BAY VIEW

This is a view towards the Port Phillip Bay from Southbank in Melbourne, Australia. The beautiful old building with the clock tower, on the right, is the South Melbourne Town Hall.

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

WALKING WITH THE ANIMALS

These are some photos of critters we've met while walking around our neighbourhood. Some are treasured pets, while others are part of the native fauna.

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

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #23

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.

Please add your silhouette shot below, using the Linky tool:

BEE & FLOWER

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

RASPBERRIES

Raspberries (Rubus spp, Rosaceae) are an important commercial fruit crop, widely grown in all temperate regions of the world. Many of the most important modern commercial red raspberry cultivars derive from hybrids between R. idaeus and R. strigosus. Some botanists consider the Eurasian and American red raspberries to belong to a single, circumboreal species, Rubus idaeus, with the European plants then classified as either R. idaeus subsp. idaeus or R. idaeus var. idaeus, and the native North American red raspberries classified as either R. idaeus subsp. strigosus, or R. idaeus var. strigosus. Recent breeding has resulted in cultivars that are thornless and more strongly upright, not needing staking.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

TE ANAU CAVES, NEW ZEALAND

The Te Ana-au caves are a culturally and ecologically important system of limestone caves on the western shore of Lake Te Anau, in the southwest of New Zealand. It was discovered in 1948 by Lawson Burrows, who found the upper entry after three years of searching, following clues in old Māori legends. It later became a major tourist attraction for the area, as the part of the caverns close to the lake shore is home to glowworms.

The unofficial name used by the national caving association is Aurora. The caves are geologically young (estimated 12,000 years) and hence there is only one tiny stalagmite.  The Māori name Te Ana-au can be translated as "The Swirling Cave" (te: the; ana: cave; au: swirling) in reference to the water running through it. Since the caves lie in the Murchison Mountains (where the endangered takahe were rediscovered), and are themselves very fragile, access is restricted. Commercial guided tours by punt through the water-filled caverns run daily, operated by Real Journeys.

The glowworms are Arachnocampa Luminosa (Māori: Titiwai), which are a type of fungus gnat, endemic in New Zealand. Both the larva and the imago are bioluminescent. The species occurs in damp caves, grottos, in crevices on slopes, under tree roots, overhanging rocks and windless, humid places in the forest. These glowworms are found on both the North Island and South Island of New Zealand. The species is widespread, but found in small clusters because of habitat loss due to agriculture and deforestation.

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,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

This beautiful video of the glowworms is by Jordan Poste of NZ Geographic:

KAMEIROS, RHODES

Kameiros (Greek: Κάμειρος) is an ancient city on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. It lies on the northwest coast of the island, three km west of the village of Kalavarda.

The ancient city was built on three levels. At the top of the hill was the acropolis, with the temple complex of Athena Kameiras and the stoa. A covered reservoir having a capacity of 600 cubic meters of water (enough for up to 400 families) was constructed about the sixth century BC. Later, the stoa was built over the reservoir. The stoa consisted of two rows of Doric columns with rooms for shops or lodgings in the rear.

The main settlement was on the middle terrace, consisting of a grid of parallel streets and residential blocks. On the lower terrace are found a Doric temple, probably to Apollo; the Fountain House, with the Agora in front of it; and Peribolos of the Altars, which contained dedications to various deities.

During the prehistoric period the area was inhabited by Mycenaean Greeks. The city itself was founded by the Dorians. The temple foundations were begun at least as early as the eighth century BC. The earthquake of 226 BC destroyed the city and the temple. The earthquake of 142 BC destroyed the city for the second time.

The Acropolis was excavated by Alfred Biliotti and Auguste Salzmann between 1852 and 1864. Many of the finds from their digs are now kept in the British Museum in London. In 1928 the Italian Archaeological School began a systematic excavation of the area together with restoration work which continued until the end of the Second World War.

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

FANCY BRICKWORK

This post is part of the Blue Monday meme.

AUSTRALASIAN SWAMPHEN

The Australasian swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus), family Rallidae, is a species of swamphen occurring in eastern Indonesia, the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands, as well as in Papua New Guinea and Australia. It is also found in New Zealand where it is known as the Pūkeko, derived from the Māori language. The Australasian swamphen previously was considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio).

In New Zealand and Australia populations have expanded due to the creation of new artificial lakes and ponds. Birds are often seen singly, or in groups of two to three, foraging for food beside motorways or roadside ditches, and collecting grit. A study showed that the preferred grit colour is red (followed by yellow and lastly blue) even though red grit is less common. Roadkill is a cause of mortality.

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

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #22

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.

Cycling across the bridge... 

Please add your silhouette shot below, using the Linky tool:

STORM CLOUDS

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SPIDER CHRYSANTHEMUMS

A spider chrysanthemum has very distinct flowers, which sets it apart from the rest. Spider chrysanthemums’ flowers have many rows of petals which are very long and narrow, and which completely cover the centre of the flower. The inner petals are shorter and go up, curving themselves around the centre and concealing it. The rest of the petals stick out like a spider's legs and give this flower its very particular shape. Some varieties of spider chrysanthemum are “Yellow Rayonnante,” “Pietro” and “Tokio” and “Magdalena.” This particular green one I am showcasing below, is called “Shamrock”.

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

YARRA RIVER SUNRISE

Melbourne's Yarra River is an iconic feature of the City, and to enjoy it at sunrise is one of the highlights of a visit to our City. The view to the East from Princes Bridge is unforgettable, especially as the street lights are about to go off as the sun rises.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also 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.