WINTERWEAR

As the temperature drops in Winter, we mustn't forget our canine friends who also need some winterwear!

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

INNER SUBURBIA

Johnston St looking east in Abbotsford. One of the older Melbourne suburbs, typical working class in the 19th century. Abbotsford now has a mix of industrial architecture and green spaces, and is popular with both families and creative types. Converted factories, hip cafes and cool bars line Johnston Street, while Abbotsford Convent hosts artsy workshops and is home to markets, cafes and artists’ studios.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

YARRA RIVER

Walking along the Yarra River in Abbotsford, Melbourne, enjoying the vast areas of parklands and nature reserve along the river. This is amazing as these vast tracts of natural bushland are within a stone's throw of the bustling city centre. Melbourne has a population of close to five, million people, so I consider myself very lucky to have such splendid conservation areas within walking distance of my home.

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

YARRA RIVER

Yarra River at Dights Falls. Perfect place for some relaxation and meditation, only 4 km from the City! How lucky we are in Melbourne to have such a natural gem in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the metropolis.

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.

WAITING

 ...For his master to return (in the foyer, protected from the cold and rain, good to see!).

This post is part of the Saturday Critters 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.

DOG WALKERS

Always enjoyable on a Spring day...

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

ROWING

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

AUTUMN COLOUR

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

FUNGI

A fungus (plural: fungi) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and moulds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from the other eukaryotic life kingdoms of plants and animals.

Abundant worldwide, most fungi are inconspicuous because of the small size of their structures, and their cryptic lifestyles in soil or on dead matter. Fungi include symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi and also parasites. They may become noticeable when fruiting, either as mushrooms or as moulds. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange in the environment.

They have long been used as a direct source of human food, in the form of mushrooms and truffles; as a leavening agent for bread; and in the fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce. Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in detergents.

Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases (e.g., rice blast disease) or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

YARRA RIVER

Walking along the Yarra River in Abbotsford, an inner suburb, enjoying the vast areas of parklands and nature reserve along the river. This is amazing as these large tracts of natural bushland are within a stone's throw of the bustling city centre. Melbourne has a population of close to five million people, so I consider myself very lucky to have such splendid conservation areas within walking distance of my home.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the My Corner of the World meme.

PHLOX

Phlox drummondii in the Polemoniaceae family has been around in various cultivars for many decades. Native to Texas, it is also widely distributed in the southeastern United States, especially along public highways. P. drummondii is often used as an ornamental plant. The flowers have a wide range of colours from white and cream through pinks, lilacs, roses, purples and reds, to almost black.

Phlox drummondii is named after Scottish botanist Thomas Drummond, who sent it and a variety of other plant samples back to Britain following his 1833–1835 expedition to Texas. It is an annual, growing from seed each year. The branches have sharp, pointed, lengthy, ciliated leaves with rounded flowers. The flowers are single or double, with lightly scented, flat, star-shaped petals. The flowers mature to 2.5 cm in diameter. The plants tolerate cold weather well, but require plentiful watering and dislike drought, wind and heat.

A popular cultivar the last few years is the very attractive Phlox drummondii 'Twinkle Stars' seen here. It flowers profusely, is available in a variety of colours and has a characteristic flower shape with deep indentations in the petals, reminiscent of a star. It brightens up the garden and also grows well in containers. It blooms starting early summer and continues all summer long. It likes full sun, but I have been successful with partial shade. It doesn't like being transplanted much, so be careful with the root system.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

WALKING THE DOGS

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

ON THE YARRA

Rowers on the Yarra River in Suburban Melbourne.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

THE SHEEP'S BACK

A rather amusing addition to a suburban balcony in Melbourne. This artificial sheep looks like it's ready to jump ship, so to speak. As "Australia was built on the sheep's back", it is a cute tribute to one of our staples of economic success.

For a century, the wool industry gave Australia one of the highest living standards in the world. The economy rode high on wealth from primary exports. By the 1950s, wool was synonymous with the Australian way of life.

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

LITTLE SAIGON

Victoria Street is one of the major thoroughfares of inner Melbourne, running east-west for over six kilometres between Munster Terrace in North Melbourne and the Yarra River. The road is known as Victoria Parade for over one-and-a-half kilometres of its length (between the prominent intersections of Spring Street and Hoddle Street), distinguishable with a wide reservation and tramway down the middle. Victoria Street touches the north-east corner of the Hoddle Grid at the intersection of La Trobe Street and Spring Street, opposite the Carlton Gardens. After crossing the Yarra river over Victoria Bridge the street continues as Barkers Road.

The eastern stretch of Victoria Street (between Hoddle and Burnley Streets) is known colloquially as 'Little Saigon' or 'Little Vietnam'. This is due to the influx of migrants to the surrounding area following the Vietnam War, and the subsequent development of Vietnamese businesses during the 1980s. This stretch of Victoria Street has become famous as an Asian grocery and restaurant precinct with Japanese, Korean and Thai options alongside the longer-standing Vietnamese establishments. On 16 January 2014, a culturally-themed gateway was installed at the intersection of Victoria Street and Hoddle Street to recognise "the cultural contributions that have established Victoria Street's reputation as a bustling and diverse retail and dining strip."

A Lunar Festival celebrating Tết, the Vietnamese New Year festival of the Lunar calendar, has been held in the Little Saigon stretch of Victoria Street since 1994.[9] The street is closed to traffic and many food and culture stalls, live performances and events line the section of road between Hoddle Street and Church Street.

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

YARRA AT ABBOTSFORD

The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Aboriginal: Birrarung, and Wongete) is a perennial river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river are where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches.

From its source in the Yarra Ranges, it flows 242 kilometres west through the Yarra Valley which opens out into plains as it winds its way through Greater Melbourne before emptying into Hobsons Bay in northernmost Port Phillip. The river was a major food source and meeting place for indigenous Australians from prehistoric times. Shortly after the arrival of European settlers land clearing forced the remaining Wurundjeri to neighbouring territories and away from the river. Originally called Birrarung by the Wurundjeri, the current name was mistranslated from another Wurundjeri term in the Boonwurrung language; Yarro-yarro, meaning "ever-flowing".

Here the river at Abbotsford, in the Yarra Bend Park. The first photo looks towards the North, the second and third towards the South and towards the Abbotsford Beer Breweries. All still looks quite green because of our cool, wet Spring and lack of early Summer heat.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme,

and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme,

and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

AT THE PARK

At Yarra Bend Park, one sunny afternoon...

This post is part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

WALKER IN WERRIBEE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

CORMORANT & SEAGULL

Near Dights Falls on the Yarra in Abbotsford, one may see quite a few cormorants (and of course the omnipresent seagulls). The Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is almost entirely black in plumage, apart from a white and yellow chin and a small white patch on each thigh (absent in winter). The bill is grey and the legs and feet are black, while the eyes are bright green. Young birds resemble the adults but are more dusky-brown.

Great Cormorants are probably the most widespread member of the cormorant family with a range that includes North America, Europe, Africa, China, India, Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Australia. They occur throughout most of Australia but are more numerous in the south-east and south-west.

This post is part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme,

and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme,

and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,

and also part of the Camera Critters meme.