SUMMER

We've been having some Summer weather and we're enjoying the heat as a cool change is on its way...

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

FOLIAGE

Warm weather coupled with lots of rain have created a semi-tropical environment that the gardens love. Plants grow luxuriantly, the gardens look nice and green and the rain keeps coming down...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

BLACKBIRD CHICK

The common blackbird (Turdus merula) is a species of true thrush. It is also called Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply blackbird where this does not lead to confusion with a similar-looking local species. It breeds in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to Canada, United States, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, the Falkland Islands, Chile, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. We have blackbirds in our garden and this is the twelfth year that they are nesting here and raising young. This chick is getting quite confident in flying about, but still needs a rest after flying a little.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

AT THE CEMETERY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

PINK ROSES

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos 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.

ST KILDA

Summer, sea, sand and St Kilda Beach in Melbourne. St Kilda is an inner suburb of the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the City of Port Phillip. At the 2011 Census, St Kilda had a population of 17,795. St Kilda was named after a schooner, Lady of St Kilda (which moored at the main beach for much of 1841) by Charles La Trobe, and the ship's master and early settler Lieutenant James Ross Lawrence.

During the Victorian and Edwardian eras, St Kilda became a favoured suburb of Melbourne's elite, and many palatial mansions were constructed along its hills and waterfront. Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, St Kilda served a similar function for Melburnians as did Coney Island to the residents of New York City and its history draws an interesting parallel. St Kilda is home to many of Melbourne's famous visitor attractions including Luna Park, the Esplanade Hotel, Acland Street and Fitzroy Street.

It is home to St Kilda Beach, Melbourne's most famous beach, several renowned theatres and several of Melbourne's big events and festivals. Considering its popularity and the large number of visitors, St Kilda beach is quite clean and well-looked after.

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.

IVY

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

HOVERFLY

Hoverflies, sometimes called flower flies, or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae (maggots) eat a wide range of foods. In some species, the larvae are saprotrophs, eating decaying plant and animal matter in the soil or in ponds and streams.

About 6,000 species in 200 genera have been described. Hoverflies are common throughout the world and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. Hoverflies are harmless to most other animals, despite their mimicry of more dangerous wasps and bees, which wards off predators.

Hieracium known by the common name hawkweed and classically as hierakion (from ancient Greek ιεράξ, hierax 'hawk'), is a genus of the sunflower family Asteraceae, and closely related to dandelion (Taraxacum), chicory (Cichorium), prickly lettuce (Lactuca) and sow thistle (Sonchus), which are part of the tribe Cichorieae. Hawkweeds, with their 10,000+ recorded species and subspecies, do their part to make Asteraceae the second largest family of flowers.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

LATE AFTERNOON

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

YELLOW CLIVIA

Clivia is a genus of monocot flowering plants native to southern Africa. They are from the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. Common names are Natal lily or bush lily. They are herbaceous evergreen plants, with green, strap-like leaves. Individual flowers are more or less bell-shaped, occurring in umbels on a stalk above the foliage; colours typically range from yellow through orange to red. Many cultivars exist, some with variegated leaf patterns.

Species of Clivia are found only in South Africa and Swaziland. They are typically forest undergrowth plants, adapted to low light (with the exception of C. mirabilis from the Western Cape). Clivia miniata grows into large clumps and is surprisingly water wise. It is also reportedly naturalised in Mexico. It is a popular plant for shady areas and is commonly seen growing in older established suburbs in most Australian states. 

It is also popular in New Zealand, Japan, China and southern parts of the USA , particularly California. It grows to a height of about 45 cm, and various varieties have flowers that are red, orange or yellow, sometimes with a faint, but very sweet perfume.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

DUCK

A male chestnut teal duck (Anas castanea). This is a dabbling duck found in Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.

