CHRYSANTHEMUMS

Autumn brings us chrysanthemums, perfect for celebrating our Mums on Mum's Day this Sunday coming.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

HAPPY BILBY EASTER!

Macrotis is a genus of desert-dwelling marsupial omnivores known as bilbies or rabbit-bandicoots; they are members of the order Peramelemorphia. At the time of European colonisation of Australia, there were two species. The lesser bilby became extinct in the 1950s; the greater bilby survives but remains endangered. It is currently listed as a vulnerable species.

The greater bilby is on average 55 cm long, excluding the tail, which is usually around 29 cm long. Its fur is usually grey or white; it has a long, pointy nose and very long ears, hence the reference of its nickname to rabbits.

Bilbies in Australia are associated with Easter and a great fund-raising effort to save the species from extinction comes to the fore during this time of the year, where the animal plays the role of Easter mascot, just as the Easter Bunny does in other parts of the world.

Happy Easter

To All who Celebrate it!

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

THIS WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS

A mosaic of photos, one from each month of the past year. Once again, a busy year, full of good and not so good things, surprises and routine happenings, some things old and cherished, others new and exciting. Goodbye to 2024, hello to 2025.

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****May the New Year 2025 be a better year for everyone!****
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This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

AT SOUTHBANK

Christmas tree at Southbank. The violet baubles are rather too lugubrious for my taste, despite the Barbie pink bows and bells...

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

IT'S CLOSE...

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

REMEMBRANCE DAY

Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy, and Armistice Day, to mark cessation of hostilities on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918), is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. The day is also marked by war remembrances in several other non-Commonwealth countries. In most countries, Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of First World War hostilities.

In Australia, Remembrance Day is always observed on 11 November, regardless of the day of the week, and is not a public holiday; it is a time when people can pay their respects to the substantial number of soldiers who died in battle. Some institutions observe two-minutes' silence at 11 am.

During the Second World War, many countries changed the name of the holiday. Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations adopted Remembrance Day, while the US chose Veterans Day.

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

MOTHER'S DAY

Happy Mother's Day!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

HAPPY ORTHODOX EASTER

Happy Easter to all Orthodox Christians who celebrate this great Feast Day today, Sunday 5th of May.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

ST PATRICK'S DAY

Happy St Patrick's Day! 

May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures.

May all life’s passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

JABIRU FOR THE NEW YEAR

The Jabiru, also known as the Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) is the only stork found in Australia. With black and white body plumage, glossy dark green and purple neck and massive black bill, it is easily identified from all other Australian birds. The legs are long and coral-red in colour. The female is distinguished by its yellow eye. Immature birds resemble adults, but the black plumage is replaced by brown and the white plumage is duskier.

The Jabiru is restricted mainly to coastal and near-coastal areas of northern and eastern Australia. Throughout the monsoonal areas of northern Australia, it is still widespread, but fewer numbers appear southwards to eastern Australia.This distinctive black-and-white waterbird stands an impressive 1.3m tall and has a wingspan of around 2m. The species Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus comprises two subspecies, E. a. asiaticus in India and south-east Asia, and E. a. australis in Australia and New Guinea.

The Stork symbolises rebirth or new life. It is thought to represent new physical or spiritual beginnings. They are linked to hearth, home and protection. The Stork is sacred to the ancient Greek goddess Hera. She and the stork are symbols of protection, especially so in the home, of families and children.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

MAY YOU HAVE HEALTH, HAPPINESS,

PEACE AND PROSPERITY!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best wishes for a New Year filled with health and happiness! Let's all hope that this year brings healing and restitution of normality.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

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.

FESTIVE SEASON

The Festive Season is upon us and shop windows are beginning to look quite brilliant. This is from the window of our local cake and coffee shop.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

REMEMBRANCE DAY

Papaver rhoeas (common names include common poppy, corn poppy, corn rose, field poppy, Flanders poppy or red poppy) is an annual herbaceous species of flowering plant in the poppy family, Papaveraceae.

Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. Following a tradition inaugurated by King George V in 1919, the day is also marked by war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. The red Flanders poppy symbolises remembrance, as the battlefields of WWI were filled with red poppies in the spring following the war, reminding survivors of the blood spilt on the battlefields.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

MELBOURNE CUP

The Melbourne Cup is the horse race of all Australian horse races. Every year when this race is run around 3:00 pm, it literally stops the entire nation. Melbourne Cup Day is fixed on the first Tuesday in November and although it is a public holiday only in the Melbourne Metropolitan area, Australians all over the nation are glued to their television screens or listen on the radio (or on the internet too, nowadays, I suppose) to watch this historic race.

The race is held over a distance of 3,200 meters, the traditional two-mile cup distance, for horses three years and older and is the richest and most prestigious “two-mile” handicap in the world. It is held in Flemington Racecourse, located in Flemington, one of Melbourne's inner city suburbs, which is named after a butcher who lived there in the 19th century. I certainly hope he didn't sell horse meat - that would be grand irony!

The first Melbourne Cup was run in 1861. There were 17 starters and the prize was 170 pounds and a hand-beaten gold watch (this was the trophy given before the traditional Loving Cup which the Melbourne Cup is known for). “Archer”, the first Cup-winning horse, had been walked to Melbourne from its stable in Nowra, New South Wales, a distance of about 800km. “Archer” won again the following year to a prize of 810 gold sovereigns (£810) and a gold watch. “Archer” went on to win the race the following year once more, making him one of the five horses to win the event more than once.

Champion mare Verry Elleegant has taken out the G1 Melbourne Cup in sensational fashion, romping home to defeat boom horse Incentivise by 4L. Verry Elleegant, ridden by James McDonald, settled in a midfield position before entering the Flemington straight under a hold out wide.

After the pandemic essentially stopped Melbourne for more than 18 months, Victoria's COVID-19 restrictions eased just in time for the race that stops the nation. About 70 per cent of spectators at Flemington were Victoria Racing Club (VRC) members, with only 5 per cent of tickets offered to the public — equating to a few hundred ticketholders. The rest of the crowd was made up of horse owners, corporate sponsors and trainers.

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.

HALLOWEEN PUMPKINS

It's time to make those Jack O'Lanterns, but there is a slight problem in Australia, as pumpkin season is six months ahead in our Autumn (March to May), Step in direct imports from the USA and we have pumpkins a-plenty. The price is steep! A friend bought a nice large pumpkin for $76...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

MOTHER'S DAY

 Happy Mother's Day!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

CHRISTMAS BUSH

Ceratopetalum gummiferum, the New South Wales Christmas Bush, is a tall shrub or small tree popular in cultivation due to its sepals that turn bright red-pink at around Christmas time. The petals are actually small and white - it is the sepals that enlarge to about 12mm after the flower sets fruit and starts to dry out. The specific name gummiferum alludes to the large amounts of gum that is discharged from cut bark. 

Plants initially grow as rounded shrubs but mature to pyramidical trees. The leaves comprise three leaflets and are up to 8 cm long. The petioles are grooved on the upper side and are 10 to 20 mm long. Small, white five-petalled flowers appear in spays from October in the species native range. As these die the sepals enlarge and become pink to red in colour, the display peaking at Christmas time in Australia (i.e. during Summer).

Ceratopatalum gummiferum is one of nine species in the genus Ceratopetalum in the family Cunoniaceae, which occur in Australia and Papua New Guinea. The species was first formally described by English botanist James Edward Smith in 1793 in 'A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland'. The species is endemic to New South Wales where it occurs to the east of the Great Dividing Range from Ulladulla in the south to Evans Head in the north.

In cultivation, plants usually grow to no more than 6 metres in height. Plants may be propagated from seed or cuttings, the latter method being preferred to maintain good colour forms. Well-drained soil is required to avoid problems with dieback associated with root-rot fungus.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

It's Christmas on Friday and I hadn't realised how close it is! This year has filled us with all sorts of other preoccupations and priorities, so Christmas has fallen somewhat by the wayside. However, I think everyone who is celebrating Christmas this year will feel a little more grateful, a little more genuine, a little more humble about it all. Do something nice for a stranger this Christmas, I guarantee it will make you feel so much better!

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

CHRISTMAS APPROACHING

At the South Melbourne Market, with restrictions easing it's easier to get into the Christmas season spirit and remember the good old times pre-COVID-19! 

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.