SPRING'S HARBINGERS

We went for a long walk along the Main Yarra Trail today. Although the weather was highly changeable with a cold morning, a couple of showers and much hide-and-seek play between the sun and the clouds, we thoroughly enjoyed the walk. There were plenty of reminders all along the way that Spring is not far away now.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme.

CUSP OF SPRING

A view down the Yarra River from the Fairfield Boathouse in Yarra Bend Park.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DUCK

The chestnut teal duck (Anas castanea) is a dabbling duck found in Australia. The male (shown here) has a distinctive green head, while the female has rather more drab plumage. 

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,

and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

SUNSET

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SPRING BOUQUET 2

Another Spring bouquet for you from our Southern Hemisphere garden. You can see Dutch iris; yellow field carnations; freesias; daffodils; stocks; white jonquils; rosemary.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CREEK

We've had a lot of rain over the past week and the waterways around Melbourne have been carrying much more water, or even flooding over. Here is Merri Creek in Clifton Hill, showing quite an increased flow.

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.

ST FRANCIS' CHURCH

The ‘Mother Church of Victoria’, St Francis’ Church, was built between 1841 and 1845 on the block of land originally reserved for the Catholic Church in Melbourne. Soon after Melbourne’s pioneer priest, the Franciscan Fr Patrick Geoghegan, arrived in 1839, a temporary chapel made of second-hand floorboards was erected on the site of the future St Francis’ Church. When sufficient funds were raised to finance a permanent building, Geoghegan commissioned the architect Samuel Jackson to design the present church, which he dedicated to St Francis’ of Assisi. The foundation stone of St Francis’ Church was laid on 4 October 1841.

The first mass was celebrated in the completed nave of the church on 22 May 1842. And the church was blessed and opened on 23 October 1845. St Francis’ became Melbourne’s first Catholic cathedral with the arrival of Bishop James Alipius Goold in 1848. Its cathedral status ended when the nave of the partially built St Patrick’s Cathedral was opened for worship in the late 1860s. Although the church may be dwarfed by the huge office blocks surrounding it, it is still a wonderful place to visit and find some spiritual sustenance. The beautiful ‘Ladye Chapel’ on the western side of St Francis’ Church was constructed in the mid 1850s and blessed on 31 May 1858. This is an awe-inspiring place for quiet reflection or prayer.

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.

MY ART 3

Last week I posted the second piece of the group of paintings I've been working on, and today I'm posting the third one of these. Yes, I like mosaics!

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

EVENING

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

MAGPIE'S BREAKFAST

The Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) is a medium-sized black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. Although once considered to be three separate species, it is now considered to be one, with nine recognised subspecies. A member of the Artamidae, the Australian magpie is placed in its own genus Gymnorhina and is most closely related to the black butcherbird (Melloria quoyi). It is not, however, closely related to the European magpie, which is a corvid.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

Yes, the early bird caught the worm...

BRIDGE

Footbridge over the Merri Creek by the Rushall Railway Station, crossing towards Northcote.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SPRING BOUQUET

We are currently in our last Winter month, Southern Hemisphere August corresponding with Northern Hemisphere February. Our weather has been relatively mild the past couple of weeks, but the last two days have been grey, cold and wet. Our garden, however, is full of Spring flowers! Here is a bouquet of them, freshly picked. You can see daffodils, stocks, calendulas, jasmine, abutilon, bergenia, freesias, daisies, begonias, marigolds, and wild lily.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

PARKLANDS 2

Same place as that seen in the photo of yesterday's blog post, but the weather was a whole lot different today, making it look quite threatening.

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.

PARKLANDS

This location is the extent of my travels currently in Melbourne, as our "State of Disaster" due to COVID-19 extends until September 13. We are confined at home and we may only venture out to a 5 km radius to do shopping and exercise, each for an hour per day.

Thankfully the Darebin Parklands are within walking distance and we consider ourselves lucky to be able to walk there and pretend we are far away! Hope everyone is well.

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.

ANEMONES

We're seeing many of our Spring flowers blooming a little earlier than usual this year. Nature's way of compensating us a little for this Winter of our discontent...