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

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

GREEN TREE PYTHON

Morelia viridis, commonly known as the green tree python, or as it is known in the herpetoculture hobby, 'chondro' (due to its former classification in the genus Chondropython) is a species of python found in New Guinea, islands in Indonesia, and Cape York Peninsula in Australia. The species usually reaches a total length of 150–180 cm, but large females may reach 200 cm. The size also varies depending on the region of origin.

The weight is highly dependent upon the nutritional status of the animal. Males can weigh about 1100-1400 g, females up to 1,600 g, although wild specimens are typically much lighter than this. Especially large specimens up to 2,200 g are invariably females, which like most snakes are slightly larger and heavier than males. Its main habitat is typically in or near rainforest, and is primarily arboreal, residing in trees, shrubs and bushes. Occasionally it is seen on the ground. This species is not currently thought to be threatened in its natural habitat, although it remains very popular in the pet trade. Some hunting for food is known to occur in New Guinea.

The diet of these pythons consists mostly of small mammals, such as rodents, and sometimes reptiles. Prey is captured by holding onto a branch using the prehensile tail and striking out from an s-shaped position and constricting the prey. Wild specimens have also been observed and photographed wrapped around the base of small tree trunks, facing down in an ambush position, presumably waiting for ground mammals to prey upon.

Morelia viridis is oviparous, laying 1-25 viable eggs per clutch. Breeding has never been reported from the wild, however in captivity eggs are incubated and protected by the female. Hatchlings are lemon-yellow with broken stripes and spots of purple and brown, or golden or orange-red. These snakes are often bred and kept in captivity, although they are usually considered an advanced species due to their specific care requirements; once these are met, they usually thrive in captivity.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

BALLOONING...

 This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

AUSTRALIAN BLUEBELL

Wahlenbergia stricta, or Australian Bluebell, Tall or Austral Bluebell, is an Australian wildflower from the Campanulaceae family. It is considered the most commonly encountered of the Wahlenbergias. It is found in all Australian states but not the Northern Territory. It is often seen growing by the side of the road, enjoying the extra runoff.

W. stricta is a perennial herb flowering mainly in spring or summer with pale blue bell-like flowers. The leaves are long and linear, 5–70 millimetres (0.20–2.76 in) long. The five-petalled flowers are erect on long, slender stems and about 6–20 millimetres (0.24–0.79 in) in diameter. It forms thin, carrot shaped tubers.

Australian bluebells are generally easily propagated by division or root cutting. The seed is a very fine, black powder. It germinates readily in a few weeks and is best directly sown into tubes or cells as the seed and plant are very small and hard to separate and prick out.

There are a number of common cultivars, including various shades of blue from a saturated blue similar to #00f through to white. Various double forms are available. To maintain a cultivar propagation must be by vegetative means (division or cuttings). 

Once established W. stricta is very hardy - the pot can be dried out completely and the plant reduced to a tuber, yet it will reshoot when the rain comes. It is hardy in a range of soils from sand to gravel, clay to humus.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

DUSK

A quiet walk in one of the many parks that grace suburban Melbourne.

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.

MONTSALVAT

Montsalvat was originally established as a true artists’ colony in over 12 acres situated in Eltham, an outer suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It was founded by architect and artist Justus  Jörgensen (1893-1975) in 1934. It is home to a small hamlet of various buildings, houses and halls set amongst extensive established gardens. The colony of Montsalvat reflects very much the life of Justus Jörgensen and his friends and family.

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 ZEN BOX

Always good to meditate it into existence.

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

PARADISE LOST

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

RAINBOW LORIKEET

The rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus) is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia and Tasmania. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Several taxa traditionally listed as subspecies of the rainbow lorikeet are now treated as separate species.

Rainbow lorikeets have been introduced to Perth, Western Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; and Hong Kong. Rainbow lorikeets are true parrots, within the Psittacoidea superfamily in the order Psittaciformes. They include two subspecies: Trichoglossus moluccanus moluccanus and Trichoglossus molucannus septentrionalis.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme