SUNRISE IN THE CITY

We have been experiencing some unsettled weather lately, with unseasonal warmth and fine days, alternating with cold, wet weather. Every now and then high winds punctuate the weather pattern so that we don;t get too sure of ourselves. As a consequence, the skies int eh morning and evening have been quite spectacular. Here is a magnificent sunrise over the Yarra River in the City.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Pink Saturday meme.

CAKE ANYONE?

Le Petit Gâteau’s irresistible cakes and tarts are very indulgent and especially designed to impress the most discerning cake lover. Created on-site daily by RACV Club’s award winning French pastry chef Pierrick Boyer and his team. At 458 Little Collins St, in the City. Delish!

This post is part of the Signs, Signs meme.

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 39 - MAGNOLIA

Walking in the Flagstaff Gardens a couple of days ago, I became aware of a delicious floral scent. Nothing was apparent int eh immediate vicinity, so I looked further afield and about 60 metres away there was a magnificent specimen of Magnolia laevifolia in bloom, perfuming the atmosphere for several tens of metres around it.

The province of Yunnan, the native home of Magnolia laevifolia, is one of China's richest botanical areas. The size of California, Yunnan has great variety in elevation from valley and plateau to high mountain, resulting in many different microclimates. Half of all the plants found in China grow there.

Magnolia laevifolia grows as a small tree bearing multitudes of golden buds. Unlike other magnolia relatives, the buds form in the leaf axils and along the stem. The bright, hairy bud scales (perules) split off at blooming time to reveal an ivory flower with "butter-yellow stamens like lashes opening to the sun," described one grower. The waxy, chalice-like flower has a delicate perfume, and can bloom from mid-winter and continue late into the autumn.

The leaves are oval-shaped and tough with a golden edge.There are 41 species of what was once called Michelia in China (all of which have been lumped into the genus Magnolia), and 23 of these grow in Yunnan. Some are two hundred years old and grow at altitudes as high as 9000 feet, far higher than other varieties of magnolias can survive.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

TREASURY GARDENS FOUNTAINS

The small and peaceful Treasury Gardens stretch between Fitzroy Gardens and Spring Street, and are a popular venue for community events and rallies. The gardens are home to a multitude of brushtail possums that emerge from the trees to feed at dusk. Features include: The Robert Burns memorial; an ornamental pond with a monument to President John F. Kennedy; a memorial statue of Sir William Clarke; and a large embankment, home to various statues of Victorian politicians that offers views to the south.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme.

LUNCH IN DEGRAVES ST

Degraves Street is a street in Melbourne, Victoria. It is named after Charles and William Degraves, pioneer merchants who settled in Melbourne from Hobart, Tasmania in 1849. William Degraves (1821–1883) was also a large-scale grazier and a member of Victoria's Legislative Council between 1860 and 1874. The street is a short, narrow laneway, running north from Flinders Street to Flinders Lane in the central business district of Melbourne.

The cobbled bluestone alley forms a busy alternative thoroughfare for commuters disembarking from Flinders Street Station toward the shopping areas of The Block on Collins Street and Bourke Street Mall, loosely connecting with Centre Place, a similar lane just across Flinders Lane. The Degraves underpass was built in the 1950s, one of the few public works at the time, to allow pedestrians to get from Flinders Street Station to Degraves street rather than have to walk across busy Flinders Street.

The lane features bars, cafes, and restaurants and many of the taller old buildings have been converted into loft style apartments in the 1990s, adding further life to the street. Redevelopment of the Mutual Store in 2006 has further enhanced the lane with additional shops.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme.

BATMAN PARK

Batman Park is a small park located on the northern bank of the Yarra River. It is bordered by Spencer Street at the west, Flinders Street Viaduct and Rebecca Walk to the north, and King Street to the east. The orange pierce-work murals conceal a number of stall-like shops and small businesses that border the park, under the Flinders St Viaduct.

The park was established in 1982 through the conversion of a disused freight train rail yard and was named after one of the founders of Melbourne, John Batman with historical associations as a landing place of the Schooner Rebecca and nearby settlement at Batman's Hill.

A pigeon loft in the north-east corner of the park encourages pigeons to roost away from the city buildings and streets. Their eggs are captured and disposed of to curtail the population.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme,
and also part of the Monday Murals meme.

SPENCER ST BRIDGE

The Spencer Street Bridge is a road and tram bridge over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It connects Spencer Street on the north bank with Clarendon Street on the south.

During construction engineers knew deep foundations would be required to find bedrock, but at 20 metres below sea level they struck a red gum stump that took three weeks work to remove. It was dated at about 8,000 years old and appears to have lived for well over 400 years.

The cantilever girder type, with steel girder suspended span bridge was completed in 1930, with an adjacent glass and steel covered footbridge built alongside in 1998, as part of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The glass of the footbridge catches the morning sunlight and acts as prism, throwing iridescent reflections in the river.

This post is part of the Sunday Bridges meme,

and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

OLD HOUSE IN EMERALD

Emerald is the oldest township in the Hills.  Well positioned in the south east of the Dandenong Ranges, an hour's drive east of Melbourne, Emerald is the perfect base to explore Emerald and the Ranges corridor and other nearby attractions. A town for all seasons to be enjoyed anytime of the year, with unspoilt charm and natural beauty, abundance of walking and cycling tracks, beautiful Emerald Lake. Add to that some wonderful old properties that add a picturesque charm to many a vista.

This post is part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

MORNING AT SOUTHERN CROSS STN

Morning at Southern Cross Station in the City. The views are to the West, showing off the New National Australia Bank building at 700 Bourke St (with some great reflections on the windows!); to the North, showing the tracks going off to suburban and country destinations; and to the East, towards the City.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

CUSTOMS BUILDING, DOCKLANDS

During the weekend of 24-25 March 2007 the Melbourne Customs headquarters moved to new premises at Customs House, corner Latrobe Street and Harbour Esplanade, Melbourne Docklands, identified as 1010 Latrobe St. This building was awarded a 5 Star Green Star Certificate by the Green Building Council of Australia – the first commercial building in Docklands to achieve this milestone – and a Victorian Commercial Architecture Award from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. Tenants include Australian Customs, VicTrack and the Bureau of Meteorology.

This post is part of the Signs, Signs meme.