PATIENCE

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

X MARKS THE SPOT

The two trees making an "X" shape across the creek in Darebin Parklands stirred my imagination and I fancifully imagined that they marked a special spot. I went to investigate and guess what I found? The remnants of a dead possum, whose half-mummified skull smiled eerily at me in amused derision...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,

and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

GUARDIAN

No need to have a lock on the bike...

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

VICTORIOUS

Our Lady of Victories Basilica is a Catholic church located in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell. Romanesque in style, it was designed by architect Augustus Andrew Fritsch (1866 – 1933) and was completed in 1918. It is one of five churches in Australia with minor basilica status. The current parish priest is Rev. Brendan Reed.

Our Lady of Victories occupies an imposing site in Burke Road and, in a city where most churches of the era are built in the Gothic Revival style, its simpler lines make it immediately recognisable and distinguishable. It has a distinctive copper-clad dome topped with a golden statue of the Virgin Mary holding the Christchild.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,

and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

DAYLILY

A daylily is a flowering plant in the genus Hemerocallis. Gardening enthusiasts and professional horticulturalists have long bred daylily species for their attractive flowers. Thousands of cultivars have been registered by local and international Hemerocallis societies. Hemerocallis is now placed in family Xanthorrhoeaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, but in the past, the genus used to be part of Liliaceae (which includes true lilies).

Daylilies are perennial plants, whose name alludes to the flowers which typically last no more than 24 hours. The flowers of most species open in early morning and wither during the following night, possibly replaced by another one on the same scape (flower stalk) the next day. Some species are night-blooming.

Daylilies are not commonly used as cut flowers for formal flower arranging, yet they make good cut flowers otherwise as new flowers continue to open on cut stems over several days. Hemerocallis is native to Eurasia, including China, Korea, and Japan, and this genus is popular worldwide because of the showy flowers and hardiness of many kinds. There are over 60,000 registered cultivars. Hundreds of cultivars have fragrant flowers, and more scented cultivars are appearing more frequently in northern hybridisation programs. Some cultivars rebloom later in the season, particularly if their capsules, in which seeds are developing, are removed.

Most kinds of daylilies occur as clumps, each of which has leaves, a crown, flowers, and roots. The long, linear lanceolate leaves are grouped into opposite fans with arching leaves. The crown is the small white portion between the leaves and the roots. Along the scape of some kinds of daylilies, small leafy "proliferations" form at nodes or in bracts. A proliferation forms roots when planted and is often an exact clone of its parent plant. Many kinds of daylilies have thickened roots in which they store food and water.

A normal, single daylily flower has three petals and three sepals, collectively called tepals, each with a midrib in either the same or a contrasting colour. The centremost part of the flower, called the throat, usually is of a different colour than the more distal areas of the tepals. Each flower usually has six stamens, each with a two-lobed anther. After successful pollination, a flower forms a capsule (often erroneously called a pod). The hybrid illustrated here is Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Crater Fire') hybridised by Elliott and introduced in 1996. It has large, showy, fragrant blossoms that flower in early midseason and has extended bloom and rebloom capability.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

Z for ZOOLOGY

Zoology noun [mass noun] The scientific study of the behaviour, structure, physiology, classification, and distribution of animals. • The animal life of a particular area or time: The zoology of Darebin Parklands. ORIGIN Mid 17th century: from modern Latin zoologia (derived from Greek Ζωολογία).

The Darebin Creek supports a wide diversity of bird, mammal, reptiles, fish, frogs and insects. Over 100 species of birds make along the Darebin Creek, and while some are resident species, living and breeding in the Catchment, others are seasonal migrants visiting from other parts of Australia and the world. Birds range from the Wedge-tailed Eagle, which is a powerful hunter, to the tiny insect loving Spotted Pardalote. Kingfishers and Little Pied Cormorants can be seen close to the creek and wetlands doing a spot of fishing. Ducks are common along the creek and breed in bird boxes built especially for them. Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoos are a noisy addition to the creek as they fly about looking for dead Acacia trees containing grubs.

There are more than ten species of frogs, including the endangered Growling Grass Frog, Spotted Marsh Frog and Ewing’s Tree Frog. Mammals include the Short-beaked Echidna, Brush and Ring-tailed Possums, Rakali (Water rats), Kangaroos and Grey Headed Flying Foxes as well as tiny Micro-bats that are less than 5cm in length. Reptiles include, Blue-tongue Lizards, Tiger Snakes and Long-necked Turtles. Eels and fish live in the Darebin Creek sharing their home with macro-invertebrates such as Burrowing Crayfish and Yabbies. Many of the creek’s residents are nocturnal, meaning they are most active at night, including possums and bats.

Introduced species such as foxes, wildcats and the visiting dogs on owners' leashes complete the zoological profile of this wonderful nature reserve in the midst of our city.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

ON THE YARRA

Boating on the Yarra River in Melbourne is a popular leisure activity. This is at the Studley Park Boathouse in Kew, only a few kilometres from the City Centre.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

FUNGI

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

RAINY

We've had a couple of days of cold, grey and rainy weather as the month of June ends. Nevertheless, the weather does not deter the keen photographer who shields camera under an umbrella in order to get a seasonal shot!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

AUSTRALIAN IBIS

The Australian white ibis (Threskiornis moluccus) is a wading bird of the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It is widespread across much of Australia. It has a predominantly white plumage with a bare, black head, long downcurved bill and black legs. Its sister species is the sacred ibis. Historically rare in urban areas, the Australian white ibis has immigrated to urban areas of the east coast in increasing numbers since the late 1970s.

It is now commonly seen in Wollongong, Sydney, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Townsville. In recent years the bird has also become increasing common in Perth, Western Australia and surrounding towns in south-western Australia. Populations have disappeared from natural breeding areas such as the Macquarie Marshes in north-western New South Wales. Management plans have been introduced to control problematic urban populations in Sydney.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,

and also part of the Camera Critters meme.