WINTER SUN

Winter morning in the Darebin Parklands.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

POPPY GARDEN

Now in Winter, when flowers in the garden are sparse, I'm sharing with you an image of one of my paintings: "Poppy Garden". This particular painting is available as a quality jigsaw puzzle produced by Woodbests with all wooden pieces in a beautiful presentation box and display easel for the cover reference photo. It is available in three sizes and can be ordered here.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

HOLY TRINITY, KEW

The Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Kew, is one of the parishes of the Diocese of Melbourne in the Anglican Church of Australia.  Services of worship began in this building in March, 1863. The Vicarage was built in 1873, and both carry National Heritage classifications. The church contains many splendid stained glass windows dating from the 19th century.

I took this photo a few days ago and the oak trees in front of the church show their bare winter branches and seemed to ask for a sepia monochrome treatment. So be it.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

ANZ GOTHIC BANK

Standing on the corner of Queen Street and Collins Street are two impressive buildings, the former English, Scottish and Australia Bank and the former Melbourne Stock Exchange. Built between 1883 and 1891, the two were combined and renovated in 1921, and are now the world headquarters of ANZ Bank.

Designed by architect William Wardell and built in 1883-87, the ES&A Bank is the more restrained of the two, with high ceilings, lancet windows and a narrow spire. As well as ES&A's head office, it was once the residence of the bank's general manager. 

The former Stock Exchange was constructed shortly after and completed in 1891. Designed by William Pitt, its appearance is flamboyant, with gargoyles, stained glass and a rose window at the very top of the building. Towering behind these two historic buildings is the ANZ skyscraper, built in 1993. Construction included the restoration and preservation of the heritage structures on site.

The skyscraper itself was designed by Peddle Thorp Architects, and reflects the Gothic themes of the buildings below. Visit the ANZ bank to deposit cash in what is probably the fanciest bank in town, or head to the basement to explore the ANZ Banking Museum. Opened in 1985, it tells of the history of banking in Australia. (From the 'Visit Victoria' site).

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

WINTER BLUES

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

SOUTHBANK BUILDINGS

Even more apartment buildings going up in Southbank...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

PIN-UP PUP

A photo of a photo... Part of an advertisement for Eco Pup sustainable puppy products at a local store. Couldn't resist that puppy love look (and no, I'm not paid by these people).

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

RED SKY IN THE MORNING...

...Sailors warning!  And sure enough, after this spectacular sunrise, the day was cold, grey and windy, and rain started falling in the evening. It's Winter.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

VIOLETS

I saw quite a lot of violets blooming by the creek yesterday, and that is a little early. We usually get them flowering a little later, August to September. However, I also caught sight of some plum blossom as I was driving, and that was also early. So perhaps first signs of Spring waiting in the wings...

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

WINTRY MERRI CREEK

It's been rainy and cold in Melbourne the last couple of days and Merri Creek in Northcote has been bringing down a lot of water. The willows have lost all their leaves and the grass has stopped growing. It's Winter, after all...

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme

and also part of the Nature Notes meme

SHOPPING CENTRE

Like any large metropolis, Melbourne has its fair share of large shopping complexes scattered all over the suburbs. Generally one can find whatever one wants (and occasionally what one needs!) concentrated in one location with easy, free parking. Here is Highpoint West Shopping Centre in Maribyrnong. You'd be forgiven to think that you were anywhere else in the world in one of the big urban centres. But I'm being too cynical perhaps, yes it is convenient.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

RAINY NIGHT

It's been raining on and off all day today and it's quite cold. The rain persisted in the evening and it's raining tonight as I'm posting this. A classic image of wintry Melbourne today, composed of four separate photos assembled into a Photoshop collage.

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

COFFEE BREAK

I'm not a big fan of big shopping centres and generally avoid them. However, when it's unavoidable to visit one, I go do my shopping quickly and leave. Today was a wintry, cold and rainy Sunday, and we had to visit a one such shopping centre, which fortunately was not too crowded. Suddenly, the coffee smelt good and the light was less objectionable than usual. We did have a coffee and it was hot, aromatic and hit the spot...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

LONE DUCK

Sunrise on a wintry Melbourne morning at the Darebin Parklands. Even the duck thought the water was too cold for swimming in!

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

MORNING (F)LIGHT

Sunrise and the pigeons are waking up around our neighbour's gum tree. A nice view to wake up to.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

AT THE FLORIST'S

A cheerful sight in mid-winter, a florist shop in full bloom! Thank goodness for glasshouses...

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

YARRA WATERS

The Yarra River at Dights Falls, in Abbotsford, carrying a lot of water on account of the recent Winter rains we've had. Cold day, but always good to go out and about when one has the opportunity.

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

BY THE POND

Sunrise by the pond in the Darebin Parklands in Alphington. A cold and frosty morning.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

WINTRY

We are in the midst of our Winter here in Melbourne at the moment, but there is much to enjoy both outdoors and indoors.

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

IN CHURCH

A moment of quiet reflection in the deserted church.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

AUSTRALIAN WOOD DUCKS

The Australian wood duck, maned duck or maned goose (Chenonetta jubata) is a dabbling duck found throughout much of Australia. It is the only living species in the genus Chenonetta. Traditionally placed in the subfamily Anatinae (dabbling ducks), it might belong to the subfamily Tadorninae (shelducks); the ringed teal may be its closest living relative.

