BANANAS

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme.

AUCKLAND DOMAIN

The Auckland Domain is Auckland's oldest park, and at 75 hectares one of the largest in the city. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, the park contains all of the explosion crater and most of the surrounding tuff ring of the Pukekawa volcano. The park is home to one of Auckland's main tourist attractions, the Auckland War Memorial Museum, which sits prominently on the crater rim (tuff ring).

Several sports fields occupy the floor of the crater, circling to the south of the cone, while the rim opposite the Museum hosts the cricket pavilion and Auckland City Hospital. The Wintergarden, with two beautiful glass houses, lie on the north side of the central scoria cone. The fernery has been constructed in an old quarry in part of the cone. The duck ponds lie in the northern sector of the explosion crater, which is breached to the north with a small overflow stream.

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #36

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.

The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba (Spanish: Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba), also known as the Great Mosque of Córdoba (Spanish: Mezquita de Córdoba), whose ecclesiastical name is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption (Spanish: Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción), is the Catholic cathedral of the Diocese of Córdoba dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and located in the Spanish region of Andalusia. The structure is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture.

The site was originally built by the Visigoths as the Catholic Basilica of Saint Vincent of Lérins. When Muslims conquered Spain in 711, the church was first divided into Muslim and Christian halves. This sharing arrangement of the site lasted until 784, when the Christian half was purchased by the Emir 'Abd al-Rahman I, who then proceeded to demolish the entire structure and build the grand mosque of Cordoba on its ground. Córdoba returned to Christian rule in 1236 during the Reconquista, and the building was converted to a Roman Catholic church, culminating in the insertion of a Renaissance cathedral nave in the 16th century.

Since the early 2000s, Spanish Muslims have lobbied the Roman Catholic Church to allow them to pray in the cathedral. This Muslim campaign has been rejected on multiple occasions, both by the church authorities in Spain and by the Vatican.

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

LET'S DO LUNCH

Having a leisurely lunch in one of Southbank's many restaurants is a simple pleasure that one can indulge in once in a while in Melbourne.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

MR LINCOLN ROSE

Rosa 'Mister Lincoln' is a large flowered (hybrid tea) bush rose introduced in 1964. (AARS 1965). It is a tall red rose is renowned for its strong fragrance (in still air it can be detected up to 3 metres away) and its deep, red colour. It grows to about 1.2 metres high and 1 metre across. The leaves are matt dark green. The buds are deep red and open up into large, velvety red, double blossoms. It has typically around 30 to 35 petals per flower. It is a vigorous plant that performs well in all climates. Mister Lincoln is hardy to zone 5-9.

Mister Lincoln is a very hardy rosebush and survives in many areas with cold winters and hot summers. The only disease problems this rose has had for me comes from powdery mildew. But I’ve easily controlled the issue thanks to a fungicide. And truly, the splendour and overall hardiness of this fantastic rose outweighs any disease problems!

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

BEACH, NEWCASTLE

The Newcastle /ˈnjuːˌkɑːsəl/ metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas. It is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area which includes most parts of the local government areas of City of Newcastle, City of Lake Macquarie, City of Cessnock, City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council.

At 162 kilometres NNE of Sydney, at the mouth of the Hunter River, it is the predominant city within the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal, Newcastle is the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, exporting over 97 Mt of coal in 2009–10 with plans to expand annual capacity to 180 Mt by 2013. Beyond the city, the Hunter Region possesses large coal deposits. Geologically, the area is located in the central-eastern part of the Sydney basin.

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.

SINGAPORE BUILDINGS

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, and often referred to as the Lion City, the Garden City, and the Red Dot, is the world's only sovereign island city-state. It lies one degree (137 km) north of the equator, at the southernmost tip of continental Asia and peninsular Malaysia, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south. Singapore's territory consists of the diamond-shaped main island and 62 islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23% (130 km2), and its greening policy has covered the densely populated island with tropical flora, parks and gardens. 

An important area of local innovation in architecture has involved seeking to develop a form of modern architecture appropriate to Singapore's tropical climate. This climatically sensitive approach to architecture traces its roots back to the vernacular Malay houses and through to experiments by British colonial architects and early local nationalist architects to devise an authentically local architecture using modern construction methods. In the 1980s and especially from the late 1990s, this has led to a proliferation of what might be called 'modern tropical' architecture, or neo-tropical architecture. It involves a return to clean and simple rectilinear modernist forms, coupled with an emphasis of lush landscaping and sleek sun-shading in the form of metal or wood louvres, instead of the modernist glass curtain wall, which admits and traps solar heat.

These architectural efforts have taken on a new relevance and urgency due to concerns about global warming, climate change and environmental sustainability, especially given that air conditioning in buildings is one of the largest consumers of electricity in Singapore, which is mostly generated by fossil fuels.

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

EGYPTIAN VILLAGE MURALS

While visiting the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, there is a high probability that you will visit one of the nearby villages, which is a standard part of the "tour". The livelihood of the villagers depends on selling trinkets, souvenirs, sculptures and bric-a-brac to the tourists. We visited such a village and went on a tour of the alabaster "factory", where we were shown how the alabaster ware were made.

Needless to say that the alabaster vases are mass produced in a Cairo factory using modern equipment and they are then shipped to these local shops where they put on sale. The "workmen" in these village "factories" go through the motions of "making" these vases using traditional techniques.

I was more interested in the naive art murals that adorned these villages. As well as some copies of ancient Egyptian wall paintings, the majority of the murals depict folk art renditions of trips to Mecca. All Muslims who are capable of doing so must go on a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca at least once in their life. It is beyond the means of most villagers and if one does succeed, it becomes a wonderful occurrence, which is commemorated in a series of murals on the home walls! So much for travel snaps...

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Monday Murals meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme.

COOL DOG

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

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #35

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.

At the Southern Cross train station in central Melbourne.

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

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES...

We have a few tomato plants in our garden, but this year they have not done well, it has not been much of a tomato year. Nevertheless, even if the tomato plants are dying, one can rescue quite a few of the green tomatoes and what better way to use them than...

Fried Green Tomatoes
Ingredients
3 green tomatoes
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
1 egg
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 cup vegetable oil

Method
1 Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1 cm slices. Sprinkle slices with salt and pepper. Let tomato slices stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place in separate shallow bowls: The flour; the buttermilk and egg; and the bread crumbs and cornmeal.
2 Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet on medium heat. Beat the egg and the buttermilk together. Dip tomato slices in the flour, then buttermilk-egg mixture, then the cornmeal-bread crumb mix. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown. Set the cooked tomatoes on paper towels to drain.

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

LILYTURF

Liriope muscari is a species of low, herbaceous flowering plants from East Asia, in the Asparagaceae family. Common names in English include big blue lilyturf, lilyturf, border grass, and monkey grass. It is a perennial with grass-like evergreen foliage and lilac-purple flowers which produce single-seeded berries on a spike in Autumn.

It is an understory plant in China, Japan, and Korea occurring in shady forests at elevations of 100–1,400 m. It is a tufted, grass-like perennial which typically grows 30–45 cm tall and features clumps of strap-like, arching, glossy, dark green leaves to 1.5 cm. Clumps slowly expand by short stolons to a width of about 30 cm, but plants do not spread aggressively. Roots are fibrous, often with terminal tubers.

The small, showy flowers occur on erect spikes with tiered whorls of dense, white to violet-purple flowers rising above the leaves in late summer. Flowers resemble those of grape hyacinth (Muscari), which is the origin of the species name. Flowers develop into blackish berries which often persist into winter. There is considerable variation in leaf colour and size among a number of recognised cultivars. Distinguishing species in the genus Liriope is difficult at best, and mistaken identity occurs even in commercial nurseries.

Being an easy plant to grow, it is one of the most popular ground covers in temperate to subtropical climate, and is commonly used in landscaping as border plants and ground cover. L. muscari has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

The species is easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Ideal conditions are moist, fertile soils with partial shade. However, lilyturf tolerates a wide range of light and soil conditions. Lilyturf is also tolerant of heat, humidity, and drought. The evergreen foliage often turns brown in late winter; old foliage can be cut back or mowed at a high setting before new shoots appear early spring. Lilyturf is suitable for USDA Hardiness Zones 6 to 10. It might be grown in zone 5 in sheltered locations or if protected during severe winter weather.

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

AT THE FISHMONGER'S

A fishmonger (fishwife for women practitioners - "wife" in this case used in its archaic meaning of "woman") is someone who sells raw fish and seafood. Fishmongers can be wholesalers or retailers, and are trained at selecting and purchasing, handling, gutting, boning, filleting, displaying, merchandising and selling their product. In some countries modern supermarkets are replacing fishmongers who operate in shops or fish markets.

Here we are at a fishmonger's in Preston Market, in Preston, a Melbourne suburb. This is an excellent market with a variety of shops and stalls: Fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, all manners of seafood, meats, delicatessen, herbs and spices, clothing, shoes, arts and crafts can be found here in abundance!

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

SYDNEY BY NIGHT

Sydney, capital of New South Wales and one of Australia's largest cities, is best known for its harbourfront Opera House, with a distinctive sail-like design. Massive Darling Harbour and Circular Quay are hubs of waterside life, with the towering, arched Harbour Bridge and esteemed Royal Botanic Gardens nearby. Sydney Tower’s 268m glass viewing platform, the Skywalk, offers 360-degree views of the city, harbour and suburbs.

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.

FLOWERING ROSEMARY

Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly known as rosemary, is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs. The name "rosemary" derives from the Latin for "dew" (ros) and "sea" (marinus), or "dew of the sea". The plant is also sometimes called anthos, from the ancient Greek word ἄνθος, meaning "flower". Rosemary has a fibrous root system.

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

LIQUID SUNSHINE

Late Summer days, relaxing at the weekend by the waters of Darebin Creek, near where I live. The sun was warm, a light breeze rustled the leaves and the creek waters bubbled by incessantly. A most pleasant way to spend a day of leisure...

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Saturday Show Off meme.

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #34

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.

Sunset silhouettes in the suburbs.

This post is also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

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

JAPANESE MAPLE SEEDS

Acer palmatum, called Japanese maple or smooth Japanese-maple (Japanese: irohamomiji, イロハモミジ, or momiji, 紅葉) is a species of woody plant native to Japan, North Korea, South Korea, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. Many different cultivars of this maple have been selected and they are grown worldwide for their large variety of attractive forms, leaf shapes, and spectacular leaf colours, especially during autumn.

Acer palmatum is a deciduous shrub or small tree reaching heights of 6 to 10 m, rarely 16 metres, often growing as an understory plant in shady woodlands. It may have multiple trunks joining close to the ground. In habit, it is often shaped like a hemisphere (especially when younger) or takes on a dome-like form, especially when mature.

The leaves are 4–12 cm long and wide, palmately lobed with five, seven, or nine acutely pointed lobes. The flowers are produced in small cymes, the individual flowers with five red or purple sepals and five whitish petals. The fruit is a pair of winged samaras, each samara 2–3 cm long with a 6–8 mm seed. The seeds of Japanese maple and similar species require stratification in order to germinate.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.