BLUE MURAL

I snapped this using a zoom while on a tram at stop in the City. I didn't expect it to come out as well as this, but the light was very good. The more I look at it the more I like it, but then again, blue is my favourite colour...

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

PRIMULA

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Pink Saturday meme,
and also part of the I Heart Macros meme.

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #10

Welcome to the Saturday Silhouettes meme! This is a weekly meme that looks at SILHOUETTES in photography.

SILHOUETTE |ˌsɪlʊˈɛt| noun: The dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.
ORIGIN - late 18th century: Named (although the reason remains uncertain) after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French author and politician.

This post is also part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Critters meme.

SPROUTING ASH

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

BLUE LOTUS

Nymphaea nouchali, or by its synonym Nymphaea stellata, or by name star lotus, red and blue water lily, blue star water lily is a water lily of genus Nymphaea. It is the national flower of Sri Lanka and of Bangladesh. This aquatic plant is native from the Indian Subcontinent to the Australian region. It has been long valued as a garden flower in Thailand and Myanmar to decorate ponds and gardens.

In its natural state N. nouchali is found in static or slow-flowing aquatic habitats of little to moderate depth. Nymphaea nouchali is a day-blooming nonviviparous plant with submerged roots and stems. Part of the leaves are submerged, while others rise slightly above the surface. The leaves are round and green on top; they usually have a darker underside. The floating leaves have undulating edges that give them a crenellate appearance. Their size is about 20–23 cm and their spread is 0.9 to 1.8 m.

This water lily has a beautiful flower which is usually violet blue in colour with reddish edges. Some varieties have white, purple, mauve or fuchsia-coloured flowers, hence its name red and blue water lily. The flower has 4-5 sepals and 13-15 petals that have an angular appearance making the flower look star-shaped from above. The cup-like calyx has a diameter of 11–14 cm. N. nouchali is used as an ornamental plant because of its spectacular flowers. It is also popular as an aquarium plant under the name "Dwarf Lily" or "Dwarf Red Lily".

Sometimes it is grown for its flowers, while other aquarists prefer to trim the lily pads, and just have the underwater foliage. Nymphaea nouchali is considered a medicinal plant in Indian Ayurvedic medicine under the name Ambal; it was mainly used to treat indigestion. Like all waterlilies or lotuses, its tubers and rhizomes can be used as food items; they are eaten usually boiled or roasted. In the case of N. nouchali, its tender leaves and flower peduncles are also valued as food. The dried plant is collected from ponds, tanks and marshes during the dry season and used in India as animal forage.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

KASTORIA, GREECE

Kastoriá is a city in northern Greece in the region of West Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria regional unit. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains. The town is known for its many Byzantine churches, Ottoman-era domestic architecture, furs, and trout.

Kastoriá is an international centre of fur trade, which dominates the local economy. Indeed, (as mentioned above) the town was possibly named after one of the former staples of the trade – the European beaver (kastóri in Greek), now extinct in the area. Trading in mink fur now predominates and every year an international showcase of fur takes place in the city. Other industries include the sale and distribution of locally grown produce, particularly wheat, apples, wine and fish. Recently a large shopping centre has been built in the city and attracts customers from the wider surrounding area.

Kastoriá is an important religious centre for the Greek Orthodox Church and is the seat of a metropolitan bishop. It originally had 72 Byzantine and medieval churches, of which 54 have survived, including St Athanasius of Mouzaki. Some of these have been restored and provide useful insight into trends in Late Byzantine styles of architecture and fresco painting. The Museum of Byzantine History houses many examples of Byzantine iconography. The Costume Museum and the Monument Museum are also located in the city. Kastoriá is filled with old manors dating to the Ottoman period, while parts of the old Byzantine walls also survive.

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

CLIVIA NOBILIS

Clivia nobilis (green-tip forest lily), is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clivia, of the family Amaryllidaceae, native to South Africa. It grows to about 38 cm. It has evergreen strap-shaped leaves, and bears pendent umbels of multiple narrow, trumpet-shaped, red and yellow flowers, tipped with green. Like other members of the tribe Haemantheae to which it belongs, Clivia fruits are berries. When ripe, they contain large fleshy seeds which are often more than 1 cm in diameter

At a minimum temperature of 10 °C, in temperate regions it is normally cultivated as a houseplant. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Charlotte Percy (née Clive), Duchess of Northumberland (1787–1866), governess of Queen Victoria, was the first to cultivate the plant in the United Kingdom and bring it to flower. The whole genus was subsequently named after the Duchess.

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

ROSEMARY

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) in flower.

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

MELBOURNE NIGHTS

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

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #9

Welcome to the Saturday Silhouettes meme! This is a weekly meme that looks at SILHOUETTES in photography.

SILHOUETTE |ˌsɪlʊˈɛt| noun: The dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.

ORIGIN - late 18th century: Named (although the reason remains uncertain) after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French author and politician.

This post is also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

PRICKLY PEAR

Opuntia ficus-indica is a species of cactus that has long been a domesticated crop plant important in agricultural economies throughout arid and semiarid parts of the world. It is thought to possibly be native to Mexico. Some of the common English names for the plant and its fruit are Indian fig, opuntia, barbary fig, cactus pear, spineless cactus, and prickly pear, although this last name has also been applied to other less common Opuntia species. In Mexican Spanish the plant is called nopal, while the fruit is called tuna, which are names also used in American English, especially as culinary terms.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

CALLA HEART

Zantedeschia aethiopica (known as calla lily and arum lily) is a species in the family Araceae, native to southern Africa in Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant, evergreen where rainfall and temperatures are adequate, deciduous where there is a dry season. Its preferred habitat is in streams and ponds or on the banks. In some countries (e.g. New Zealand) it may be considered an introduced weed.

It grows to 0.6–1 m tall, with large clumps of broad, arrow shaped dark green leaves up to 45 cm long. The Inflorescences are large and are produced in spring, summer and autumn, with a pure white spathe up to 25 cm and a yellow spadix up to 90 mm long. Z. aethiopica contains calcium oxalate, and ingestion of the raw plant may cause a severe burning sensation and swelling of lips, tongue, and throat; stomach pain and diarrhoea may occur.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

FISHING HARBOUR, FREMANTLE

Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour is a commercial marina in Fremantle, Western Australia adjacent to the more recently constructed Challenger Harbour. It provides large sheltered mooring areas, wharf space for vessels up to 60 metres, refuelling facilities and support services to the Fremantle fishing industry.

The harbour was built in 1919 when a 300-metre breakwater was constructed to provide an anchorage for fishing vessels. South Jetty was immediately adjacent and included a fish market which was removed in 1929. A southern breakwater was constructed in 1962 and land reclaimed to house fishing companies and service industries. Between 1969 and 1972, up to 120 fishing boats were housed in the harbour and in 1982, construction of a boat lifting facility commenced.

Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour is now surrounded by a well established tourism precinct, and over a dozen restaurants and a brewery are immediately adjacent. Blessing of the FleetMany of the fishing enterprises housed at Fremantle are descended from the Italian towns of Molfetta on the Adriatic Sea, and Capo d'Orlando in Sicily. Each year, a ceremony known as the "Blessing of the Fleet" occurs in the harbour where a procession of the fishermen and their families walk through the streets of Fremantle to the harbour carrying two statues.

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

WALKING THE DOG

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme.

BEE ON DANDELION

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,

and also part of the Macro Monday meme,

and also part of the I Heart Macros meme.

WINTER TREE

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

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #8

Welcome to the Saturday Silhouettes meme. This is a weekly meme that looks at SILHOUETTES in photography.
SILHOUETTE |ˌsɪlʊˈɛt| noun: The dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.
ORIGIN - late 18th century: Named (although the reason remains uncertain) after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French author and politician.

This post is also part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

GREEN CANAL

A disused canal overgrown with weeds looks somewhat poetic... The slowest flowing green river whose ripples echo with the changing of the seasons.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

CYMBIDIUM ORCHIDS

Cymbidium, or boat orchids, is a genus of 52 evergreen species in the orchid family Orchidaceae. One of its first descriptions come from Olof Swartz in 1799. The name is derived from the Greek word kumbos, meaning 'hole, cavity'. It refers to the form of the base of the lip. The genus is abbreviated Cym in horticultural trade. This genus is distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia (such as northern India, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Borneo) and northern Australia.

The larger flowered species from which the large flowered hybrids are derived, grow at high altitudes. Cymbidiums became popular in Europe during the Victorian era. One feature that makes the plant so popular is the fact that it can survive during cold temperatures (as low as 7˚C). We are lucky enough in Melbourne to grow them easily as garden plants and they are presently flowering profusely.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SINGAPORE WATERS

Singapore is a city-state in Southeast Asia and consists of the island of Singapore and about 54 smaller islands. The main island is linked by a causeway to the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. The island is criss-crossed by waterways, rivers and canals, while the Downtown area has an impressive Esplanade.

To the south of the main island of Singapore is the harbour. The Port of Singapore refers to the collective facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade handling functions in harbours and which handle Singapore's shipping. Currently the world's second-busiest port in terms of total shipping tonnage, it also trans-ships a fifth of the world's shipping containers, half of the world's annual supply of crude oil, and is the world's busiest trans-shipment port. It was also the busiest port in terms of total cargo tonnage handled until 2005, when it was surpassed by the Port of Shanghai. Thousands of ships drop anchor in the harbour, connecting the port to over 600 other ports in 123 countries and spread over six continents.

Further to the south is Sentosa, a popular island resort, visited by some twenty million people a year. Attractions include a 2 km long sheltered beach, Fort Siloso, two golf courses, the Merlion, 14 hotels, and the Resorts World Sentosa, featuring the theme park Universal Studios Singapore.

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

Looking toward the Marina Square area, where the Singapore River enters the Singapore Strait

Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay (also known as The Esplanade Theatres, or simply The Esplanade) is a 60,000 square metres performing arts centre located in Marina Bay near the mouth of the Singapore River. Named after the nearby Esplanade, it consists of a concert hall which seats about 1,600 and a theatre with a capacity of about 2,000 for the performing arts. The design was inspired by the spiky durian fruit. 

The Merlion is a traditional creature in western heraldry that depicts a creature with a lion's head and a body of a fish. In Singapore, it has become a marketing icon used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore.

Part of the pleasure gardens on the Sentosa Island.

Looking from Sentosa Island towards Singapore Island and one of the harbours. The Sentosa Gateway causeway can be seen running across the photo.

Looking South from Sentosa Island out to sea towards some of the smaller islands. The Sentosa Merlion can be seen in the centre.

Set on Siloso Beach facing the South China Sea, Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa, Singapore, offers comfortable accommodation amidst a natural landscape. Each room comes with an attached private balcony and a view of the hills, garden, pool or sea so guests can enjoy the lush, natural surroundings.