SUNSET ON THE LAKE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

YARRAWONGA

Yarrawonga is a town in the Shire of Moira local government area in the Australian state of Victoria. In the 2021 census, Yarrawonga had a population of 8,661 people. The town is located approximately 264 kilometres north-east of the state capital, Melbourne, situated on the south bank of the Murray River, the border between Victoria and New South Wales. Yarrawonga's twin town of Mulwala is on the other side of the Murray River.

Yarrawonga's main attraction is Lake Mulwala, formed by the damming of the Murray River. The lake is a popular location for activities such as boating, kayaking and fishing. There are two crossings of the Murray between Yarrawonga and Mulwala; across the weir (Walking path only); and a bridge over Lake Mulwala. This bridge contains an unusual bend and dip in the middle, a result of miscommunication between the two state governments...

The "dead trees" in Lake Mulwala are a distinctive feature of the landscape, resulting from the lake's creation in 1939. Originally, the area was cleared for the lake, but some trees were left standing when the area was flooded. These trees have since died and become a unique part of the lake's scenery, providing a striking visual element and habitat for some wildlife.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

LAKE BULLEN MERRI

Lake Bullen Merri and its smaller northern neighbour Lake Gnotuk are a pair of crater lakes near Camperdown in south western Victoria, Australia.  Lake Bullen Merri has brackish water quality whereas Lake Gnotuk is hyper saline (twice as salty than seawater). 

Lake Bullen Merri has a maximum depth of 66 m, with a clover leaf outline indicating that it was probably formed by two overlapping maar volcanoes. The lake is depicted in work by Eugene von Guerard. The edge of the lake was marked by a stone in the late 1800s by James Dawson; from this and von Guerard's painting, it can be deduced that the level of the lake has dropped considerably in the last 100 years. On the south side of the lake there is a yacht club and toilets. There is a boat ramp available for the boaties. 

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

DAYLESFORD

Daylesford is a spa town located in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, within the Shire of Hepburn, Victoria, Australia, approximately 115 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. First established in 1852 as a gold-mining town, today Daylesford has a population of 2,781 as of the 2021 census.

As one of Australia’s few spa towns, Daylesford is a notable tourist destination. The town’s numerous spas, restaurants and galleries are popular alongside the many gardens and country-house-conversion styled bed and breakfasts. The broader area around the town, including Hepburn Springs to the north, is known for its natural spring mineral spas and is the location of over 80 per cent of Australia's effervescent mineral water reserve.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

TAKING A PUNT

In the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, enjoying the Summer weather.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

IN GIPPSLAND

I had to travel to Gippsland for work today and although the weather started out cool and drizzly in Melbourne, it warmed up and became sunny when I arrived. Gippsland is one of Victoria’s most popular regions to visit, and with good reason. It’s a great place to get outdoors and enjoy nature. It is an easy drive east of Melbourne and its extensive area combines rugged coastline, lush forests, mountain peaks and alpine meadows, lakes and raw, unspoilt natural spaces. Gippsland is full of history and culture too, which can be readily explored and enjoyed with the help of friendly locals.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

RINGWOOD LAKE PARK

Ringwood Lake Park is a significant asset, well valued by the Maroondah City community. The 8.5 hectare park has been enjoyed by many locals and visitors since its creation in the 1920’s. The significance of the park has been highlighted through the preservation of the local history, pleasant and naturally significant surroundings and by hosting various annual festivals.Community groups and individuals have contributed both time and funding towards the Park’s preservation, including recent works to enhance the cultural value of the park. 

Ringwood Lake Park is located at the corner of Maroondah Highway and Mt Dandenong Road next to the Belgrave railway line. The lake is about 1 hectare in size with a shoreline of 1 kilometre and a maximum depth of 4.3 metres. In 1926 the lake was created, with community co-operation, by damming the Sandy Creek which flowed north-westerly to the Mullum Mullum Creek. It was an area of mud, fallen logs and grasses which now provides alternative habitat for wildlife as well as passive recreational opportunities.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

WEB

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DUCK REFLECTING

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,

and also part of the Saturday Critters meme

AUSTRALASIAN GREBE

The Australasian grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) is a small waterbird common on fresh water lakes and rivers in greater Australia, New Zealand and on nearby Pacific islands. At 25–27 cm in length, it is one of the smallest members of the grebe family, along with the least grebe and little grebe. The Australasian grebe is common on fresh water ponds and small rivers or lakes throughout most of Australia, New Zealand and on the nearby islands. They eat small fish and aquatic insects.\

In winter, adult birds have dark greyish-brown upperparts and mostly silvery-grey underparts and a white oval patch of bare skin at the base of the bill when in non-breeding plumage. Breeding plumage is considerably brighter: the head is glossy-black with a rufous or chestnut stripe that extends from just behind the eye to the base of the neck, the eye is gold and the patch of bare skin at the base of the bill is pale yellow. Males and females look the same. When breeding, grebes conceal their floating nests amongst reeds on the surface of the water. The chicks can swim at birth.