This 45–51 cm duck looks like a small goose, and mostly feeds by grazing in flocks. The male is grey with a dark brown head and mottled breast. The female has white stripes above and below the eye and mottled underparts. Both sexes have grey wings with black primaries and a white speculum. Juveniles are similar to adult females, but lighter and with a more streaky breast.

The Australian wood duck is widespread in Australia, including Tasmania. The Australian wood duck is found in grasslands, open woodlands, wetlands, flooded pastures and along the coast in inlets and bays. It is also common on farmland with dams, as well as around rice fields, sewage ponds and in urban parks. It will often be found around deeper lakes that may be unsuitable for other waterbirds' foraging, as it prefers to forage on land. It has been recorded as a vagrant in New Zealand, although in 2015 and 2016 a pair successfully bred there. In the photos they are seen on a frosty Winter morning in the Darebin Parklands, Alphington.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

SUNRISE

Winter sunrise with the crescent moon and Venus. It was cold (0˚C)!

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

PIN-CUSHION HAKEA

One of the joys of Australian Winter is that many of the native plants begin to bloom now and stay blooming till Spring or beyond. Hakea laurina is shrub or small tree commonly known as kodjet or pin-cushion hakea and is endemic to Western Australia. The Noongar name for the plant is kodjet or kojet. It has red and cream conspicuous globular flowers and lance shaped leaves.

The plant, which is propagated from seeds, is used in cultivation in the eastern states of Australia, and as a hedging or street plant in America and Italy. Adaptable to a number of soil types, the plant is also tolerant of frost. The uses of this species include ornament and shading in public streets, wildlife habitat, windbreaks, and control of soil erosion. In the language of flowers, Hakea laurina symbolises nobility and longevity.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

FROSTY MORNING

Frosty morning sunrise in the Darebin Parklands with ambient temperature of 0˚C. Brave ducks (not to mention photographer).

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme

and also part of the Nature Notes meme

IN GIPPSLAND

Cold Winter's day in Gippsland. It may look sunny and fine, but the temperature is 2˚C...

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

WINTER NIGHT

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

SOUTH MELBOURNE

South Melbourne viewed from Southbank. The Victorian building with the clocktower is the South Melbourne Town Hall.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

COMMON PIGEONS

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

AT SUNRISE

At sunrise! Funny to see that outside your window when you draw the drapes in the morning...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

CYCLAMEN

Winter brings flowering cyclamen to our garden and home. Cyclamen is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. Cyclamen species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin east to Iran, with one species in Somalia. They grow from tubers and are valued for their flowers with upswept petals and variably patterned leaves. Many hybrids exist, and some varieties (especially the wild ones) are fragrant.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

FISH LADDER

Darebin Creek fish ladder in the Darebin Parklands in Alphington. A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon, is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as movements of potamodromous species.

Most fish ladders enable fish to pass around the barriers by swimming and leaping up a series of relatively low steps (hence the term ladder) into the waters on the other side. The velocity of water falling over the steps has to be great enough to attract the fish to the ladder, but it cannot be so great that it washes fish back downstream or exhausts them to the point of inability to continue their journey upriver.

Carried out by Melbourne Water, the $350,000 project in Darebin Creek involved installing a series of carefully designed rock works placed downstream of the structure in Darebin Parklands. This ‘rock ramp fishway’ allows water to cascade through the structure forming eddies that act as a refuge for fish so they can move freely through the waterway.

The design targets fish species that migrate from saltwater to freshwater environments to complete their life cycle including Common Galaxias and Short Finned Eel. The fish ladder was constructed with imported locally sourced rock. The project was constructed on site where materials were matched to complement the natural waterway and the environment.

This post is part of Roentare’s Water Meme

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme

and also part of the Nature Notes meme

HAWTHORN

Burwood Rd in Hawthorn looking West towards the City. Always busy and with a good variety of historic buildings, interesting shops, galleries, Swinburne University of Technology campus and many cafés and restaurants.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

WINTER"S HERE

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

CAMBERWELL ART SHOW 2024

We visited the Camberwell Art Show last Saturday at the Swinburne University of Technology's Hawthorn Campus. It was a very well-organised, extensive showing of works by well-known, emerging and amateur artists. As always well-curated and displayed in a commodious and interesting setting. A most enjoyable outing once again this year!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

KITTY KAT

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

WINTER SUNRISE

A noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, enjoying the sunrise in Melbourne.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

CAMELLIA

Camellia sasanqua 'Jennifer Susan', is a wonderful camellia with soft warm pink semi-double to peony flowers, with wavy petals. It is a vigorous evergreen grower, early flowering in autumn and winter. Makes a great hedge and guaranteed to brighten winter's grey days!

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

FROSTY MORNING

We had our first very cold night and frosty morning last night, with the temperature down to -1˚C in our garden. The pond surfaces froze and the first rays of the sun fell on the frosty leaves.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme,
and also part of Roentare's Water meme

DAREBIN PARKLANDS

Winter Sunrise in the Darebin Parklands, with the thermometer showing 2˚C. Beautiful, though...

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

WINTER

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

SUNDAY BRUNCH

At the Town and Country Café in Glenferrie Rd Kew.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

FOGGY WINTER POND

A cold and foggy Winter morning today. However, always pleasant for a walk in the Darebin Parklands. The ducks seemed happy to there too!

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme