MIDWINTER ROSE

It's Winter here in Melbourne and the temperature this morning in our garden was 4˚C. All of our rose bushes are bare and pruned, except one, which is persisting to keep its leaves and I was keeping an eye on a bud growing. As it rained and was cold the previous couple of days, I forgot about it. This morning, I saw this rose which had opened. It's a 'Mr Lincoln' dark burgundy rose with a delightful fragrance. As well as that there was a garnet red carnation blooming, this too very fragrant. Odd, but they had to come indoors to enjoy a little of the heat and be admired!

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

MERRI CREEK IN 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 PARKLANDS

At the Darebin Parklands on a wintry morning. Still a beautiful walk along the Darebin Creek!

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

BRUNSWICK ST, FITZROY

Brunswick Street is a street in inner northern Melbourne, known for cafés, live music venues, quirky shops, street entertainment and alternative fashion boutiques. It is a melting pot of culture, arts, music, alternative lifestyles, fun and trend-setting. No visit to Melbourne would be complete without a visit here.

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.

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

MELBOURNE BY NIGHT

The lit-up city looks great on a long Winter's night.

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

KOI

The playful kitten
Gazes deep into fish pond -
Koi watch and wait

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Saturday Critters meme

GREY SKIES

This is taken on the Princes Bridge, looking towards the Northeast, towards the Central Business District. I really like the old street lamps on this bridge and I always try and get them into the photos I take on the bridge.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

VIOLETS

Viola odorata is a species of the genus Viola native to Europe and Asia, but has also been introduced to North America and Australia. It is commonly known as wood violet, sweet violet, English violet, common violet, florist's violet, or garden violet.

The sweet scent of this flower has proved popular throughout the generations particularly in the late Victorian period, and has consequently been used in the production of many cosmetic fragrances and perfumes. The scent of violet flowers is distinctive with only a few other flowers having a remotely similar odour. References to violets and the desirable nature of the fragrance go back to classical sources such as Pliny and Horace when the name ‘Ion’ was in use to describe this flower from which the name of the distinctive chemical constituents of the flower, the ionones – is derived.

The leaves are edible and contain mucilage. This year our violets are blooming early (in mid-June, our first Winter month), which certainly provides opportunity for collecting a cheerful little fragrant bouquet.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

RAIN

Winter rain. Good to be at home, watching the rain fall from the window of a warm room. Gratitude...

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.

SOLSTICE SUNRISE

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

WINTER SOLSTICE

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

WINTER NIGHT

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

WAITING PATIENTLY

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

SUNRISE PINKS

Sunrise in the Darebin Parklands on a mild Winter morning.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

THE FIRST WATTLES

The genus Acacia belongs to the family Mimosaceae. There are some 1350 species of Acacia found throughout the world and close to 1000 of these are to be found in Australia. Commonly known as Wattle, Acacia is the largest genus of vascular plants in Australia. Australia's national floral emblem is Acacia pycnantha, the Golden Wattle. Wattle Day is celebrated on the 1st of September each year.

The first wattles have already bloomed in Melbourne and this beautiful specimen is in a nice sheltered spot, brightening up the Winter garden. It has a light, fresh fragrance and can survive a few days indoors as a cut flower.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

VISITOR

A ladybird visiting a dill plant going to seed.

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.

IN THE COUNTRY

Victorian countryside in Gippsland, about 100 km East of Melbourne.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

SUPERMOON

The full moon overnight of June 13-14 is a supermoon. A supermoon is a new or full moon at its closest to Earth for the month. Does it look bigger than usual? No. But are supermoon full moons brighter than ordinary full moons? Yes!

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

SEASONAL

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

AUSTRALIAN IBIS

The Australian white ibis (Threskiornis moluccus) is a wading bird of the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It is widespread across much of Australia. It has a predominantly white plumage with a bare, black head, long downcurved bill and black legs. Its sister species is the sacred ibis. Historically rare in urban areas, the Australian white ibis has immigrated to urban areas of the east coast in increasing numbers since the late 1970s.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

WINTRY SKY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

EURYOPS DAISIES

Euryops chrysanthemoides (with the common names African bush daisy or bull's-eye) is a small shrub native to Southern Africa that is also grown as a horticultural specimen in tropical to subtropical regions around the world. It occurs in the Eastern Cape, along the coast and inland, to KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Swaziland. It is usually found on forest edges, in riverine bush and in ravines, as well as in coastal scrub, grassland and disturbed areas.

It is a compact, densely branched, leafy, evergreen shrub, 0.5 to 2m in height. The species was moved to Euryops from the genus Gamolepis on the basis of chromosome counts. It is a ruderal weed in New South Wales, although it is not weedy in all places where it is cultivated or has naturalised. This particular variety is Euryops chrysanthemoides 'African Sun'. As you can see it is blooming profusely in our Winter here in Melbourne.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

TRAM IN WINTER

It's Winter and the elms have lost almost all of their leaves on Royal Parade, one the world's last remaining avenues lined by century-old elms. Unfortunately many of these trees are nearing the end of their lives. An intensive replanting effort is needed to keep these magnificent trees growing on this road that leads to the City.

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.

WINTER

Winter is here with lots of rain, cold temperatures and short days. Home is the place to be on days like this!

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

TEXTURES

Some interesting textures and shapes while walking through a light industrial area of our neighbourhood.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme

GOLD

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DUCK

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme

WEATHER CHANGE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

ZEPHYRANTHES

Zephyranthes is a genus of temperate and tropical plants in the Amaryllidaceae family, native to the Western Hemisphere and widely cultivated as ornamentals. There are over 70 recognised species as well as numerous hybrids and cultivars. Common names for species in this genus include fairy lily, rainflower, zephyr lily, magic lily, Atamasco lily, and rain lily.

The name is derived from Ζέφυρος (Zephyrus), the Greek god of the gentle west wind,  referring to the slender stalks, and ἄνθος (anthos), meaning flower.  Flower colour in the species ranges from white to yellow (various tints of this colour from lemon to sulphur) and pink.

Zephyranthes have erect flower stalks which support a flower that may be upward facing or slightly nodding. The funnel-shaped, flowers with six petals can be crocus shaped, but may also open flat such as in Z. jonesii or even reflex slightly. Pictured here is the white Zephyranthes candida.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

GILDED LEAF

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.