BALLOON

 This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

ZUCCHINI FLOWER

Macro of female zucchini flower with two native bees. At the moment, our garden is producing many Summer veggies: Zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, capsicum, Warrigal greens, blitum greens.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

FUN IN THE SUN, MORNINGTON

Mornington is a seaside town on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, located 57 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. It is in the local government area of the Shire of Mornington Peninsula.

Mornington is known for its "village" atmosphere and its beautiful beaches. Mornington is a popular tourist destination with Melburnians who often make day trips to visit the area's bay beaches and wineries. The town centre runs into the foreshore area and local beach. Several conserved areas on the waterfront and hinterland preserve native flora and fauna.

Mornington is an attractive destination for shopping and features some excellent restaurants and cafes. The north of Mornington is also home to several horse breeders and stables. It has a modern library, cinema and numerous parks, gardens and historical buildings, many of which are open to the public. It holds several annual festivals, and holds a market day in the main street every Wednesday, which attracts hundreds of people.

Mornington has an active Yacht club (Mornington Yacht Club), located at Schnapper Point, catering for sailors of all levels and abilities, from beginners - “Tackers”, through to those competing at ocean racing level. The club hosts many state, National, & International regattas, as it provides a good location in sheltered, pristine waters. 2014 saw the successful running of the largest single class Yachting regatta ever held in the Southern Hemisphere - the Optimist National Championships. The Optimist is a youth class and drew over 2000 people to the Club and Mornington shire.

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

AT THE PARKLANDS

Summer day in the Darebin Parklands in Alphington, an inner city suburb, about 7 km from the city centre.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

SUMMER DAY

We've had a typical Melbourne Summer day today: Overcast, muggy morning with a sudden semitropical downpour that refreshed the gardens. Then, the clouds disappeared, the sun started to climb in the sky and the heat intensified, reaching a high of 40˚C. Then, fortunately, in the evening a cool change rolled in and the temperature fell, with a more comfortable 22˚C now at night. The temperature is predicted to fall a few more degrees later tonight and a maximum of 22˚C tomorrow... Never a dull moment!

Needless to say, this being a long weekend (on account of Australia Day yesterday), the beaches were packed full of people seeking some relief and unfortunately, there a few spot fires around the City, with one of them at least suspected arson. Fortunately, no casualties and no houses lost. Thank you, Fire Brigade!

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

CHANGING SEASON

The first sign of Summer's passing...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

NIGHT HERON

The nankeen night heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) also commonly referred to as the rufous night heron, and in Melanesia as Melabaob, is a medium-sized heron. It is found in Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia, and throughout much of Australia except the arid inland. A small colony has also established near Wanganui, New Zealand.

The nankeen night heron stands about 60 cm tall with a stooped appearance. It is a stocky heron with rich cinnamon upperparts, white-buff underparts, a black crown, and yellow legs and feet. The head is large, the neck short (giving a stooped appearance), and the legs relatively short. During breeding the back of the head bears three white nuptial plumes. The bill is dark olive-green, and the eyes are yellow. Young birds are heavily spotted and streaked white, brown and orange-brown. As they mature, the black cap of the adult develops first, with the body plumage remaining streaked for some time. It is not strictly nocturnal. It often feeds during the day, especially during wet weather.

The bird is dependent on a diet of small fish, reptiles, insects and sometimes eggs. It can be seen around freshwater rivers, lakes, bulrushes, estuaries, harbours and in residential fishponds for goldfish. The species breeds in the period from September to April, building a nest platform out of sticks. It nests communally, near water. Two to five light green eggs are laid, with a 22-day incubation followed by a 42- to 49-day fledging period. Widespread throughout its large range, the nankeen night heron is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

I've enhanced this photo in Photoshop as it was taken with the highest zoom on my phone camera and it turned out a little blurry.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

NIGHT SKY

View from my window after the cool change moved through and the clouds started to fill the night sky. Jupiter is shining out brightly from a peephole in the clouds.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DAHLIA HYBRID

Dahlia LABELLA® Maggiore Fun Flame is a variety of dahlia that has dazzling flowers with bright red-orange petals, evoking the flames of a fire. Its remarkable flowers add an explosion of colour and life to any garden space, making it an ideal choice for flower beds, borders, or floral arrangements.

Easy to grow and maintain, the Dahlia LABELLA® Maggiore Fun Flame is a must-have for any gardening enthusiast seeking a dash of vibrant colour in their garden. With 4-inch diameter flowers in vivid red-orange colours and bright yellow centres, this dahlia blooms on strong, sturdy stems. The flowers also fade more slowly and retain their colours longer.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

MERRI CREEK IN SUMMER

Merri Creek is a waterway in southern parts of Victoria, Australia which flows through the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It begins in Wallan north of Melbourne and flows south for 70 km until it joins the Yarra River at Dights Falls.

The area where the creek meets the river was traditionally the location for large gatherings of the Wurundjeri people and is suspected to have been the location for one of the earliest land treaties in Australia between Indigenous Australians and European settlers.

This is Merri Creek at Clifton HIll, along the Merri Creek Trail. This is a 21 km shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians that follows the Merri Creek through the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It makes for a pleasant walk along the creek and one can pretend that one is walking in the wilderness, while still in the heart of the City!

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.

VICTORIAN PASTORAL

An idyllic Summer view in country Victoria. 

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

NUMEROLOGY

This is a digital collage of photos I've taken of signs, numbers and house numbers around my neighbourhood. During Summer, I go for my walk early in the morning to avoid the heat of the day.

