YARRA RIVER MORNING

This morning was quite cool and the sun rose at 7:19 am and set at 5:14 pm. The days are getting shorter and WInter is rapidly approaching. Nevertheless, a nice brisk walk in the early morning to catch the sun rising is the best start to the day, especially when beside a lovely river view in the City as shown here.

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

R.O.W. LANES, CAULFIELD

Private right-of-way (R.O.W.) lanes are separate parcels of land which were generally created in subdivisions around the turn of the 19th century to facilitate sanitary collections from the rear of properties prior to the installation of reticulated sewerage. They usually remained in the ownership of the original subdivider after the lots shown on the Plan or Diagram of Survey were sold off.

However, these private rights-of-way are often used by the public for a range of purposes and in established areas are increasingly relied upon for access. Sometimes these rights-of-way have been acquired by the local government and, in many cases, dedicated as public roads. They are narrow and run up the back of properties and are cobbled with bluestone (basalt).

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme.

MORNING WALK

This morning was a cool and wet Monday. I went for a walk by the Yarra, but soon had to abandon that idea as it started raining. Autumn is well and truly with us. The first photo represents reality, while the second one is wishful thinking with the aid of Photoshop!

This post is part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Inspiring Photography meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.

DAREBIN PARKLANDS WALK

The inner Melbourne suburb of Darebin commences approximately 4kms to the north of Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD) and extends a further 10kms to the north. It borders the Cities of Yarra to the south, Whittlesea to the north, Moreland to the west and Banyule to the east.

The City of Darebin covers approximately 53 square kilometres. With over 128,000 residents and 55,000 properties, it contains one of the largest and most diverse communities in the State. The City includes the established and historic suburbs of Northcote, Alphington, Fairfield, Thornbury, and extends to Preston, Reservoir, and the recently developed areas of Kingsbury and Bundoora North East Growth Corridor.

The Darebin Parklands are located in an area that includes both Alphington and Ivanhoe, approximately 10 kilometres northeast of the City of Melbourne. They form a district park covering an area of thirty three (33) hectares. They are one of the most important attractions in the City of Darebin and provide a touch of wilderness in the midst of the City.

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Waters meme.

HODDLE ST, EAST MELBOURNE

The Catholic church of St John the Evangelist and its associated education centre form a readily visible landmark at the corner of Hoddle St and Victoria Parade in East Melbourne. Hoddle St is one of the busiest roads in Melbourne, so these photos are surprising as there are no vehicles in the photo and that I took them quickly while my car was stopped at a red light!

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

FLYING OUT OF MELBOURNE AIRPORT

I recently went interstate and took these photos in the morning just before flying out of Melbourne. It was a typical Autumn day with some clouds in the sky threatening rain, but once we flew off the flight was good.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

BIRDS IN MELBOURNE 2

We are lucky in Melbourne to have many birds around that nest in the pockets of bushland and abundant parklands within the metropolitan area. Stretches of water also attract water birds. Here are some birds that are commonly seen in Melbourne. I think I have identified them correctly, but feel free to correct me if I am wrong!

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Winged meme.

A little wattlebird

A coot

Two kookaburras

A magpie-lark

Sulfur-crested cockatoo

Common pigeons

Australian White Ibis

Rainbow lorikeets

RINGWOOD LAKE VISTA

Ringwood Lake Park, probably the most treasured of all community facilities in Ringwood, is situated at the junction of Maroondah Highway and Mt Dandenong Road. Today a continuous tree canopy extends over three-quarters of the site (excluding the lake).  Ringwood Lake Park is a 10 minute walk from Ringwood railway station where Smart Bus 901 also stops. Buses 680 and 679 drive right past the site.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme

AUTUMN FRUIT

The pomegranate, scientific name Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between 2–8 metres tall.The pomegranate is widely considered to have originated in the vicinity of Iran and has been cultivated since ancient times. Today, it is widely cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, the Middle East and Caucasus region, northern Africa and tropical Africa, the Indian subcontinent and the drier parts of southeast Asia.

Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, the pomegranate is also cultivated in parts of California and Arizona. In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February. In the Southern Hemisphere, the pomegranate is in season from March to May.The pomegranate has been mentioned in many ancient texts, notably in Babylonian texts, the Book of Exodus, the Homeric Hymns and the Quran. In recent years, it has become more common in the commercial markets of North America and the Western Hemisphere. Pomegranates are used in cooking, baking, juices, smoothies and alcoholic beverages, such as martinis and wine.

Walking around our neighbourhood recently we discovered this wonderful specimen of pomegranate and it was good see the ripe fruits bursting open to display their jewel-like seeds.

This post is part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

AUTUMN LEAVES

We went for a walk around the neighbouhood yesterday and even though it was overcast, quite cool and threatening to rain, we had a very enjoyable walk. Autumn is well and truly here, and this spectacular ornamental Vitis vinifera was a delightful display of the colours of the season.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,

and also part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.