being sessile and branch leaves sometimes having a petiole up to 5 cm long. The leaves grow in opposite pairs and are oval or lanceolate in shape.

The inflorescences occur at the tips of the branches, in multiparous cymes with a hundred or more flowers. Each plant has either red, pink or white flowers. Valeriana rubra 'Albus' (about 10% of individuals) has white blooms. The cultivar 'coccineus' is especially long-blooming. The blooms have a strong and somewhat rank scent. They are pollinated by both bees and butterflies and the plant is noted for attracting insects. 

Flowering takes place in early summer and, in cool summer areas, continues sporadically throughout the summer and into fall. Red Valerian is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including angle shades. Fruits have feathery projections similar in appearance to the pappus of dandelion seeds that allow wind dispersal, and can self-seed freely and become invasive if not properly controlled.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2026

Dear Friends, Best wishes for a New Year filled with health, happiness and peace!

MOONEE PONDS

Moonee Ponds is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the City of Moonee Valley. At the 2024 Census, Moonee Ponds had a population of 16,400. Moonee Ponds is home to Queens Park and the Moonee Valley Racecourse.

Puckle Street is the main shopping street and there are many shops and cafes along its length. At its eastern end is Moonee Ponds Junction and at its western end is Moonee Ponds train station. It is a lively and colourful, old fashioned strip shopping centre.

New development with residential towers has changed the character of this suburb and further building works will  increase its population and put further stress in its infrastructure.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

BRUNSWICK ST

Brunswick Street is a street in inner northern Melbourne, known for cafés, live music venues, quirky shops, street entertainment and alternative fashion boutiques. Brunswick Street runs north-south through the inner northern Melbourne suburbs of Fitzroy and Fitzroy North, from Victoria Parade at its southernmost end, crossing Alexandra Parade, and continuing until it reaches St Georges Road in Fitzroy North, near the Edinburgh Gardens; there, its former northward course is continued by a much smaller residential street named Brunswick Street North. Tram route 112 runs along the entire length of Brunswick Street for part of its journey.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme

ON THE FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

GEESE

The Cape Barren goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) is a large goose resident in southern Australia, classified in the family Anatidae. The species is named for Cape Barren Island, where specimens were first sighted by European explorers. These are bulky geese and their almost uniformly grey plumage, bearing rounded black spots, is unique. The tail and flight feathers are blackish and the legs are pink with black feet. The short, decurved black bill and light green cere gives it a very peculiar expression

The Cape Barren goose is 75 to 100 cm long, weighs 3 to 7 kg and has a 150 to 190 cm wingspan; males are somewhat larger than females. This bird feeds by grazing and rarely swims. Their ability to drink salt or brackish water allows numbers of geese to remain on offshore islands all year round. They are one of the rarest of the world's geese. They are gregarious outside the breeding season, when they wander more widely, forming small flocks.

A previous decline in numbers appears to have been reversed as birds in the east at least have adapted to feeding on agricultural land. The breeding areas are grassy islands off the Australian coast, where this species nests on the ground in colonies. It bears captivity well, quite readily breeding in confinement if large enough paddocks are provided. This photo was taken on Phillip Island, where large numbers of these geese may be seen.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

TWILIGHT OF THE YEAR

As 2025 progresses towards its end, we reflect on all that's been and gone. In the twilight of the year we once again wonder how all these terrible things that have happened were allowed to happen...

We all desire peace, and yet wars rage on. We all value security and serenity, yet we tolerate injustice and gross upheavals. We all look to our youth with eyes full of hope for the future, and we see violence and recklessness. We all believe in freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom of thought, yet we are confronted by intolerance, extremism, fanaticism and terrorism...

As 2026 will dawn, what will it bring? Is there a chance that things will improve? Have we had enough? What can we each do to bring about a change for the better?

An image below of twilight, and a lullaby of hope...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

More of my music can be found on instagram @otidorchestre

GAILLARDIA

Gaillardia, commonly known as the blanket flower, is a genus of vibrant, daisy-like flowering plants known for their hardiness and ability to thrive in hot, dry conditions. They are popular in gardens for their long blooming period and ability to attract pollinators like bees and butterflies.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme

KEW BOATHOUSE

Historic Studley Park Boathouse, Kew, is only 10 minutes from the city centre and offers visitors the opportunity to dine in the restaurant, relax over a lighter meal in the indoor/outdoor café, or have a light snack from the kiosk while enjoying sweeping views of the Yarra River and natural bushland. You can also hire row boats, canoes and kayaks from the oldest operating boathouse in Australia. Open every day of the year except Christmas Day. Kids love the place as there are activities, animals and wide open spaces to play in.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

and also part of the Roentare’s Water Meme