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

BIKE RIDE

A walk at the wintry Darebin Parklands this morning, to get a little fresh air and get out of the house, while still adhering to the COVID-19 restrictions! It seems many people had the same idea, including the bike riders in this photo.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DUCK

Getting close up and personal with this rather tame, friendly Pacific black duck (Anas superciliosa).

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

HILLSIDE

A morning walk on a cold, sunny, late Winter morning on the Merri Creek Trail in Westgarth.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

WILD CLEMATIS

In the Parklands around suburban Melbourne the wild clematis is blooming. Clematis vitalba (also known as old man's beard and traveller's joy) is a climbing shrub of the Ranunculaceae family.

The plant has branched, grooved stems, deciduous leaves, and scented greenish-white flowers with fluffy underlying sepals. The many fruits formed in each inflorescence have long silky appendages which, seen together, give the characteristic appearance of old man's beard. The grooves along the stems of C. vitalba can easily be felt when handling the plant. 

Due to its disseminatory reproductive system, vitality, and climbing behaviour, Clematis vitalba is an invasive plant in most places, including many in which it is native. Some new tree plantations can be suffocated by a thick layer of Clematis vitalba, if not checked.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DAREBIN CREEK

A morning walk along the Darebin Creek in the Darebin Parklands. Signs of Spring appear everywhere, but the weather is still cool and wet, the days markedly shorter than the nights. The mosses and liverworts are still lush and green.

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.

YARRA RIVER

Thank God for the Yarra River and the numerous parklands along its length! I am lucky enough to live near the river and now during Lockdown #2, with so many restrictions in place, it's wonderful to be able to walk here and be treated to such wonderful views. Early in the morning, it's almost deserted and one can walk alone and gather one's thoughts, philosophise and be able to renew one's strength and take courage to go on and know that we shall overcome this pandemic!

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.

MY ART 2

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I posted a photo of a painting I did. I've just finished its companion piece, which I'm posting today.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

TWILIGHT TIME

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DUCK

The chestnut teal duck (Anas castanea) is a dabbling duck found in Australia. The male (shown here) has a distinctive green head, while the female has rather more drab plumage.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,

and also part of the Saturday Critters meme.

RAINBOW

A hopeful sign...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

PLUM BLOSSOMS

The Spring blossoms have started to appear, and this plum tree makes a fine show despite the vagaries of the weather and the multitude of misfortunes that seem to be plaguing the world at the present time...

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

KINGLAKE VIEW

Kinglake is a town in Victoria, Australia, 56 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government areas are the Shires of Murrindindi and Nillumbik. At the 2016 Census, Kinglake had a population of 1,536. The town was one of the worst affected during the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.

Kinglake, comprising forest, farmland, a national park and a township, is located in the Kinglake Ranges, part of the Great Dividing Range. The Kinglake Ranges vary in height from 525 m - 610 m above sea level. Many areas of Kinglake overlook the Melbourne skyline to the south west and the Yarra Valley wineries to the south, with views of Port Phillip Bay south of Melbourne possible on clear days. Kinglake is generally 3 °C colder than Metropolitan Melbourne, with the summers being very pleasant and heavy frosts and occasional snowfalls during winter.

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.

WINTRY PARK

In Melbourne's stately, old parks the century-old European trees have lost their leaves as Winter advances. COVID restrictions and the cold weather are keeping people indoors.

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.

HOPE BLOOMING

We have had a relatively mild Winter this year and we're seeing many Spring flowers appearing unseasonably early. They are much needed and provide a glimmer of hope in these strange times we are all living through.

Clockwise from upper left: Fumitory; Camellia; Isopogon; Anemone; Yellow Jasmine.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

STATE OF DISASTER

A "State of Disaster" has been declared in Victoria as the state tightens COVID-19 restrictions and implements a nightly curfew in Melbourne. Premier Daniel Andrews announced that from 6pm on Sunday police now have additional powers to make sure people are complying with public health directions. The move to harsher restrictions comes as coronavirus cases continue to remain high, more than halfway through the state’s initial six-week lockdown...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

MAGGIE THE MAGPIE

The Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) is a medium-sized black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. Although once considered to be three separate species, it is now considered to be one, with nine recognised subspecies. A member of the Artamidae, the Australian magpie is placed in its own genus Gymnorhina and is most closely related to the black butcherbird (Melloria quoyi). It is not, however, closely related to the European magpie, which is a corvid.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.