AT NIGHT

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.

TRIPTYCH

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

MORNING EXERCISE

Walking the dog on a sunny (yet briskly cool!) Autumn morning is the perfect exercise for human and animal.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

DOG WALK

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

OUR GARDEN

Autumn is advancing in Melbourne, but we have had relatively mild weather and moderate rain. The garden is doing well and the chrysanthemums are glorious right now, just in time for Mother's Day on 9th of May this year (annually observed in Australia on the second Sunday of May).

Most chrysanthemums are upright plants with lobed leaves that can be aromatic. The many showy flowerheads, carried at the tips of strong stems, begin to bloom as the days shorten. Florists chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum grandiflorum) are grouped according to form: Irregular incurved, reflexed, regular incurved, intermediate incurved, pompon, single and semi-double, anemone, spoon, quill, spider, brush or thistle, and unclassified, which is a catch-all group for blooms not yet classified or not falling into one of the existing groups.

Florists chrysanthemums prefer a heavier richer soil in a sunny position, though they like a spot that offers some afternoon shade. The plants require training and trimming to produce their best flowers. Pinch back when young and disbud to ensure the best flower show. Propagate by division when dormant or from half-hardened summer cuttings.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

AUTUMN SUN

Melbourne has a mild temperate climate, which means Winter is generally not severe, without extreme cold, snow or hail. In Autumn we can have some lovely sunny, warm days and rain can fall any time of the year, but we may also have droughts every now and then.

The vegetation is mainly native, although there are many introduced species in gardens and parks. Native trees are generally evergreen, with Eucalyptus and related species predominating. This is a typical Autumn scene, with the evergreen eucalypts dominating the landscape. As soon as the first Autumn rains fall, the grass grows and the landscape looks quite lush.

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.

MURRAY RIVER

The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri: Millewa, Yorta Yorta: Tongala) is a river in south-eastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at 2,508 km (1,558 mi) extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest rivers of Australia (the Murrumbidgee, Darling, Lachlan, Warrego and Paroo Rivers). Together with that of the Murray, the catchments of these rivers form the Murray-Darling basin, which covers about one-seventh the area of Australia. It is widely considered Australia's most important irrigated region.

The Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains, then meanders northwest across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria as it flows into South Australia. From an east–west direction it turns south at Morgan for its final 315 km (196 mi), reaching the eastern edge of Lake Alexandrina, which fluctuates in salinity. 

The water then flows through several channels around Hindmarsh Island and Mundoo Island. There it is joined by lagoon water from The Coorong to the south-east before emptying into the Great Australian Bight (often referenced on Australian maps as the Southern Ocean) through the Murray Mouth, 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Goolwa South. Despite discharging considerable volumes of water at times, particularly before the advent of large-scale river regulation, the waters at the Murray Mouth are almost invariably slow and shallow.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

TRAVELLING AGAIN

The airlines in Australia have just started offering special fares between capital cities. This is to take advantage of the exceedingly small number of cases of COVID infection and the increasing numbers of immune people as more and more get vaccinated. All of the sudden, travel has become viable again. I saw a flight from Melbourne to Sydney advertised today for a fare of $39.00! 

The mosaic is a horizontal layering of images in Photoshop, with three different photos making the three horizontal stripes of the image. Details (e.g. the gull) have been added on top of the image on a different layer.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

SUNNY AUTUMN DAY

We've had a couple of beautiful warm and sunny Autumn days, but this evening a change came through and we'll have lower temperatures and rain over the next few days. Glad to have made the most of the sun while it was out!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.