CHANGE OF SEASON

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

DETRAFFICKED

Weekday, time of the afternoon peak hour traffic. Huh? Where are all the cars? You say. Well, this is COVID lockdown normal for Melbourne. Today we had a release of a "Roadmap out of the COVID Lockdown". It was a bit of a joke, as painfully it has confirmed lockdown will stay and most industries will be shut or highly restricted until the end of October, in a bid to prevent our health system from being overrun by COVID-19... 

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

PATIENT DOG

Waiting for his owner who is doing the grocery shopping inside...

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

FLY AWAY

How common a sight in our skies was this a couple of years ago. COVID has now ensured that air traffic is a minuscule fraction of what it was then. Now, a day trip out of metropolitan Melbourne by car sounds like an exciting adventure. We still are confined at home, only venturing out within a radius of 5 km, and only for essential business (and not during the curfew, i.e. between 9:00 pm to 5:00 am)...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

YELLOW LILIES

Lilium (members of which are true lilies) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the Liliaceae family, growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, though their range extends into the northern subtropics. Many other plants have "lily" in their common name but are not related to true lilies.

Asiatic Lilies, shown here, are a very popular garden and florist flower and they offer a brilliantly colourful range of blooms to choose from. The bulbs of Asiatic lilies are tough and resilient, providing a bounty of colourful blooms for vases, very easily grown and wonderfully tolerant of searing Australia's hot Summers. Asiatic Lilies come in a wide range of brilliant colours from bright red to soft and pretty pink which means they can be used to create pockets of colour or gentle waves of soft and pretty cottage colours. Asiatic Lilies have more advantages in that they are great in pots and the bulbs can be planted anytime between May and October (in the Southern Hemisphere).

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

SPRING SUNSHINE

One of the things I am thankful for these days of the COVID lockdown is that within walking distance of my home we have several large parks and Parklands, where I can walk within the 5 km allowed radius. This is wonderful for my daily exercise, but also for replenishing my spiritual and mental reserves in order to cope with the insanity fo the times. We've had some beautiful sunny Spring days and walking in areas such as this (Yarra Bend Park) has been delightful.

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.

DESERTED CITY NIGHT

We are currently on day 40 of our sixth COVID lockdown and "enjoying" a 9:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew. The City is lit up but deserted, the very few people out and about having very special reasons and permission to do so... And so our life has been transformed.

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.

ANTIPODEAN SEASONS

As the Southern Hemisphere moves steadily onwards to the heart of Spring, so does the Northern Hemisphere sink into Autumn...

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

COVID THANKS

Adversity affects people in different ways: Some crack under the strain and dissolve into a mass of blubbering jelly; others become insecure, selfish and violent; others freeze into inaction and observe helplessly all that develops; yet others are afraid and cower in denial, being ready to believe anything that will provide quick, albeit irrational, comfort.

A select group face the challenges of adversity and rise to their full height, diving into their inner bottomless seas of strength and courage, and face squarely whatever the world throws at them. Such people are society's rocks and it is on them that we should lean taking energy from their strength, hope from their courageous actions, and nurture our courage to imitate their example.

A neighbour has made a simple yet expressive statement on their fence, regarding the COVID challenge we are all living through. Thanking your relatives, friends, neighbours, but most importantly strangers for doing the right thing for society's health and wellbeing is a courageous act, considering that COVID-deniers and anti-vaxxers can become violent and vindictive. Thank YOU, neighbour!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

LADYBIRD

Harmonia conformis (the large spotted ladybird) is a species of ladybird (the family Coccinellidae). It has a light reddish appearance and its colouration includes 20 large black spots, 18 of which are found on the elytra (wing covers). They are quite large for ladybirds, being about 6–7 mm long.

It is a predator of other insects, eating aphids as both a It is found in Australia, and has been introduced to New Zealand, where it is common in northern regions. Another member of the same genus, Harmonia antipoda, also occurs in New Zealand. This species, however, is a native and is much smaller and harder to find.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme