SYDNEY SKY

Just landed at Sydney airport and looking out towards the container ship harbour with the loading gantries visible on the horizon.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

IXORA COCCINEA

Ixora coccinea (or jungle geranium, flame of the woods, and jungle flame) is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is a common flowering shrub native to Southern India and Sri Lanka. It has become one of the most popular flowering shrubs in subtropical gardens and landscapes. Its name derives from an Indian deity.

I. coccinea is a dense, multi-branched evergreen shrub, commonly 1.2–2 m in height, but capable of reaching up to 3.6 m high. It has a rounded form, with a spread that may exceed its height. The glossy, leathery, oblong leaves are about 10 cm long, with entire margins, and are carried in opposite pairs or whorled on the stems. Small tubular, scarlet flowers in dense rounded clusters 5–13 cm across are produced almost all year long.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

ROMANCE

Snapped these gulls on top of a light by the Yarra River a couple of days ago. I'm sure that there was no love involved, but it's hard to look at this photo and not anthropomorphise!

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Winged meme.

SWAN RIVER, PERTH

Perth City is situated between the Darling Ranges and the Indian Ocean, and along the banks of the Swan River, 12 km from the ocean. The river is named after the famous black swans which can be found along the river. The city is bound by the river to the east and south. To the west of the city is Kings Park, which has over 400 hectares of natural Australian bush overlooking the city center and the Swan River.

The Swan River weaves its way through the metropolitan area to the Port of Fremantle, which has many beautiful houses, restaurants, and recreational areas along its banks. The river provides an ideal opportunity for the locals to enjoy the beautiful weather and participate in many different water sports such as boating, sailing, water skiing, wind surfing, rowing, fishing, parasailing, swimming, jet skiing, or just cruising the river on one of the many ferries.

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

AUTUMN'S LAST ROSE

We did some work in our garden last weekend and it was surprising to see that some of our rose bushes were still blooming, even though this is the end of Autumn with Winter fast approaching.

This is a delightful rose called "Mr Lincoln". It's hard to believe that "Mr. Lincoln" won an AARS distinction back in 1965. The velvety, deep red hybrid tea is still one of the most popularly grown garden roses. Beautiful as well as strongly scented, Mr. Lincoln's blossoms are held on stiff, upright stems.

This post is part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme.

ART GLASS

Kirra Galleries opened in 1997 and have focussed on building fine commercial exhibition galleries, displaying glass, sculpture and jewellery artworks in Australia. They now have an established reputation as one of the leaders in the Australian Contemporary Art Glass Movement.

Kirra Galleries showcase the most comprehensive  collection of Australian Art Glass, as well as collections of handmade jewellery, ceramics, timber and sculpture all made by Australian artists from the finest materials. This is their gallery in Federation Square Melbourne where some very beautiful pieces of art glass are displayed.

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

PLANE TREE SEEDS

Platanus is a genus comprising a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae.All members of Platanus are tall, reaching 30 to 50 meters in height. All except for P. kerrii are deciduous, and most are found in riparian or other wetland habitats in the wild, though proving drought-tolerant in cultivation. The hybrid London Plane has proved particularly tolerant of urban conditions.

After being pollinated, the female flowers become achenes that form an aggregate ball. Typically, the core of the ball is 1 cm in diameter and is covered with a net of mesh 1 mm, which can be peeled off. The ball is 2.5–4 cm in diameter and contains several hundred achenes, each of which has a single seed and is conical, with the point attached downward to the net at the surface of the ball. There is also a tuft of many thin stiff yellow-green bristle fibers attached to the base of each achene. These bristles help in wind dispersion of the fruits as in the dandelion.

This post is part of the Weekend in Black and White meme,

And also part of the Weekly TopShot meme.

AUTUMN POND REFLECTION

Warm Autumn sunshine and reflections in a pool where fallen leaves are slowly drowning. The blue sky soon clouded over and the sun disappeared too...

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,

and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme.

FREMANTLE BOAT HARBOUR PANORAMA

Fishing Boat Harbour is a deep water harbour which has picturesque boardwalks, a lively atmosphere and plently of things to see and places to explore for people of all ages. There are always people coming and going, boats leaving and coming and something is always happening on the wharf. There is also short stay accommodation, open ocean high-speed boat rides and luxury charter sailing tours available. Fremantle's Fishing Boat Harbour is a great place to stop for food and view the beautiful views. One can stroll along the boardwalks and back through the West End, across Esplanade Park, or on to Bathers Beach and the Roundhouse. It is the perfect location while exploring Fremantle's West End.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

OSTEOSPERMUM - CAPE DAISY

The name Osteospermum is derived from the Greek osteon (= bone) and Latin spermum (= seed). Osteospermums belong to the daisy family (Asteraceae), hence their common names: African Daisy or South African Daisy, Cape Daisy and Blue-eyed Daisy.

They mustn't be confused with the annual Dimorphotheca. Although most commercial Osteospermum species are labelled as annuals they are in fact half-hardy perennials or subshrubs. This means they are not entirely hardy and will therefore not survive persistent frosts. However, they can be propagated by cuttings or overwintered in a frost free environment.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

FLYING TO SYDNEY

Whenever I fly I always take the window seat as I like looking out but also because I get a chance to take some photos if the weather is right. On a recent flight to Sydney, the conditions were right and I managed to snap these shots.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme.

