SOUTHERN CROSS STATION

Train passengers at the Southern Cross Railway Station in Melbourne.

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.

SUMMERTIME

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

AT THE NURSERY

We visited the Fitzroy Nursery at the weekend and once again we were delighted and surprised. What joy it is to visit, and I must say that to work in such a shop would be a delightful occupation for the staff.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

GALAHS

The galah (Eolophus roseicapilla), also known as the rose-breasted cockatoo, galah cockatoo, roseate cockatoo or pink and grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia. It is endemic on the mainland and was introduced to Tasmania, where its distinctive pink and grey plumage and its bold and loud behaviour make it a familiar sight in the bush and increasingly in urban areas.

It appears to have benefited from the change in the landscape since European colonisation and may be replacing the Major Mitchell's cockatoo in parts of its range. The term galah is derived from gilaa, a word found in Yuwaalaraay and neighbouring Aboriginal languages.

Galahs are about 35 cm long and weigh 270–350 g. They have a pale grey to mid-grey back, a pale grey rump, a pink face and chest, and a light pink mobile crest. They have a bone-coloured beak and the bare skin of the eye rings is carunculated. They have grey legs.

The genders appear similar, however generally adult birds differ in the colour of the irises; the male has very dark brown (almost black) irises, and the female has mid-brown or red irises. The colours of the juveniles are duller than the adults. Juveniles have greyish chests, crowns, and crests, and they have brown irises and whitish bare eye rings, which are not carunculated.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

SUMMER SUNRISE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

SUNFLOWER

A hybrid sunflower in our garden. They have bloomed a little early this year, but so have quite a few Summer flowers.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

GUM LEAVES

Australian gum trees are Eucalypts. They are evergreens, well suited to Australia's climate and conditions and include the world's tallest flowering plants (the swamp gum, or Australian mountain ash - Eucalyptus regnans, family Myrtaceae). Gum leaves are well suited to a dry, hot climate and on the same tree one may find different coloured leaves in different stages of development or decline.

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 is Australia's longest river at 2,508 kilometres in length. The Murray arises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria as it flows to the northwest, before turning south for its final 500 kilometres into South Australia, reaching the ocean at Lake Alexandrina.

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.

SUMMER

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

GARDEN IDOL

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme