PITCHER PLANT

Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants with pitcher-shaped, modified leaves that trap and digest insects and other small prey for nutrients, as they typically grow in nutrient-poor environments. There are two main types: New World pitcher plants (genus Sarracenia), which are ground-dwelling and native to North America, and Old World tropical pitcher plants (genus Nepenthes), which are liana-like and found in the Old World tropics. Their elaborate traps use nectar, color, and scent to lure prey, which then slides down the slippery, downward-haired inner surface and drowns in digestive fluids.

Nepenthes gaya was originally bred by Sam Estes of Leilani Nepenthes in 2004. This is the first of his plants to be mass produced and widely available. A full size plant will sport 15 cm colourful pitchers with red-orange splotches against a yellow background. It grows very well as a houseplant and appreciates lots of bright filtered sunlight or partial sun. The full parentage of this plant is Nepenthes khasiana x ( ventricosa x maxima).

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

ST KILDA ESPLANADE

The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns. In modern usage the space allows people to walk for recreational purposes; esplanades are often on sea fronts, and allow walking whatever the state of the tide, without having to walk on the beach. Esplanades became popular in Victorian times when it was fashionable to visit seaside resorts.

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme

and also part of the Nature Notes meme

DONCASTER PUBLIC LIBRARY

A beautiful library and gallery in Doncaster, an outer suburb of Melbourne. This library is part of the Whitehorse Manningham Libraries group, which services several neighbouring suburbs.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

FIRST SIGNS OF SPRING

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

AT THE MARKET

Cutting a deal at the Sunday Market.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

COOL CAT

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

THINGS THAT FLY...

Hitchhiker?

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DAFFODIL DAY

Daffodil Day in Melbourne, organised by the Cancer Council, is a fundraising event held annually in August to support cancer research, prevention, and support services. In 2025, Daffodil Day falls on Thursday, August 21. It's a day for Australians to show their support for those affected by cancer and to raise funds for a cancer-free future. 

The Rialto Plaza is a prominent location for Daffodil Day, featuring a large display of daffodils, including a hot air balloon display and a giant daffodil. Daffodils are available for purchase, with proceeds going to the Cancer Council.

Please donate to the Cancer Council, every little bit helps to support research that will achieve a cancer-free future!

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DAREBIN CREEK

Fish ladder on the Darebin Creek at the Darebin Parklands in Alphington. An important conservation area for native flora and fauna.

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

PREMIER TOWER

Premier Tower is a mixed-use skyscraper on the corner of Bourke and Spencer Streets, in Melbourne, Australia. Designed by Elenberg Fraser, plans for a 294-metre tall building with 90-storeys were initially proposed in 2014; however, in order not to cast a shadow on the Yarra River to the south, both the height and the number of levels of the project were reduced in later plans, which were submitted to the Department of Planning.

In May 2015, Planning Minister Richard Wynne approved the development, which now consists of a 246–metre high residential and hotel skyscraper of 78 levels. When built, Premier Tower was to become one of the tallest buildings in Melbourne.

According to Elenberg Fraser, the design of the building pays homage to Beyoncé's fabric-draped silhouette in the music video for her 2013 song "Ghost", which captured the curves of the human form. Early construction on the project commenced in January 2017. The skyscraper is developed by the Fragrance Group Limited at a development cost of AUD$430 million.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

STAMPS FROM NEARBY...

A series of imagined stamps I've created from archival shots. Just playing...

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

RAIN ON THE WAY

View of the CBD from Preston, about 12 km away.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

RAINBOW LORIKEET

This little beauty came down on a shrub in the garden and seemed a little stunned. It was quite tame and not scared at all, posed quite prettily to have his photo taken. Initially I thought he was injured, but no, he just wanted to say hello and then flew away.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

SUNRISE

From my window this morning.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

MAGNOLIA

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

MARIBYRNONG RIVER

Melbourne’s second major river, the mighty Maribyrnong, runs for 160 kilometres from its source on the slopes of Mount Macedon through to Port Phillip Bay. Maribyrnong River’s name comes from the Aboriginal phrase Mirring-gnay-bir-nong, meaning ‘I can hear a ringtail possum’. It was originally called Saltwater River due to the seawater that entered from Hobson’s Bay, into which it directly flowed.

