COLOUR MY WORLD

As we progress towards Winter on this last day of Autumn, I need a little more colour in my world... A little help from the archives and Photoshop obliges!

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

MELBOURNE LOCKDOWN #4...

Since Friday morning, Melbourne has been in a snap COVID Lockdown for seven days. I wish I could say we are used to it by now, but that's not true. It seems that people's irresponsible behaviour, inept public health measures, poor government leadership, bungled vaccination rollouts and petty political games between state and federal governments have once again caused an outbreak of COVID cases in the community.

Once again, businesses are closed in Melbourne, people are confined at home, children are not going to school, and we can only go out of the house for five reasons:
1) Shopping for food and supplies;
2) Authorised work and education;
3) Care and caregiving;
4) Exercise (for up to two hours and with one other person), and:
5) Getting vaccinated.

So here we are in our local shopping centre, doing our grocery shopping (no, we did not need any toilet paper) and feeling sad seeing the deserted aisles, the closed shops and the melancholy prospect of seeing an extension of the Lockdown next Friday...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

CROWS

The Torresian crow (Corvus orru), also called the Australian crow or Papuan crow, is a passerine bird in the crow family native to the north and west of Australia and nearby islands in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The species has a black plumage, beak and mouth with white irises. The base of the feathers on the head and neck are white. The Torresian crow is slightly larger with a more robust bill than the morphologically similar little crow.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

BARE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

AUTUMN WATTLE

At the end of Autumn, as we prepare to go into Winter, the leaves are still turning on the deciduous trees as you can see on the right on this Callery Pear. Meanwhile, at the same time, on the left a wattle tree is in full bloom with its cheery yellow flowers. Up to a third of Australia's 960 species of wattle will flower in winter. This winter blooming means that somewhere in Australia, no matter what time of year, a wattle is flowering, because they also flower in spring, summer and autumn!

Wattles growing nearest the coast are generally the earliest in the year to flower, followed by those further inland. Similarly, the tide of yellow sweeps from north to south, as the wattles in the northerly parts of Australia flower first, followed by the more southerly species.

The Acacia genus, which includes all the wattles, is the biggest group of trees and shrubs in Australia, topping even the eucalypts in diversity. They were part of the original Gondwana vegetation, which is why, today, acacias are also found in Africa, South America and India.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

LUNAR ECLIPSE

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned (in syzygy) with Earth between the other two, and only on the night of a full moon. The type and length of a lunar eclipse depend on the Moon's proximity to either node of its orbit.

A totally eclipsed Moon is sometimes called a blood moon for its reddish colour, which is caused by Earth completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the Moon. The only light reflected from the lunar surface has been refracted by Earth's atmosphere. This light appears reddish for the same reason that a sunset or sunrise does: the Rayleigh scattering of bluer light.

Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly 2 hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only up to a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller. Also unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view without any eye protection or special precautions, as they are dimmer than the full Moon.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes 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.

Seal Rocks, seen here, is a group of rocky inlets along Phillip island's coastline. They are home to Australia's largest fur seal population, numbering around 16,000. The population peaks between late October to December, but it is possible to view seals at all times of the year. Seals eat squid, cuttlefish and small fish. They can dive up to 100m and have excellent underwater vision.

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.

BY NIGHT

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

and also part of the All Seasons meme.

AUTUMN COLOUR

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

MOORHEN

Moorhens—sometimes called marsh hens—are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family (Rallidae). Most species are placed in the genus Gallinula, Latin for "little hen". They are close relatives of coots. They are often referred to as (black) gallinules.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,

and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme.