BEE

This post is part of the PhotoSunday meme,
and also part of the Floral Friday Foto meme,
and also part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme.

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #58

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 s also part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

Please add your contribution below, using the Linky tool.


As this is a small but select meme, please visit other contributors and add a comment - they like comments about their work as much as you do!

SPIDERWEB

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

ORNAMENTAL CABBAGE

Ornamental cabbage and kale (also known as “flowering” cabbage and kale) are in the same species (Brassica oleracea) as edible cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. While ornamental cabbage and kale are edible, they tend to have a bitter flavour and are often used in a culinary setting as garnishes. Ornamental cabbage and kale are prized primarily as colourful additions to home gardens where they are grown for their large rosettes of white, pink, purple or red leaves.

Technically, ornamental cabbage and kale are all kales (kales produce leaves in a tight rosettes; cabbages produce heads). But in the horticultural trade, ornamental kale is the term used for types with deeply-cut, curly, frilly or ruffled leaves. Ornamental cabbage is the term used for types with broad, flat leaves that are edged in a contrasting colour. Ornamental cabbage and kale grow approximately 30 cm and 45 cm tall. There are many cultivars that are commercially available.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CORFU, GREECE

Palaiokastritsa (Greek: Παλαιοκαστρίτσα meaning Old Castle place, referring to nearby Angelokastro) is a village in the North West of the island of Corfu. Palaiokastritsa has a land area of 48.379 km² and a population of 4,395 (2001 census) and is located on the west coast of Corfu just south of Angelokastro.

Corfu has been suggested to be the mythical island of the Phaeacians, and the bay of Palaiokastritsa to be the place where Odysseus disembarked and met Nausicaa for the first time. A rock in the sea just visible from the shore is considered by the locals to be the mythical petrified ship of Odysseus. The side of the rock toward the mainland is curved in such a way as to resemble the extended sail of a trireme. The monastery in Palaiokastritsa dates from 1225. There is a museum inside.

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.

THE BUSH

The concept of "the bush" has become iconic in Australia. In reference to the landscape, "bush" refers to any sparsely-inhabited region, regardless of vegetation. "The bush" in this sense was something that was uniquely Australian and very different from the green European landscapes familiar to many new immigrants. The term "Outback" is also used, but usually in association with the more arid inland areas of Australia.

"The Bush" also refers to any populated region outside of the major metropolitan areas, including mining and agricultural areas. Consequently, it is not unusual to have a mining town in the desert such as Port Hedland (Pop. 14,000) referred to as "the bush" within the media.

Bush poets such as Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson revered the bush as a source of national ideals, as did contemporaneous painters in the Heidelberg School like Tom Roberts (1856-1931), Arthur Streeton (1867-1943) and Frederick McCubbin (1855-1917). Romanticising the bush in this way was a big step forward for Australians in their steps towards self-identity.

The legacy is a folklore rich in the spirit of the bush. Australians affix the term "bush" to any number of other entities or activities to describe their rural, country or folk nature, e.g. "Bush Cricket", "Bush Music", etc.

The "bush" in these photos is in South Australia, a fair way out of Adelaide.

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

YELLOW MOON

This is an image I constructed in a program called 'Mojoworld', where one may create graphic representations of planets according to parameters that are inputted. One may then zoom in on views of the surface. The planet here I've called 'Winterblue' and it is a world of perpetual ice and snow of methane. The sole big moon is getting closer and closer to the planet surface and physics says it will eventually collide with the planet...

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

WINTER CAT

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

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #57

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 is a "reverse silhouette" of winter trees whose bare branches are illuminated by a sodium street light, while in the dark night background are the distant lights of the Melbourne City skyline. The photo was taken on Northcote Hill, about 5 km North fo the City centre.

Please add your contribution below, using the Linky tool.

As this is a small but select meme, please visit other contributors and add a comment - they like comments about their work as much as you do!