Although it flows through. Melbourne suburbs with a high density population, there are many parks and reserves along its length. The river and surrounding areas are home to a range of animals. One of the more interesting locals is the shy Black Wallaby, attracted by the ample water supply and efforts to restore its natural habitat – including coarse shrubs, bushes and grasses. It's also home to many species of plants, fish, birds, reptiles, insects, and frogs, the majority of which are native.

Here the view is from Moonee Ponds towards the City.

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme

and also part of the Nature Notes meme

PARKLANDS, LATE AFTERNOON

At the Darebin Parklands, late yesterday afternoon, as the sun was nearing sunset. A beautiful Spring-like day as we near the end of Winter...

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

A SPRING DAY

Another Spring day followed on from yesterday and it was a beautiful, sunny, mild and fragrant day. One could not help but go out and find some sunny spot in a park somewhere to enjoy the weather. Many Spring flowers are starting to appear (rather early this year!).

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme

and also part of the Seasons meme

SPRING IS WAITING...

 ...to pounce! The sun was quite warm today in Melbourne and there were lots of Spring flowers about!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

TASMANIAN DEVIL

The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It was formerly present across mainland Australia, but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago; it is now confined to the island of Tasmania.

The size of a small dog, the Tasmanian devil became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It is related to quolls, and distantly related to the thylacine.

It is characterised by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odour, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding. The Tasmanian devil's large head and neck allow it to generate among the strongest bites per unit body mass of any extant predatory land mammal. It hunts prey and scavenges on carrion.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

SUNRISE SILHOUETTES

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

SIGNS OF SPRING

A blooming polyanthus on the cold Winter's day is a welcome sign that Spring is not far away.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

PORT PHILLIP BAY

Port Phillip Bay and South Melbourne, viewed from the 25th floor of an apartment in Southbank. I'm stretching the zoom capability of my phone camera as you can see in the first photo. I've tried to clean up the photo with AI in the second image. Moral of the story, if you want best results use a dedicated camera with a decent zoom lens. It was a grey Winter's day, by the way...

Nevertheless, one can see that South Melbourne is a lovely old suburb with many trees and gardens as well as closeness to the sea. The Victorian Town Hall clock tower is evidence of many heritage buildings in this locale.

This photo is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

OLD FARM

Old Farm outbuildings in Gippsland.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

STILL WINTER...

The temperature is falling tonight, a cold wind is blowing and there is rain forecast for tomorrow. Yep, it's still Winter!

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

A TOUCH OF SPRING

After a very cold morning today, the sun began to shine and by 10:00 a.m. there was a smell of Spring about. Could not resist going to the Parklands, where many other people had the same idea!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

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 natural range of the eastern rosella is eastern Australia, down to Tasmania. The species is found in lightly wooded country, open forests, woodlands, gardens, bushlands and parks. Eastern rosellas usually breed in spring but if needed summer as well. They can have 2-9 eggs. In the wild their breeding hollow is 1m deep and 30m high up a tree. The sign the eastern rosella mostly shows that they would be breeding is that they give food to each other.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

MORNING SUN

The Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Kew.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

UNLIKELY FRIENDS

Here we are in Southern Hemisphere mid-Winter here in Melbourne, and in the cold and wet weather, our garden has produced these two flowers concurrently: An Autumnal Chrysanthemum (usually in bloom around April) and a 'Pierre de Ronsard' rose (usually in bloom in November!) Climate change? Confused flowers? Strange weather conditions? Extreme microclimate conditions in our back yard?

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SUMMER MEMORY

Found this in the archives and I sighed a little as it was quite a cold Winter day today, even though it was sunny at times. Well, here's a warm Summer memory from last year in the Fitzroy Gardens in the City.

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

MELBOURNE CENTRAL

Melbourne Central is a large shopping centre, office, and public transport hub in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The main tower is 211-metre high, making it one of the tallest buildings in Melbourne at the time it was built in 1991. Other parts of the complex include the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, the underground Melbourne Central railway station and the heritage-listed Coop's Shot Tower, now part of a shop and museum.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

MAJOR MITCHELL COCKATOO

The pink cockatoo (Cacatua leadbeateri), also known as Major Mitchell's cockatoo or Leadbeater's cockatoo, is a medium-sized cockatoo that inhabits arid and semi-arid inland areas across Australia, with the exception of the north east.

The pink cockatoo has a soft-textured white and salmon-pink plumage and large, bright red and yellow crest. Pink cockatoo females and males are almost identical. The males are usually bigger. The female has a broader yellow stripe on the crest and develop a red eye when mature.

The pink cockatoo is usually found in pairs or small groups, and feeds both on the ground and in trees. The pink cockatoo is listed as endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

STATE LIBRARY VICTORIA

State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the world. It is also Australia's busiest public library and, as of 2023, the third busiest library globally.

The library's first stage (the central part of the Swanston Street wing) opened on 11 February 1856, with a collection of 3,800 books chosen by Mr Justice Barry, the President of Trustees. The library has remained on the same site in the central business district since it was established fronting Swanston Street, and over time has expanded to cover a block bounded also by La Trobe, Russell, and Little Lonsdale streets.

The library's collection consists of over five million items, which in addition to books includes manuscripts, paintings, maps, photographs and newspapers, with a special focus on material from Victoria, including the diaries of the European founders of present-day Melbourne John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, the folios of colonial explorer James Cook, and items related to Ned Kelly, notably his armour and the original Jerilderie Letter.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

BROMELIAD

The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, Pitcairnia feliciana.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

DAREBIN CREEK

Darebin Creek, seen here flowing through the Darebin Parklands is Alphington, is a perennial creek. Along it are various nature reserves, parks and parklands, providing a welcome green belt running through suburbia. The creek joins the Yarra River further downstream. As well as much native fauna and flora found growing in its banks, there are also some introduced species, for example the Call lily "GreenGoddess" seen in the bottom left corner of the photo. There are concerted efforts to remove as much as possible of the weeds and introduced species and allow the native flora to grow again along the course of the waterway.

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme

and also part of the Nature Notes meme

PRESTON MARKET

At the lively, multicultural and community-minded Preston Market in Preston. Always a pleasure to go there for shopping, eating, having a cup of hot beverage or cold drink, meeting friends and socialising!

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

MELBOURNE TRAM

A visit to Melbourne would not be complete without riding on the trams, one of the city's modes of public transport. The tramway network is centred around the Melbourne central business district (CBD) and consists of 1,763 tram stops across 24 routes, with 493 trams and 250 kilometres of double tram track which served a patronage of 206 million over the year 2017-2018. It is the largest operational urban tram network in the world and one of the most used. Trams are the second most utilised form of public transport in Melbourne after the city's metropolitan commuter railway network.

Here is an E-class tram which is a three-section, four-bogie articulated trams that was first introduced to the Melbourne tram network in 2013, built at the Dandenong rolling stock factory of Bombardier Transportation (later Alstom) with the propulsion systems and bogies coming from Bombardier/Alstom factories in Germany.

Note that in Australia we drive on the left side of the road and we use kilometres.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

CAT

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

SUNRISE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

KRANTZ ALOE

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

WINTER PUDDLE

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

SOUTHERN CROSS

Southern Cross (formerly known, and still colloquially known, as Spencer Street) is a major railway station in Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, between Collins and La Trobe Streets, at the western edge of the central business district.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

VIRTUAL SUNSHINE

Melbourne is a bit grey and cold and wet at the moment. So I'm giving you a dose of virtual sunshine with a mosaic from my photo archive.

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

WINTRY MELBOURNE

A view of the Yarra River from Cremorne, looking towards the City on a Winter's day.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

BLACK COCKATOO

The red-tailed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii) also known as Banksian- or Banks' black cockatoo, is a large black cockatoo native to Australia. Adult males have a characteristic pair of bright red panels on the tail that gives the species its name. It is more common in the drier parts of the continent. Five subspecies are recognised, differing chiefly in beak size. Although the more northerly subspecies are widespread, the two southern subspecies, the forest red-tailed black cockatoo and the south-eastern red-tailed black cockatoo are under threat.

The species is usually found in eucalyptus woodlands, or along water courses. In the more northerly parts of the country, these cockatoos are commonly seen in large flocks. They are seed eaters and cavity nesters, and as such depend on trees with fairly large diameters, generally Eucalyptus. Populations in southeastern Australia are threatened by deforestation and other habitat alterations. Of the black cockatoos, the red-tailed is the most adaptable to aviculture, although black cockatoos are much rarer and much more expensive in aviculture outside Australia.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme