CHESTNUTS

Chestnut season is here... 

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.

EVENING WALK

A leisurely walk on a mellow Autumn evening as the sun goes down in suburban 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.

SEASONAL HUES

Autumn is here in Southern Hemisphere and its colours are changing the landscape.

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

AUTUMN SUNSET

An evening walk during Autumn can be transformed into a magical light show...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,

and also part of the My Sunday Best meme,

and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

CONTENT CAT

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

EVENING

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

LION'S TAIL

Leonotis leonurus, also known as lion's tail and wild dagga, is a plant species in the mint family, Lamiaceae. The plant is a broadleaf evergreen large shrub native to South Africa and southern Africa, where it is very common.

It is known for its medicinal properties. The main psychoactive component of Leonotis leonurus is claimed to be leonurine, even though leonurine has never been found in the plant using chemical analysis. Like other plants in the mint family, it also contains marrubiin.

The name 'wild dagga' links it closely to cannabis as 'dagga' derived from the Khoikhoi 'dachab' is an indigenous South African name for cannabis species. This name may be a misnomer, as no part of the plant is used as a hallucinogen.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

RAIN

We've been getting some rain in Melbourne, but nothing like the volume that is falling in Eastern Victoria, or even more so in NSW. Severe flooding has wreaked havoc in many parts there and the whole weather event has been characterised as a "a-once-in-a-hundred-years occurrence".

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.

GEELONG

The Geelong metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of Victoria and the largest non-capital city. Located 75 kilometres south-west of the state capital, Melbourne, the port city is situated around Corio Bay and the Barwon River. The metropolitan area runs from the plains of Lara in the north to the rolling hills of Waurn Ponds to the south, with the bay to the east and hills to the west, an area with an estimated population of 160,891 people.

It is the administrative centre for the City of Greater Geelong municipality which covers the urban and surrounding areas and is home to over 181,000 people. An inhabitant of Geelong has been known as a Geelongite, or a Pivotonian, in the past. Geelong was named in 1827, with the name derived from the local Wathaurong Aboriginal name for the region, Jillong, thought to mean "land" or "cliffs".

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

LÉGER MOSAIC

The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as NGV, is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. The NGV operates across two sites: NGV International, located on St Kilda Road in the heart of the Melbourne Arts Precinct of Southbank, and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, located nearby at Federation Square.

The St Kilda Road building, designed by Sir Roy Grounds, opened in 1968, and was renovated by Mario Bellini and reopened in 2003. There is a beautiful sculpture garden in the Gallery, in which this mosaic mural is found.

Henry Moore's "Draped Seated Woman" of 1957-58, with the mosaic in the background, a recreation of Fernand Léger's "Grand Parade with Red Background" made in 1985. More photos of the gallery and its collection may be found in my other blog.

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

AUTUMNAL EQUINOX

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

BLACK CAT

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

FRIDAY SUNSET

The football has started in earnest in Melbourne and crowds of 50,000 are allowed into the MCG (which is 50% capacity from the normal 100,000). No wonder the streets are deserted - people are either watching at home on TV or at Marvel Stadium where about 28,000 people can attend in person (50% capacity of the normal 56,000).

This is a light industrial area in the suburbs, which looks quite forsaken on such afternoons...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

AUTUMN ROSE

Autumn seems to have come early to Melbourne this year and the rosebushes are producing their final roses, only to quickly fade. Meanwhile, the days are steadily getting shorter...

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

BY THE CREEK

Darebin Creek in suburban Melbourne reminds me of how lucky we still are in Melbourne to have so much parkland and nature reserves in the middle of the metropolitan region.

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.

FLYING INTO MELBOURNE

How common it was until last year to be able to hop on a plane and travel away from Melbourne and then come back afterwards. COVID changed our lives to an inordinate degree and to travel freely for work or pleasure has become something that is a big no. 

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.

HEX

This is a digital manipulation and mosaic based on a drawing I have done using coloured pencils and watercolour. The edits using Photoshop and digital photos were merged with the original drawing. In geometry, a hexagon (from Greek ἕξ hex, "six" and γωνία, gonía, "corner, angle") is a polygon with six edges and six vertices.

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 SOUTHERN CROSS

At the Southern Cross Railway Station in Melbourne City.

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

OLD TIMER

Having a rest until his master returns...

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

DRIVE HOME

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

PARROT IMPATIENS

Impatiens niamniamensis, common name Congo cockatoo or Parrot Impatiens, is a species of flowering plant in the family Balsaminaceae. It comes from tropical Africa and can be found from Cameroon through central and East Africa, up to Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and Angola. It grows in moist and shaded bushlands, at an elevation of 350–2,400 metres above sea level.

Impatiens niamniamensis grows about 60–90 centimetres long. This evergreen, perennial species has an erect, succulent, brown stem resembling wood. Leaves are simple, ovate-oblong or elliptical, spirally arranged, about 10 cm long. This plant produces bright and colourful bird-shaped flowers (hence the common name Congo cockatoo) with a long, curled nectar spur. These unusual flowers are usually scarlet red and yellow and can reach a length of about 3.5 centimetres. Fruits are explosive capsules of about 14–16 mm.

These plants can tolerate temperatures as low as about 2˚C,  but they won’t survive even a light frost. Temperatures of 7˚C and above are ideal for this tender perennial. It prefers a location in full shade, especially if you live in a warm, sunny climate. Although the plant will grow in partial sunlight in a cool climate, it won’t tolerate bright sunlight or hot summers. The plant performs best in rich soil, so dig in plenty of compost or well-rotted manure before planting. Water the plant regularly to keep the soil consistently moist but never soggy. As a general rule, one weekly watering is sufficient unless the weather is hot, but always water immediately if the foliage begins to look wilted. A layer of bark chips or other organic mulch keeps the roots moist and cool.

Pinch the growing tips of newly planted to encourage full, bushy growth. Cut the plant back by about 10-15 cm if it begins to look tired and leggy in midsummer. Fertilise the plant twice during the growing season, using a general purpose liquid or dry fertiliser. Don’t overfeed because too much fertiliser creates a full, bushy plant at the expense of blooms. Always water immediately because fertiliser may scorch the roots.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

A WISHING TREE

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.

BY 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.

AUTUMN EVENING

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

PEPPERS

It's the season for peppers! '

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

STARTLED CAT

A neighbour's cat walking in the front yard was startled by car backfiring in the street just as I was taking his portrait!

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

EVENING WALK

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

CLOVER

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

AUTUMNAL

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.

CAFÉ CULTURE

Brunswick Street is a street in inner northern Melbourne, known for cafés, live music venues, quirky shops, street entertainment and alternative fashion boutiques. Brunswick Street runs north-south through the inner northern Melbourne suburbs of Fitzroy and Fitzroy North, from Victoria Parade at its southernmost end, crossing Alexandra Parade, and continuing until it reaches St Georges Road in Fitzroy North, near the Edinburgh Gardens; there, its former northward course is continued by a much smaller residential street named Brunswick Street North. Tram route 112 runs along the entire length of Brunswick Street for part of its journey.

As we negotiate our way out of the COVID pandemic, life is beginning to slowly go back to more-or-less normal. People can go out, have a coffee or meal at a café, meet friends and socialise. Erring on the safe side of caution, of course...

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

AUTUMN 2021

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