A peculiar habit that grebes have is they eat their feathers and feed them to their young. Although it is not known with certainty why they do this, several hypotheses have been proposed, including; to prevent injury from swallowed fish bones; to assist with pellet formation; and to reduce their vulnerability to gastric parasites.

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.

LA TROBE UNIVERSITY LAKE

Summer weather by the lake at La Trobe University in Bundoora.

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.

SPRING TOUCH

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

QUEEN'S PARK LAKE

Queen's Park is a significant Municipal Park in Moonee Ponds in the City of Melbourne, Australia. It is located in central Moonee Ponds bound by the following roads; Mount Alexander Road, The Strand, Pascoe Vale Road, Kellaway Avenue. Early travellers heading for the goldfields met here because fresh water was available in the lagoon. Burke and Wills camped here on their fateful journey to cross Australia.

A picturesque cottage is the focal point of the park with its idyllic surrounds and lovely public art pieces, such as mosaics, statues and monuments. A gravel path surrounds the lake where seats and picnic tables are provided beneath old established exotic trees, with the lake a haven for a variety of birds, making for a magical milieu. A rose garden and a sunken garden are part of the many attractions of the park. Music concerts and other entertainments are common on weekends.

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.

SUNSET IN COLAC

Colac is a small city in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and administrative centre of the Colac Otway Shire. At the 2018 census, Colac had a population of 12,547. A commercial centre for a major agricultural district, it was named after nearby Lake Colac and was proclaimed a city in 1960.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

BY THE POND

At the Darebin Parklands in suburban Melbourne.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

COOTS

The Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra family Rallidae), with its sooty-black plumage and gleaming white bill and frontal shield covering its forehead, is a familiar bird across Europe and Asia as well as Australia. It is often seen running across the water’s surface or swimming in huge flocks on large wetlands, but they equally often occur on small ponds. They require submerged aquatic vegetation or mats of floating waterweed, among which they forage, diving below the surface for up to 20 seconds, or plucking the stems of emergent shoots.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,

and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,

and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

VIVALDI SKIES

Springtime is upon us.
The birds celebrate her return with festive song,
and murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes.
Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring,
roar, casting their dark mantle over heaven, 
Then they die away to silence,
and the birds take up their charming songs once more.

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

SPRING SKY

Spring in Melbourne means highly variable weather, and I mean more so than usual... One needs to be prepared for cool to hot, and dry to wet conditions. However, the vegetation is all bright green and the sky more often than not a brilliant blue which is broken up by clouds so that it doesn't get too boring. Here is the big pond at the Darebin Parklands looking particularly attractive.

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

PARKLANDS POND

At the Darebin Parklands in suburban Melbourne, Spring smiles.

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

AT COBURG LAKE

Merri Creek flows about 60 km from the Great Dividing Range through Melbourne’s northern suburbs to the Yarra River. Merri Creek is an environmental, heritage and recreation corridor that draws its significance from its role as a continuous corridor as it does from the qualities of individual reaches. All areas of the Creek are important because they contribute to the linking of areas of environmental, heritage and recreational value along the Creek. At Coburg, one of Melbourne's northern suburbs, the creek has been dammed to form a lake.

Coburg Lake Reserve is a popular district level park in Melbourne's Northern suburbs, offering a great variety of activities including picnicking, playgrounds, barbecue facilities, walking and bike paths and nature play all set in a beautiful heritage setting overlooking Coburg Lake. Several playgrounds are located throughout the park. These are nestled amongst the gardens and next to the lake. If you like to watch wildlife you will love the Coburg Lake Reserve. Ducks, swans and native birds can be observed here.

A reminder of Coburg's multicultural community is a statue in the Coburg Lake Reserve. It is by sculptor Antonio Masini and is called “Man of the Valley”. It is a gift from the Italian cities of Viggiano and Grumento. The sculpture is, in the words of its creator, “a tribute to the thousands of Lucanian migrants throughout the world and in Australia in particular. This monument represents the determination and courage inherent in the immigrant.”

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.