ON THE WATER

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme

and also part of the Nature Notes meme

GOLDFISH

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

SUCCULENTS

As our climate is being disrupted and water is becoming more and more precious, many people are turning to alternative. garden plants in order to enjoy a garden that is lush and yet conserves water. Succulents, cacti and sclerophyll forest plants are the order of the day. A garden filled with succulents and cacti not only saves water but also promotes biodiversity, turning into a sanctuary that amazes and inspires.

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

WET DOG

Playing in the Parklands on a warm Summer day - just the place to be!

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

POND

The large pond at the Darebin Parklands on a wintry morning.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

GENTLY...

...does the rain fall and softly does Summer exit, while Autumn still waits gingerly for its cue to take centre stage.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

SUMMERY

As we approach the end of Summer, it's time to hurry and make the most of the remaining days under the sun.

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

BY THE CREEK

At the Darebin Parklands in suburban Melbourne, relaxing on a sunny, summery day. The murmur of the flowing water is so relaxing and calming...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

SCRYING POOL

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.

SUMMER RAIN

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

MORNING

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

Z for ZOOLOGY

Zoology noun [mass noun] The scientific study of the behaviour, structure, physiology, classification, and distribution of animals. • The animal life of a particular area or time: The zoology of Darebin Parklands. ORIGIN Mid 17th century: from modern Latin zoologia (derived from Greek Ζωολογία).

The Darebin Creek supports a wide diversity of bird, mammal, reptiles, fish, frogs and insects. Over 100 species of birds make along the Darebin Creek, and while some are resident species, living and breeding in the Catchment, others are seasonal migrants visiting from other parts of Australia and the world. Birds range from the Wedge-tailed Eagle, which is a powerful hunter, to the tiny insect loving Spotted Pardalote. Kingfishers and Little Pied Cormorants can be seen close to the creek and wetlands doing a spot of fishing. Ducks are common along the creek and breed in bird boxes built especially for them. Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoos are a noisy addition to the creek as they fly about looking for dead Acacia trees containing grubs.

There are more than ten species of frogs, including the endangered Growling Grass Frog, Spotted Marsh Frog and Ewing’s Tree Frog. Mammals include the Short-beaked Echidna, Brush and Ring-tailed Possums, Rakali (Water rats), Kangaroos and Grey Headed Flying Foxes as well as tiny Micro-bats that are less than 5cm in length. Reptiles include, Blue-tongue Lizards, Tiger Snakes and Long-necked Turtles. Eels and fish live in the Darebin Creek sharing their home with macro-invertebrates such as Burrowing Crayfish and Yabbies. Many of the creek’s residents are nocturnal, meaning they are most active at night, including possums and bats.

Introduced species such as foxes, wildcats and the visiting dogs on owners' leashes complete the zoological profile of this wonderful nature reserve in the midst of our city.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

RAINY

We've had a couple of days of cold, grey and rainy weather as the month of June ends. Nevertheless, the weather does not deter the keen photographer who shields camera under an umbrella in order to get a seasonal shot!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

ON THE YARRA

Rowers on the Yarra River in Suburban Melbourne.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

WATER LILY

Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called water lilies and live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains eight large-flowered genera with about 70 species. The genus Nymphaea contains about 35 species in the Northern Hemisphere. The genus Victoria contains two species of giant water lilies endemic to South America.

Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on the surface. The leaves are round, with a radial notch in Nymphaea and Nuphar, but fully circular in Victoria. Water lilies are a well studied clade of plants because their large flowers with multiple unspecialised parts were initially considered to represent the floral pattern of the earliest flowering plants, and later genetic studies confirmed their evolutionary position as basal angiosperms. Analyses of floral morphology and molecular characteristics and comparisons with a sister taxon, the family Cabombaceae, indicate, however, that the flowers of extant water lilies with the most floral parts are more derived than the genera with fewer floral parts.

Horticulturally water lilies have been hybridised for temperate gardens since the nineteenth century, and the hybrids are divided into three groups: Hardy, night-blooming tropical, and day-blooming tropical water lilies. Hardy water lilies are hybrids from the subgenus Castalia; night-blooming tropical water lilies are developed from the subgenus Lotos (L.) Carl Ludwig Willdenow Willd.; and the day-blooming tropical plants arise from hybridisation of plants of the Brachyceras Casp. subgenus. The water-lily shown here is the hardy "Pink Ribbon" Nymphaea hybrid. 

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

TRIGLOCHIN - WATER RIBBONS

Triglochin procera is an aquatic Australian native plant in the family Juncaginaceae, with common names: Water ribbons, Nareli, and Pol-an-go. Aborigines use the tubers as food, either raw or roasted; the fruits are also edible. Here it is seen growing in the Darebin Parklands in Fairfield.

It has stems 20-50cm high and is a robust, tufted perennial herb with thick roots ending in cylindric tubers. Leaves and stems are erect, leaves bending down to float with the current, more erect in still water. The leaves are long, glossy, ribbon-like erect to floating leaves 3.5m x 40mm, thick and spongy at base. The greenish-white flowers are borne August to April on a dense terminal spike 6-50cm x 17-40mm with 50-320 small flowers. Fruits are round to elliptical, longer than broad, segments attached over most of their length, straight to spiralling around each other.

This aquatic plant grows in fresh, slow-flowing water to 2m deep and in permanent swamps and streams or in areas which may dry out briefly, when plants are smaller. It grows in full sun to semi-shade. In the garden it makes for an attractive plant for flowing water, leaves moving with the current. Also suitable for small pools.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

POND IN THE PARKLANDS

A moment of quiet reflection in the serenity of the Darebin Parklands in suburban Melbourne.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme,
and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

DAREBIN CREEK

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

INDUSTRIAL REFLECTIONS

As Australia nowadays relies more and more on imports for its manufactured goods, there are several industrial areas in the city that are becoming redundant. Once full of busy factories, numerous workers and much traffic, now these areas are curiously deserted. An occasional functioning factory remains, but it too has its days numbered... I suppose this land will soon be rezoned and housing estates, apartment buildings and shops will mushroom into existence.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

DIGHTS FALLS REFLECTIONS

Dights Falls is located in Melbourne, Victoria just downstream of the junction of the Yarra River with Merri Creek, about 2 km east of the City. At this point the river narrows and is constricted between 800,000 year old volcanic, basaltic lava flow and a much older steep, Silurian, sedimentary spur.

Prior to European settlement, the area was occupied by the indigenous Wurundjeri tribe of the Kulin nation. The rock falls would have provided the Aboriginal people with a natural river crossing and place to trap migrating fish. It was also a meeting place for many clans where they would trade, settle disputes and exchange brides.

In January 1803, Charles Grimes, the deputy surveyor-general of New South Wales, was sent to Port Phillip to survey the area. Sailing on the schooner Cumberland, under the command of Acting Lieutenant Charles Robbins, the party entered Port Phillip on 20 January 1803. Grimes explored the Yarra by boat for several miles until he reached Dights Falls on 8 February. On a ridge above the falls, 250 metres to the east, is a historic marker commemorating the “first white men to discover the river Yarra reaching Yarra Falls on 8th February, 1803. Also to make the first crossing near here with the cattle by the first overlanders John Gardiner, Joseph Hawdon and Captain John Hepburn in December 1836”.

In the 1840s, an artificial weir was built on the natural bar of basalt boulders to provide water to the “Ceres” flour mill, one of the first in Victoria. In the early 1840s John Dight established Melbourne’s first water-powered flour mill on the site. In 1888 “Yarra Falls Roller Mills” built a water-turbine powered mill, which was the largest and most sophisticated of the thirty two water powered mills built in Victoria before 1900.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme.