MERRI CREEK

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, in Winter. There 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 Nature Notes meme

MERRI CREEK

The 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.

The photo is Merri Creek at Clifton HIll, along the Merri Creek Trail. This trail 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

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.

MERRI CREEK

Merri Creek at Clifton Hill on a fine Spring day.

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

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

HIBERNATION

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

MERRI CREEK

Spring has sprung by the Merri Creek. We've had some good Spring showers these past couple of days and there is quite a bit of water in the Creek. However, today the weather was beautiful and a good walk along the creek was just the remedy for the Lockdown Blues.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,

and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

ON THE YARRA TRAIL

The Yarra Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the Yarra River through the north eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The trail follows the river from near its mouth, through the city and suburbs to Westerfolds Park and Eltham. The Capital City Trail uses the same path up to Dights Falls, where it continues up the Merri Creek Trail as part of its loop around the city.

Bicycle Victoria has an ongoing campaign to have the path in Yarra Bend Park improved and the stairs at the east end of Gipps Street effectively removed from the trail by continuing the path on the west side of the river. Other alternatives include installing a ramp or installing a new footbridge near the Abbotsford Convent. An interactive map of the trail as well as others in the Melbourne area is available here.

These views are taken on the Yarra Trail along the Merri Creek (Photo 1) near Clifton Hill. The views of the City along the length of the trail are spectacular. We ar elucky in Melbourne to have such wonderful parks, rivers, creeks and trails throughout the metropolitan area.

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.

CREEK

We've had a lot of rain over the past week and the waterways around Melbourne have been carrying much more water, or even flooding over. Here is Merri Creek in Clifton Hill, showing quite an increased flow.

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.

HILLSIDE

A morning walk on a cold, sunny, late Winter morning on the Merri Creek Trail in Westgarth.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

FAIRY BOWER

While walking through the Parklands for my morning exercise, I sometimes come across little sheltered forgotten corners that seem to be like the entrance to another world. This spot was like a fairy bower and I half-expected to see little winged sprites flitting around...

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.

SUMMER SKY

We have been enjoying some mild Summer weather over the Christmas period, with hotter conditions forecast over the next few days, reaching a maximum of 41˚C next Monday. Fortunately a cool change is expected on the Tuesday and the first few days of the New Year will be quite mild. At least the weather now was perfect for a walk along the Merri Creek with a glorious sky and lovely green vegetation all along the creek.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

DOG WALK

Walking the dog along the Merri Creek track. Midwinter in Melbourne is quite tolerable, as Australian Winter is relatively mild as far as temperate climates go.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

MELBOURNE WEEDS 11 - CAPE IVY

Delairea is a plant genus within the family Asteraceae. It is classified within tribe Senecioneae. It contains only one species, Delairea odorata, which was previously included in the genus Senecio as Senecio mikanioides, and is known as Cape ivy in some parts of the world and German ivy in others. Delairea odorata is native to South Africa.

Delairea odorata is a vine that climbs up trees and will reach heights of five metres in suitable climates. Given time it will smother trees. It has 4 to 12 cm multi-lobed leaves that somewhat resemble those of the unrelated English ivy. Its flowers are yellow with a sweet distinctive odour that some people find unpleasant. A feature that distinguishes it from. This plant is grown as an ornamental houseplant for its foliage.

Delairea odorata has become an invasive species in California, Hawaii, Oregon, New Zealand and Australia. The plant will cover shrubs and trees, inhibiting growth and will also cover ground intensively over a wide area, thereby preventing seeds from germinating or growing. It is also toxic to animals who eat it and to fish where it trails into waterways.

The creeper can be controlled or eliminated by a combination of physical and chemical methods. Unless the root system is removed or poisoned the plant will regrow. Young plants can be pulled out with their roots but older plants will break off leaving the roots in place. In Hawaii an introduced species of moth (Galtara extensa) for the biological control of Senecio madagascariensis proved to feed also on Delairea odorata.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

OAKS IN MELBOURNE

In Australia, the common oak is an exotic plant - i.e a non-native plant, which was introduced into the country by the early settlers from the late 18th century onwards. Modification of the Australian environment by Indigenous Australians and following European settlement has affected the extent and the distribution of the flora.

The changes since 1788 have been rapid and significant: Displacement of Indigenous Australians disrupted fire régimes that had been in place for thousands of years; forestry practices have modified the structure of native forests; wetlands have been filled in; and broad scale land-clearing for crops, grazing and urban development has reduced native vegetation cover and led to landscape salinisation, increased sediment, nutrient and salt loads in rivers and streams, loss of habitat and a decline in biodiversity. The intentional and unintentional release of invasive plant and animal species into delicate ecosystems is a major threat to floral biodiversity; 20 introduced species have been declared Weeds of National Significance.

While the common or English oak (Quercus robur) is perhaps the best known of all the oaks, it is just one of around 600 species that make up this genus belonging to the beech (Fagaceae) family. The genus is mostly comprised of deciduous or evergreen trees, but there are also a few shrubs. Many species are large and impressive trees that live to a great age. Although most will grow too large for the average garden, these ornamental trees are suitable for parks, large properties, and street planting, provided there is sufficient space for them to reach their full potential. The timber has long been valued for ship-building, furniture-making, and panelling.

Here, oak trees are seen to grow beside Merri Creek in Clifton Hill. The lush green of the leaves is quite different to the drab olive green of native eucalypts and these and other introduced exotic trees would have made the early settlers feel a little less nostalgic for the "home" they left behind in Europe.

This post is part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

MERRI CREEK REFLECTIONS

The 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.

The creek was the site of heavy industrial use throughout much of the 20th century, being home to quarries, landfills and accepting waste runoff from neighbouring factories. This has degraded the riparian ecology of the creek leaving behind pollutants such as heavy metals and various greases. Recent decades have seen some regenerative planting and the foundation of several community groups dedicated to protecting and regenerating the creek's ecology. It is on its way to becoming a living natural waterway again.

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

PACIFIC BLACK DUCK

The Pacific black duck (Anas superciliosa) is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the north and French Polynesia in the east. It is usually called the grey duck in New Zealand, where it is also known by its Maori name, pārera.

This sociable duck is found in a variety of wetland habitats, and its nesting habits are much like those of the mallard, which is encroaching on its range in New Zealand. It feeds by upending, like other Anas ducks. It has a dark body, and a paler head with a dark crown and facial stripes. In flight, it shows a green speculum and pale underwing. All plumages are similar.

The size range is 54–61 cm; males tend to be larger than females, and some island forms are smaller and darker than the main populations. It is not resident on the Marianas islands, but sometimes occurs there during migration. The now extinct Mariana mallard was probably originally derived from hybrids between this species and the mallard, which came to the islands during migration and settled down there. Here it is in the Merri Creek in Northcote, in suburban Melbourne.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,

and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,

and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

MERRI CREEK, WINTER

The Merri Creek is a waterway in southern parts of Victoria, Australia, which flows through the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It begins near 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.

The creek was the site of heavy industrial use throughout much of the 20th century, being home to quarries, landfills and accepting waste runoff from neighbouring factories. This has degraded the riparian ecology of the creek leaving behind pollutants such as heavy metals and various greases. Recent decades have seen some regenerative planting and the foundation of several community groups dedicated to protecting and regenerating the creek's ecology.

This post is part of the Weekend Green meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

MERRI CREEK, AUTUMN

Merri Creek flows about 60 km from the Great Dividing Range through Melbourne’s northern suburbs to the Yarra River. Merri Creek is an environmental, heritage and recreation corridor that draws its significance from its role as a continuous corridor as it does from the qualities of individual reaches. All areas of the Creek are important because they contribute to the linking of areas of environmental, heritage and recreational value along the Creek.

In the vicinity of Queens Pde/Heidelberg Rd, the Creek wends its way through several suburbs as it meanders to join the Yarra River in Abbotsford. The bridge over the creek in the last photo is the Heidelberg Rd overpass.

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.