BOTTLEBRUSH

Callistemon is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae, first described as a genus in 1814. The entire genus is endemic to Australia but widely cultivated in many other regions and naturalised in scattered locations. Their status as a separate taxon is in doubt, some authorities accepting that the difference between callistemons and melaleucas is not sufficient for them to be grouped in a separate genus.

Callistemon species have commonly been referred to as bottlebrushes because of their cylindrical, brush like flowers resembling a traditional bottle brush. They are mostly found in the more temperate regions of Australia, especially along the east coast and typically favour moist conditions so when planted in gardens thrive on regular watering. However, two species are found in Tasmania and several others in the south-west of Western Australia. At least some species are drought-resistant and some are used in ornamental landscaping elsewhere in the world.

Melaleuca pallida, commonly known as lemon bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. (Some Australian state herbaria use the name Callistemon pallidum). It is an upright shrub with thin, spreading branches, silvery new growth and pale yellow, sometimes pinkish bottlebrush flowers. Callistemon pallidum is a hardy plant, adaptable to many soils but needs full sun.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

ZHUKOVSKY

Stanislav Yulianovich Zhukovsky (Polish: Stanisław Żukowski, Russian: Станислав Юлианович Жуковский) (1873–1944) was a Polish-Russian painter, and a member of Mir iskusstva.

Zhukovsky was born in Yendrikhovtsy (Jędrzychowice), Grodno Province. He was a student of Isaac Levitan and a graduate of the Moscow School of Painting. Zhukovsky became a celebrated landscapist working in a unique style which projected impressionistic methods and skills as well as his interpretation of the tradition of the Russian realist school. He established his own art studio in Moscow where he mentored students, including later to become a celebrated avantgardist Liubov Popova and a young Vladimir Mayakovsky who was then working as a poster artist.

As a painter, Zhukovsky left a legacy from capturing Russian landscapes and pre-revolutionary sites and the interior of Russian estate houses. His social predisposition left him skeptical of the Bolshevik revolution, and in 1923 he left Soviet Union for his ancestral homeland Poland, then already an independent country. After the German occupation of Poland, during the World War II he was arrested by the Nazis and held at the prisoner transit camp (Durchgangslager) at Pruszków where he eventually died in 1944.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the My Corner of the World.

"March Evening" (1912)

"The Past - Room in an Old House" (1912)

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020!

Fireworks over the Yarra River in Melbourne City.

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.

BUSHFIRES

One firefighter has died and multiple properties were lost after terrifying bushfires driven by extreme weather conditions swept across four Australian states today. The volunteer firefighter from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service died when a truck rolled near Albury, on the border with Victoria. Two trucks, including the one in which the firefighter died, were overturned by high winds. Two other firefighters suffered burns in the crash. Ten people have now died during one of the worst bushfire seasons in the nation’s history, which have burned through more than 4.6m hectares.

Temperatures reached above 40˚C in all states, including Tasmania, where Hobart recorded 40.8˚C, its hottest December day ever. Several properties were reportedly lost in fires near Fingal in the north of the island state. This evening, 16 emergency-level fires were burning in Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. In South Australia, conditions had been rated catastrophic across much of the state, but it survived the day without feared extensive property losses. Firefighters were bracing for further strong winds, in some places forecast to reach up to 120km an hour, and dry lightning strikes, which are feared to be ruinous after a day of sweltering heat.

About 12 km north of our home, in Bundoora and Mill Park, houses both sides of the Plenty Gorge parklands were threatened by an out-of-control fire that sent burning embers into backyards. At least three homes were damaged and two people were assessed by paramedics in the afternoon.

In our garden today extremely high temperatures (it was 43˚C in the shade) and searing high winds wrought havoc in our garden beds and plants. Roses were shrivelled up as though placed in oven, shadecloths were torn asunder and flew away, many plants were uprooted and a couple of statues fell over from their bases (fortunately they were not damaged). But all of these were minor issues compared to lives and whole properties lost elsewhere in our state.

A cool change came in later this evening and tomorrow's maximum is promised to be just 21˚C with rain. We're counting our blessings and remembering the bravery, self-sacrifice and tirelessness of our firefighters who do battle with massive fires each day.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

The name of this rose, 'Firefighter' honours the work our firefighters do here in Australia and as it states on the plant label: “This rose is so named as to remember those men and women who risk their lives daily to protect ours”.

BY THE YARRA

A lovely Summer day by the Yarra River, with many people enjoying the day and festive cheer of a Summer Christmas.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

GALAH

The galah (Eolophus roseicapilla), also known as the rose-breasted cockatoo, galah cockatoo, roseate cockatoo or pink and grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia. It is endemic on the mainland and was introduced to Tasmania, where its distinctive pink and grey plumage and its bold and loud behaviour make it a familiar sight in the bush and increasingly in urban areas.

It appears to have benefited from the change in the landscape since European colonisation and may be replacing the Major Mitchell's cockatoo in parts of its range. The term galah is derived from gilaa, a word found in Yuwaalaraay and neighbouring Aboriginal languages. Galahs are about 35 cm long and weigh 270–350 g. They have a pale grey to mid-grey back, a pale grey rump, a pink face and chest, and a light pink mobile crest. They have a bone-coloured beak and the bare skin of the eye rings is carunculated. They have grey legs.

The genders appear similar, however generally adult birds differ in the colour of the irises; the male has very dark brown (almost black) irises, and the female has mid-brown or red irises. The colours of the juveniles are duller than the adults. Juveniles have greyish chests, crowns, and crests, and they have brown irises and whitish bare eye rings, which are not carunculated.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters 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.

WATTLE

Acacia deanei (Deane's wattle, green wattle) is a tree native to Australia, which is used for controlling erosion. There are two subspecies: Acacia deanei subsp. deanei and Acacia deanei subsp. paucijuga. Both subspecies are mainly 2-4 m tall and grow on plains, slopes and tablelands, often near watercourses, in gullies or on stony hillsides, and on a wide range of soil types in Eastern Australia.

This species often flowers throughout the year, especially during March to August; pods mature mainly during October to March or sometimes later. There are about 45 viable seeds per gram. Nicking or boiling the seeds in water for a minute at 100°C is required to induce germination. The seeds start to germinate in about 5 days if grown at 25°C. Acacia deanei is a fast growing, nitrogen-fixing shrub that has the potential to play a valuable role in catchment protection.

It is relatively drought and cold tolerant; its pollen has value in apiculture. This tree is known to be moderately drought tolerant but is killed by damaging fire and does not regenerate foliage afterwards. It tolerates frosts in the 0° to -5°C range or tolerates heavy frosts colder than -5°C. This tree has good ornamental attributes and is often used in the urban environment as a street or park tree.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

NIKOLAI YAROSHENKO

Nikolai Alexandrovich Yaroshenko (Russian: Николай Алекса́ндрович Яроше́нко; 13 December [O.S. 1 December] 1846 – 7 July [O.S. 25 June] 1898) was a Russian painter of Ukrainian origin. Yaroshenko painted many portraits, genre paintings, and drawings. His genre paintings depict torture, struggles, fruit, bathing suits, and hardships faced in the Russian Empire. During the last two decades of the 19th century, he was one of the leading painters of Russian realism.

He was born in the city of Poltava, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) to a son of an officer in the Russian Army. He chose a military career, studying at the Poltava Cadet Academy and later the Mikhailovsky Military Artillery Academy in Saint Peterburg, but he also studied art at Kramskoi's drawing school and at the Saint Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts. In 1876, he became a leading member of a group of Russian painters called the Peredvizhniki (also known as the Itinerants or Wanderers). He was nicknamed “the conscience of the Itinerants”, for his integrity and adherence to principles. Yaroshenko retired as a Major General in 1892.

Yaroshenko spent some years in the regions of Poltava and Chernigov, and his later years in Kislovodsk, in the Caucasus Mountains, where he moved due to ill health. He died of phthisis (pulmonary tuberculosis or consumption) in Kislovodsk on July 7 [O.S. June 25] 1898 and was buried there. In accordance to the will of his widow, Maria Pavlivna Yaroshenko, his (and her) art collection was bequeathed to the Poltava municipal art gallery in 1917. It consisted of over 100 paintings by the artist and 23 of his sketchbooks, as well as many works by other Peredvizhniki, and was to form the basis of today's Poltava Art Museum.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the My Corner of the World.

"In the Caucasus Mountains" - Nikolay Aleksandrovich Yaroshenko

"Portrait of actress Pelagia Antipovna Strepetova" (Detail) - Nikolay Aleksandrovich Yaroshenko

CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY

The closer it gets to Christmas, the more the City seems to become more festive and decorated, busier and all a-buzz. We have had several sunny, warm days that are quite conducive to going out and about and enjoying the seasonal hustle and bustle.

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.