CAMELLIA

Camellia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number. The genus was named by Linnaeus after the Jesuit botanist Georg Joseph Kamel, who worked in the Philippines, though he never described a camellia

This genus is famous throughout East Asia; camellias are known as cháhuā (茶花) in Chinese, "tea flower", an apt designation, as tsubaki (椿) in Japanese, as dongbaek-kkot (동백꽃) in Korean and as hoa trà or hoa chè in Vietnamese.The most famous member is certainly the tea plant (C. sinensis). Among the ornamental species, Camellia japonica, Camellia oleifera and Camellia sasanqua are perhaps the most widely known, though most camellias grown for their flowers are cultivars or hybrids.

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

WALL INC, PERTH

Wall Inc is a City of Perth initiative to commission professional practising artists, inviting them to translate their work from a Studio/Gallery setting to a public open-air space, connecting with urban spaces and its community. Wall Inc is underpinned by three objectives; to enhance the attractiveness of the city; to decrease the incidence of localised graffiti in the city and to bring a broader aesthetic approach and visual diversity into the streets.

Wall Inc is a series of mural commissions without a theme. Artists are invited to respond to a selected, to the physicality of the walls, the building use and surrounds. Many walls have permanent visual distractions such as uneven surfaces, air conditioners, pipes, and blocked- in windows. Artists are required to embrace the conditions and work with them, not against them.

This is Clare McFarlane's "A Fragmented Tale" 2011, found in the  Hay Street Mall Laneway between Flight Centre/Sussan and London Court.

This post is part of Monday Mellow Yellows meme,

and also part of the Monday Murals meme.

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

Curtin University is a research-intensive public university based in Perth, Western Australia. Named after the former Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin, it is also the largest University in Western Australia.

Curtin was conferred University status after the legislation was passed by the State Government of Western Australia in 1986. Since then, the University has been actively expanding its global presence and currently has campuses in Sydney, Singapore and Malaysia Sarawak. Being a leading global institution, it has forged close ties with 90 exchange universities in more than 20 countries.

The University comprises 5 main faculties with over 95 specialists centres. Curtin is one of only two Western Australian universities to rank in the prestigious Shanghai Jiao Tong Annual Ranking of World Universities (2011). It is also one of the two Western Australian universities to rank in the Times Higher Education's 2011-2012 world university rankings. Curtin is ranked within the top 300 universities by QS World University Rankings 2011/12.

This post is part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme.

MIRRORWORLD

A seagull mirroring itself on a shallow puddle. A quiet time for self-reflection...

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekend in Black and White meme,

and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme.

SUNSET IN PERTH

Some more photos taken on my recent trip to Perth. A beautiful sunset over the City and the Swan River.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

PASSIONFLOWER

Passiflora edulis is a vine species of passion flower that is native to Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina (Corrientes and Misiones provinces, among others). Its common names include passion fruit (UK and US), passionfruit (Australia and New Zealand), and purple grenadilla (South Africa).

It is cultivated commercially in warmer, frost-free areas for its fruit and is widely grown in Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, the Caribbean, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ecuador, Haiti, Hawaii, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Portugal (Madeira), Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka, South Africa, United States (California and Florida), Venezuela and Philippines.

The "Passion" in "passion flower" refers to the passion of Jesus in Christian theology. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries adopted the unique physical structures of this plant, particularly the numbers of its various flower parts, as symbols of the last days of Jesus and especially his crucifixion:

• The pointed tips of the leaves were taken to represent the Holy Lance.
• The tendrils represent the whips used in the flagellation of Christ.
• The ten petals and sepals represent the ten faithful apostles (excluding St. Peter the denier and Judas Iscariot the betrayer).
• The flower's radial filaments, which can number more than a hundred and vary from flower to flower, represent the crown of thorns.
• The chalice-shaped ovary with its receptacle represents a hammer or the Holy Grail.
• The 3 stigmas represent the 3 nails and the 5 anthers below them the 5 wounds (four by the nails and one by the lance).
• The blue and white colours of many species' flowers represent Heaven and Purity.

The passion fruit is round to oval, either yellow or dark purple at maturity, with a soft to firm, juicy interior filled with numerous seeds. The fruit is both eaten and juiced; passion fruit juice is often added to other fruit juices to enhance the aroma.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

LITTLE CREATURES, FREMANTLE

Little Creatures is an Australian brewing company based in Fremantle, Western Australia, originally established in 2000 by the original brewers of the Matilda Bay Brewing Company. The name "Little Creatures" is inspired by a song lyric from the Talking Heads Little Creatures album and refers to the live yeast cells that turn the sugars in malt wort into alcohol.Little Creatures Pty Ltd is owned by Little World Beverages, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lion Nathan (which is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Kirin).

The Brewery was founded by Howard Cearns (marketing specialist), Nic Trimboli (restaurateur) and Phil Sexton (master brewer), all of whom previously worked with the Matilda Bay Brewing Company. In 1997 Cearns, Trimboli and Sexton discussed the possibility of brewing an american style India Pale Ale. Sexton having worked in the United States and was involved in the development of the BridgePort IPA. Cearns came up with the name after reading about little creatures wandering from ale house to ale house in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and at the time thinking that it sounded like yeast fermentation. The brewery released its first beer, Little Creatures Pale Ale, in 2000. In 2008 the company established a second brewery in Healesville, Victoria.

The brewery building, was originally constructed to house the Taskforce '87 yachts (Kookaburra) participating in the 1987 America's Cup and subsequently as a crocodile farm before being converted to its current use. The brewery is open to the public and contains a café/restaurant.

This post is part of the Signs, Signs meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Winged meme :-)