MELBOURNE BY NIGHT IN WINTER

A twilight walk by the Yarra River soon turns into an evening stroll in Winter. The cold weather ensures that most people avoid the riverside, but the lights and their reflections on the water are worth the effort!

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

WINTER SUNSHINE

A walk in suburban Fairfield, taking advantage of a few hours of winter sunshine. However, the sun had sharp teeth... It was quite cold!

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 80 - DAISY SHRUB

This striking shrub is blooming in a neighbour's garden at the moment. I was tempted to say it was the New Zealand native Brachyglottis to which the flowers bear a resemblance, but the leaves are all wrong. It could well be a species of Senecio. If anyone has any more definite ideas, please enlighten me.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

WINTER SUN IN THE PARKLANDS

The Darebin Parklands in Fairfield are a favourite place to walk in, whatever the season. As we have been having quite a mild Winter this year, when the sun shines, it resembles a Spring day.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

LUNCHTIME WALK

In the City, at the corner of Elizabeth and Collins Sts: Alston’s Corner is a red brick, low-rise building located on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Collins St in CBD of Melbourne, Australia. It is currently used as residential apartments, now named Cashmore Apartments, but was originally built as offices with a tobacconist shop at ground level. Tobacconist Henry Alston originally commissioned architect Nahum Barnet to design the building.

The building was constructed in 1903–1904 by master builders Clements Langford Pty Ltd with additions completed in 1913. The scale of the building made it a statement in Melbourne architecture of the time, evoking and elements where typical commercial buildings of Melbourne were previously of neoclassical style. The architect, Nahum Barnet was a respected architect of the time and a lot of his work can be found throughout Melbourne, having completed a range of commercial, residential and religious works.

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

MURAL IN OAKLEIGH LIBRARY

This fine mural is made from sculpted salvaged elm tree wood. It is by artist Glenn Romanis who fashioned it in 2007 and it is installed on the wall of the foyer fo the Oakleigh Public Library.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Monday Murals meme.

WORKING DOG

This is taken in Fairfield Railway Station, and the guide dog I am sure has enjoyed its outing at the Hound Lounge.

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

SUNSET REFLECTIONS

The sunset sky reflected in the Southbank high rise apartments adds a golden touch to otherwise cold and blue-gray façades. A cold night ahead!

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

SUNRISE IN THE CITY

Looking over Sandridge pedestrian bridge, towards the West.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 79 - SHEOAK

Allocasuarina is a genus of trees in the flowering plant family Casuarinaceae. They are endemic to Australia, occurring primarily in the south. Like the closely related genus Casuarina, they are commonly called sheoaks or she-oaks, they are notable for their long, segmented branchlets that function as leaves. Formally termed cladodes, these branchlets somewhat resemble pine needles, although sheoaks are actually flowering plants. The leaves are reduced to minute scales encircling each joint. Fallen cladodes form a dense, soft mat beneath sheoaks, preventing the development of undergrowth and making sheoak woods remarkably quiet.

Another characteristic feature are the spiny "cones", about the size of an acorn but with a texture more resembling a conifer cone. However, sheoak "cones" are actually a woody fruit. Male specimens bear no fruit and are sometimes colloquially referred to as a "heoak". As with legumes, sheoak roots possess nodules containing symbiotic nitrogen fixing bacteria; together with their highly drought-adapted foliage, this enables sheoaks to thrive in very poor soil and semi-arid areas. However, sheoaks are much less bushfire-tolerant than eucalypts. Fossils of closely related species have been found dating back to the time of Gondwana.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.