HAPPY NEW YEAR!

With best wishes for health, peace and happiness in 2024!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

HUNTSMAN BABIES

You may recall in a previous post I posted a photo of a Huntsman spider guarding her egg sac. Pleased to report that the spiderlings have hatched and the steadfast mother is still there guarding and looking after them! We like having these spiders in our garden as they hunt and eat a lot of harmful insect pests.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

YARRA SUNRISE

Sunrise on the River Yarra in the City. Rowing on the river is the thing to do for College and University students associated with the old school Rowing Clubs on the crack of dawn.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

ANGELONIA

Angelonia is a genus of about 30 species which occur from Mexico to Argentina and is classified in the Plantaginaceae family. They are herbaceous plants occurring mainly in arid and semi-arid habitats. Most Angelonia species can be found in Northeastern Brazil in the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest, namely Caatinga.

The flowers of Angelonia are highly specialized for pollination because they have hairs in the inner corolla, which produce oils collected by oil bee pollinators, especially of the genus Centris.

Many hybrids are cultivated as ornamental plants for their snapdragon-like flowers, but need warm temperatures and large amounts of sunlight. Garden varieties are mainly cultivars of A. angustifolia.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

FIRST SUMMER PRODUCE

Our garden is mainly a flower garden, but seasonally we plant a few vegetables here and there, and of course there are plentiful culinary herbs amongst the rose bushes and seasonal flowers. Despite the changeable weather this year, we managed to harvest the first produce a couple of days ago: 'Blackjack' zucchini and 'Purple King' climbing beans.

We usually have these first harvested vegies boiled, together with sliced boiled potatoes, and also boiled wild greens known as Amaranthus blitum var. silvestre. The last mentioned grow wild in the garden (but also in wastelands) and only the tender young shoots are gathered. This light, but filling, dish is served with a simple olive oil vinaigrette and with a slice or two of crusty bread (read more here).

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

IN THE CITY

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

SEASON'S GREETINGS!

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

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

May these holy days bring us all what we most need.

As Bulat Okudzhava says in his "Prayer of François Villon":

"...Almighty, please give to all of us

The things that we do not have:

Grant a brain to the wise man,

To the coward, grant a battle horse,

To the happy, give some money,

And don't forget to give something to me...

Let those striving for power,

Wield it to their heart's content.

Give a break to the generous - 

At least for a day or two;

Pray, give Cain repentance,

and remember me, too..."

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

GALAH

The galah (Eolophus roseicapilla), less commonly known as the pink and grey cockatoo or rose-breasted cockatoo, is an Australian species of cockatoo and the only member of the genus Eolophus. The galah is adapted to a wide variety of modified and unmodified habitats and is one of Australia's most abundant and widespread bird species. The species is endemic to mainland Australia. It was introduced to Tasmania, where it is now widespread, in the mid-19th century and much more recently to New Zealand. This specimen was grazing on the lawn of the nature strip in front of our house.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

SOLSTICE SUNSET

On the longest day of the year, on our Summer Solstice here in the Southern Hemisphere, light lingers in the sky well into the evening. This is the view from my window.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.