PLAY BALL!

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

MOONSHOTS

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SUNFLOWER

Helianthus annuus, the common sunflower, is a large annual forb of the genus Helianthus in the family Asteraceae, grown as a crop for its edible oil and edible fruits (sunflower seeds). This sunflower species is also used as bird food, as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), and in some industrial applications.

The plant was first domesticated in the Americas. Wild Helianthus annuus is a widely branched annual plant with many flower heads. The domestic sunflower, however, often possesses only a single large inflorescence (flower head) atop an unbranched stem.

The name sunflower may derive from the shape of the flower head, which resembles the sun, or from the impression that the blooming plant appears to slowly turn its flower towards the sun as the latter moves across the sky on a daily basis. Sunflower seeds were brought to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, where, along with sunflower oil, they became a widespread cooking ingredient.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos 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.

PHILLIP ISLAND

Phillip Island is an Australian island about 140 km south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. Named after Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, Phillip Island forms a natural breakwater for the shallow waters of the Western Port. It is 26 km long and 9 km wide, with an area of about 100 km2. It has 97 km of coastline and is part of the Bass Coast Shire.

A 640 m concrete bridge (originally a wooden bridge) connects the mainland town San Remo with the island town Newhaven. In the 2011 census the island's permanent population was 9,406, compared to 7,071 in 2001. During the summer, the population swells to 40,000. 60% of the island is farmland devoted to grazing of sheep and cattle.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

A CHEQUERED LIFE

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

ON THE BEACH

At Brighton, a bayside Melbourne suburb.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

PATIENTLY...

Waiting for our humans.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

SUNRISE IN THE CITY

"At sunrise everything is luminous but not clear. It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us. You can love completely without complete understanding." - Norman Maclean

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

BIRDBATH

Euryops is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae. They are native mostly to rocky sites in southern Africa, with a few species in other parts of Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula. They produce daisy-like flowerheads from fern-like foliage. The name Euryops is probably a contraction of the Greek words ευρυς (eurys) meaning 'wide,' and ὄψις (opsis) meaning 'eye,' possibly referring to the large flowerheads compared to the narrow leaves.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.