CELADON

Celadon is a term for ceramics denoting both wares glazed in the jade green celadon colour, also known as greenware (the term specialists tend to use) and a type of transparent glaze, often with small cracks, that was first used on greenware, but later used on other porcelains. Celadon originated in China, and notable kilns such as the Longquan kiln in Zhejiang province are renowned for their celadon works.

Celadon production later spread to other regions in Asia, such as Japan, Korea and Thailand. Finer pieces are in porcelain, but both the colour and the glaze can be produced in earthenware. For many centuries, celadon wares were the most highly regarded by the Chinese Imperial court, before being replaced in fashion by painted wares, especially the new blue and white porcelain, under the Yuan dynasty. Celadon continued to be produced in China at a lower level, often with a conscious sense of reviving older styles. In Korea the celadons produced under the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392) are regarded as the classic wares of Korean porcelain.

The celadon colour is classically produced by firing a glaze containing a little iron oxide at a high temperature in a reducing kiln. The materials must be refined, as other chemicals can alter the colour completely. Too little iron oxide causes a blue colour, too much olive and finally black; the right amount is between 0.75% and 2.5%.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

ROSES AND BEE

How Doth the Little Busy Bee
by Isaac Watts

How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!

How skilfully she builds her cell!
How neat she spreads the wax!
And labors hard to store it well
With the sweet food she makes.

In works of labor or of skill,
I would be busy too;
For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do.

In books, or work, or healthful play,
Let my first years be passed,
That I may give for every day
Some good account at last.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

BARE BRANCHES

We are in the midst of Winter here in Melbourne and the garden is a little bleak, especially on blustery, blue days. The tree branches are bare and the bulbs in the soil have only just started to break the ground and burgeon forth their leaves. Bring on better weather, I say, and let Spring come with its blossoms on the trees and blooms on every garden plant!

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

SUNSHINE COAST HINTERLAND

Sunshine Coast Hinterland lies inland from the South coast of Queensland, Australia and is made up of the spectacular Blackall Ranges and several National Parks. There are plenty of pretty towns set within the mountainous ranges offering a quaint and relaxing feel. At Landsborough, along the Glass House Mountains Road you can turn off towards Maleny which offers a number of wonderful art galleries and as well as some beautiful accommodation places. There is a pleasant drive to Mapleton, passing the wonderful Kondalilla National Park hosting the amazing Kondalilla Falls and Mapleton Falls National Park, as well as the small craft town of Montville.

The rainforest and waterfalls within the National Parks are truly remarkable, and well worth walking around. Also popular in the area is the Maleny Folk Festival, held during the 5 days before New Years Eve. Back on the Glass House Mountains Road is the areas centre Nambour, with the Big Pineapple nearby.

North again is Eumundi which was where Eumundi Lager used to be brewed. Eumundi offers several art and craft galleries ranging from Aboriginal Art to Contemporary Art to Glass Blowing. Eumundi also hosts a popular craft market on Saturdays and Wednesdays, which attracts people from all over. Further inland is the South Burnett Region, and the wonderful Bunya Mountains National Park. There is a sealed road through the region from Dalby or Kingaroy, and offer spectacular rainforest, waterfalls and wildlife, including plenty of wallabies.

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

EMERALD BUS SHELTER

Protesters in the Dandenong Ranges town of Emerald are braving near-zero night-time temperatures to stage a vigil, all in a bid to save a local bus shelter. Cardinia Shire Council has said the shelter is at the end of its life and wants to demolish it and build a new one. The protest has been organised by Emerald Community House (ECH), which uses the colourfully decorated bus shelter as a noticeboard.

ECH manager Mary Farrow said the protesters were there to stop the shelter being demolished. "We've been putting up community information and community art [on the shelter] for seven years," she said. "We have an iconic art mosaic that was done by the youth, funded by the state of Victoria."

The council maintains that the shelter is unsafe and has reached its useful life. It wants to replace it with a new glass one. Glass bus shelters are regularly vandalised all around Melbourne and the glass is regularly broken by hooligans. You can see the Council's views on the shelter here.