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

AT THE SHOPPING CENTRE

At the Fountain Gate Shopping Centre in Berwick.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

KOALA

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus or, inaccurately, koala bear) is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae, and its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body; round, fluffy ears; and large, spoon-shaped nose.

The koala has a body length of 60–85 cm and weighs 4–15 kg. Pelage colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. It is possible that these populations are separate subspecies, but this is disputed.

Koalas typically inhabit open eucalypt woodlands, and the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. Because this eucalypt diet has limited nutritional and caloric content, koalas are largely sedentary and sleep for up to 20 hours a day. They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring. Adult males communicate with loud bellows that intimidate rivals and attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions from scent glands located on their chests. 

Being marsupials, koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into their mothers' pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their life. These young koalas are known as joeys, and are fully weaned at around a year. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites but are threatened by various pathogens, like Chlamydiaceae bacteria and the koala retrovirus, as well as by bushfires and droughts.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

GOLDEN HOUR

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

AT THE FLORIST

At the amazing Eufloria Florist Shop in Camberwell where amazing flowers are on display every day of the year. Excellent flowers, plants, merchandise, as well as exceptional service.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

LEAF

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

ROAD TRIP

A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance journey traveled by car. When I was younger, this was something I enjoyed and used to do a lot of, all around the world. Times were a little different then and one felt safer on the roads, being able to depend on the fellowship and help of other drivers on the road, especially in remote locations.

A little different nowadays, as many hidden dangers lurk on our highways and one has to be very careful on a road trip. Nevertheless, it still is a worthwhile adventure and with good planing it can turn out very well. Are you a fan of road trips?

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

AT THE NURSERY

We visited Poynton's Nursery in Essendon this morning and it was absolutely marvellous. Huge range of plants, garden statues, fountains and water features, a café, and helpful, friendly staff. Not to forget two shops onsite with homewares and decorative items. Will go back there soon!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

GRASS PARROT

The red-rumped parrot (Psephotus haematonotus), also known as the red-backed parrot or grass parrot, is a common bird of south-eastern Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin. Red-rumped parrots are slim, elegant, moderate-sized parrots approximately 28 cm in length.

The male's plumage (as seen here) is a bright emerald-green with yellow underparts, a brick-red rump and blue highlights on the wings and upper back. The female's plumage is less vibrant, with pale olive underparts, dull green wings and back and blue-black wingtips. The characteristic red rump is only found in the male.

This particular specimen was foraging on the lawn of the nature strip outside our house this morning.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

SUNRISE

 This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

ARGYRANTHEMUM

Argyranthemum (marguerite, marguerite daisy, dill daisy) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Asteraceae. Members of this genus are sometimes also placed in the genus Chrysanthemum. The genus is endemic to Macaronesia, occurring only on the Canary Islands, the Savage Islands, and Madeira.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

SUMMER DAY

A perfect Summer's day today in Melbourne. And as I was stuck in the City, here are some archival photos of seaside vistas. Sigh...

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

Fishing in Mornington

Brighton Bathing Boxes

Sandringham Beach

Williamstown Foreshore

Dromana Pier

CITY

A view towards Port Philip Bay from Southbank. Ever more high rise apartment blocks keep going up all in the name of progress...

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

EXHIBITION

The Gallery Unbound is opening on the 8th January at 497 High St Northcote, 3070, Vic with an exhibition of works by four artists. One of them is me, @jammysevenk.

Come and join us at the celebration of the opening and meet the exhibiting artists at the Gallery on Friday January 10, 2025, 6-8 pm. I'll be glad to see you there.

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

AT PRESTON MARKET

Sunday brunch at Preston Market.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

COCKATOO

The sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) is a relatively large (44–55 cm) white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia and New Guinea and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests. They are well known in aviculture, although they can be demanding pets.

In Australia, sulphur-crested cockatoos can be found widely in the north and east, ranging as far south as Tasmania, but avoiding arid inland areas with few trees. They are numerous in suburban habitats in cities such as Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane. Except for highland areas, they occur throughout most of New Guinea and on nearby smaller islands such as Waigeo, Misool and Aru, and various islands in the Cenderawasih Bay and Milne Bay.

Their distinctive raucous call can be very loud; it is adapted to travel through the forest environments in which they live, including tropical and subtropical rainforests. These birds are naturally curious, as well as very intelligent. They have adapted very well to European settlement in Australia and live in many urban areas. These birds are very long-lived, and can live upwards of 70 years in captivity, although they only live to about 20–40 years in the wild. They have been known to engage in geophagy, the process of eating clay to detoxify their food. These birds produce a very fine powder to waterproof themselves instead of oil as many other birds do.

In Melbourne they are a very common sight, often in very large flocks, especially so in the suburbs with good native tree coverage, or in parklands. They are popular pets and can be trained to talk.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

SUNSET

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

MAGNOLIA

Magnolia grandiflora, commonly known as the southern magnolia or bull bay, is a tree of the family Magnoliaceae native to the Southeastern United States, from Virginia to central Florida, and west to East Texas. Reaching 27.5 m in height, it is a large, striking evergreen tree, with large, dark-green leaves up to 20 cm long and 12 cm wide, and large, white, fragrant flowers up to 30 cm in diameter.

Although endemic to the evergreen lowland subtropical forests on the Gulf and South Atlantic coastal plain, M. grandiflora is widely cultivated in warmer areas around the world. The timber is hard and heavy, and has been used commercially to make furniture, pallets, and veneer.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

SUMMER

A shady spot in the garden with the water bubbling in the fountain, sipping on a cool drink, reading a fine book ("Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius). Perfect New Year's Day holiday...

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.