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

SUNNY DANDELION

This post is part of the I Heart Macros meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #56

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 contribution below, using the Linky tool.

As this is a small but select meme, please visit other contributors and add a comment - they like comments about their work as much as you do!

RAINBOW LORIKEETS

The rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus) is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia and Tasmania. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Several taxa traditionally listed as subspecies of the rainbow lorikeet are now treated as separate species. Rainbow lorikeets have been introduced to Perth, Western Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; and Hong Kong. These fine specimens were perching on a flowering yellow gum tree (Eucalyptus leucoxylon ‘Rosea’).

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

SINNINGIA LEUCOTRICHA

Sinningia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae. It is named after Wilhelm Sinning (1792-1874), a gardener of the Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. There are about 65 species of tuberous herbaceous perennials, all occurring in Central and South America, with the greatest concentration of species occurring in southern Brazil.

Sinningia species often grow on rocks or cliffs and most are pollinated by hummingbirds or bees but Sinningia brasiliensis is bat-pollinated, and Sinningia tubiflora, with large, powerfully fragrant tubular white flowers, is apparently pollinated by sphinx moths. Most of the species have large, brightly coloured flowers. Because of this, numerous species and numerous hybrids and cultivars are grown as houseplants. A cultivar worth knowing is Sinningia x 'Lovely.' This beautifully gentle plant is a cross between Sinningia sellovii and Sinningia tubiflora. Its tall spikes and tubular flowers attract butterflies, and delight gardeners.

Some species with particularly large tubers are cultivated by cactus and succulent enthusiasts as caudiciforms. One such example is Sinningia leucotricha, often listed under the older name Rechsteineria leucotricha and dubbed "Brazilian edelweiss" for its covering of silvery, silky hairs. Other species with large tubers are Sinningia iarae, Sinningia lineata, and Sinningia macropoda.

Sinningias are attractive greenhouse plants and houseplants that appeal strongly to gardeners who like to specialise in particular plant groups.The chief environmental needs are warmth, high humidity, suitable soil and good light with shade from strong sun. The soil should be well drained. It should contain a liberal proportion of organic matter, such as leaf mould or peat moss, and enough coarse sand or perlite to ensure good porosity.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA

Phillip Island is an Australian island about 140 km south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. Named after Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, Phillip Island forms a natural breakwater for the shallow waters of the Western Port. It is 26 km long and 9 km wide, with an area of about 100 km2. It has 97 km of coastline and is part of the Bass Coast Shire.

A 640 m concrete bridge (originally a wooden bridge) connects the mainland town San Remo with the island town Newhaven. In the 2011 census the island's permanent population was 9,406, compared to 7,071 in 2001. During the summer, the population swells to 40,000. 60% of the island is farmland devoted to grazing of sheep and cattle.

Seal Rocks is a group of rocky inlets along Phillip island's coastline. It is home to Australia's largest fur seal population, numbering around 16,000. The population peaks between late October to December, but it is possible to view seals at all times of the year. Seals eat squid, cuttlefish and small fish. They can dive up to 100m and have excellent underwater vision.

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 Travel Tuesday meme.

ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA

Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, tr. Sankt-Peterburg) is the second largest city in Russia, politically incorporated as a federal subject (a federal city). Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was named Saint Petersburg in 1703. In 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd (Russian: Петрогра́д), in 1924 to Leningrad (Russian: Ленингра́д), and in 1991 back to Saint Petersburg.

Tsar Peter the Great founded Saint Petersburg on May 27 [O.S. 16] 1703. Between 1713–1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the imperial capital of Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow.  It is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with five million inhabitants in 2012, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. Saint Petersburg is the most Westernised city of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. It is the northernmost city in the world with a population of over one million.

The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world.  A large number of foreign consulates, international corporations, banks, and businesses have offices in Saint Petersburg.

We visited St Petersburg in 2001 and thoroughly enjoyed it, seeing an amazing number of significant sites, museums, historical and cultural areas. The people we met were courteous, helpful and friendly.

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.