HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A witch rode her broom stick by my window on her way to a midnight Halloween coven...
(OK, I cannot lie, I had some fun with Photoshop!).

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 Our World Tuesday meme.

PUMPKINS

This post is part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme,
and also part of the Our Beautiful World meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #71

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!

COAST BANKSIA

Banksia integrifolia, commonly known as coast banksia, is a species of tree that grows along the east coast of Australia. One of the most widely distributed Banksia species, it occurs between Victoria and Central Queensland in a broad range of habitats, from coastal dunes to mountains. It is highly variable in form, but is most often encountered as a tree up to 25 metres in height. Its leaves have dark green upper surfaces and white undersides, a contrast that can be striking on windy days.

It is one of the four original Banksia species collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770, and one of four species published in 1782 as part of Carolus Linnaeus the Younger's original description of the genus. It has had a complicated taxonomic history, with numerous species and varieties ascribed to it, only to be rejected or promoted to separate species. The taxonomy is now largely settled, with three subspecies recognised: B. integrifolia subsp. integrifolia, B. integrifolia subsp. compar and B. integrifolia subsp. monticola.

A hardy and versatile garden plant, B. integrifolia is widely planted in Australian gardens. It is a popular choice for parks and streetscapes, and has been used for bush revegetation and stabilisation of dunes. Its hardiness has prompted research into its suitability for use as a rootstock in the cut flower trade, but has also caused concerns about its potential to become a weed outside its natural habitat.

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

GOLDEN EVERLASTING

Xerochrysum bracteatum, commonly known as the golden everlasting or strawflower, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Australia. Described by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in 1803, it was known as Helichrysum bracteatum for many years before being transferred to a new genus Xerochrysum in 1990.

It grows as a woody or herbaceous perennial or annual shrub up to a metre tall with green or grey leafy foliage. Golden yellow or white flower heads are produced from spring to autumn; their distinctive feature is the papery bracts that resemble petals. The species is widespread, growing in a variety of habitats across the country, from rainforest margins to deserts and subalpine areas.

The golden everlasting serves as food for various larvae of lepidopterans (butterflies and moths), and adult butterflies, hoverflies, native bees, small beetles, and grasshoppers visit the flower heads. The golden everlasting has proven very adaptable to cultivation. It was propagated and developed in Germany in the 1850s, and annual cultivars in a host of colour forms from white to bronze to purple flowers became available. Many of these are still sold in mixed seed packs. In Australia, many cultivars are perennial shrubs, which have become popular garden plants. Sturdier, long-stemmed forms are used commercially in the cut flower industry.

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

PASSATA

Passata is just a fresh tomato purée that is sterilised and bottled. Traditionally passata is made right at the end of summer, when there’s a glut of ripe, juicy tomatoes, and it’s put into bottles so you don’t have to use electricity to keep it frozen all year. You pull out a bottle mid-winter and get a flash of summer warmth in any recipe you cook. If you're Italian, you are probably very familiar with passata or with the ritual of bottling the purée for a rainy day. Just as well there is ready-bottled passata on sale at our local supermarket!

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

GORDES, FRANCE

Gordes is a commune in the Vaucluse département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The residents are known as Gordiens. The nearest big city is Avignon; smaller cities nearby include Cavaillon, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Apt. The name "Gordes" derives from the Celtic word "Vordense". Vordense was pronounced Gordenses, then Gordae/Gordone, and finally Gòrda then translated into French "Gordes".

Standing on the edge of the plateau of Vaucluse, Gordes is one of the "in" villages of Luberon where many movie stars and artists have made their home. Its houses of white and gray stone rise up in a spiral around the rock where the village is set. At the very top is the church and the castle which face out onto the hills of the Luberon. Due to its privileged position, its exceptional charm and its typical architecture, Gordes has been listed as "one of the most beautiful villages of France".

Gordes is without a doubt worth seeing. The village has a world wide reputation due to its famous inhabitants, and Peter Mayle's book "A Year in Provence" certainly helped.

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.

SPEEDWELL

Veronica chamaedrys (germander speedwell, bird's-eye speedwell) is a herbaceous perennial species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia west of the Ural Mountains. It is found on other continents as an introduced species.

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,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

A SHOW OF HANDS

Near the entrance of the CUA building in Brisbane's CBD is an interesting sculpture that has been added to Brisbane City's public art portfolio. Commissioned in 2002, 'Chat' by Sebastian Di Mauro features a set of of shiny steel hands rising up from the pavement, evoking a desire to gesticulate or sign, and indeed chat...

This post is part of the Photo Sunday meme,
and also part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme.

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #70

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 Orange you Glad It's 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!

RAIN...

It's been raining again for the most of the day today and the greens were all freshly washed, like this tree banksia in the neighbours' yard.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

POISON HEMLOCK

Conium maculatum (hemlock or poison hemlock) is a highly poisonous biennial plant herbaceous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, native to Europe and North Africa. 

It is a herbaceous biennial plant that grows to 1.5–2.5 m, with a smooth, green, hollow stem, usually spotted or streaked with red or purple on the lower half of the stem. All parts of the plant are hairless (glabrous). The leaves are two- to four-pinnate, finely divided and lacy, overall triangular in shape, up to 50 cm long and 40 cm broad. The flowers are small, white, clustered in umbels up to 10–15 cm across. When crushed, the leaves and root emit a rank, unpleasant odour often compared to that of parsnips. It produces a large number of seeds that allow the plant to form thick stands in modified soils.

The toxicity of the plant has inspired many of its common names: In addition to the English poison hemlock, the Australian Carrot Fern, and the Irish devil's bread or devil's porridge, poison parsley, spotted corobane, and spotted hemlock are used.

Eight piperidinic alkaloids have been identified in C. maculatum. Two of them, gamma-coniceine and coniine, are generally the most abundant, and they account for most of the plant's acute and chronic toxicity. Due to high potency, the ingestion of seemingly small doses can easily result in respiratory collapse and death.

Coniine causes death by blocking the neuromuscular junction in a manner similar to curare; this results in an ascending muscular paralysis with eventual paralysis of the respiratory muscles which results in death due to lack of oxygen to the heart and brain. Death can be prevented by artificial ventilation until the effects have worn off 48–72 hours later. For an adult, the ingestion of more than 100 mg (0.1 gram) of coniine (about six to eight fresh leaves, or a smaller dose of the seeds or root) may be fatal.

In ancient Greece, hemlock was used to poison condemned prisoners. The most famous victim of hemlock poisoning is the philosopher Socrates. After being condemned to death for impiety and corrupting the young men of Athens, in 399 BC, Socrates was given a potent infusion of the hemlock plant. Plato described Socrates' death in 'Phaedo'.

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

OXFORD, THAMES RIVER

View from Folly Bridge, looking downstream on the River Thames towards the Oxford University College boat houses.

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters 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.

PARK GÜELL, BARCELONA

The Park Güell (Catalan: Parc Güell) is a public park system composed of gardens and architectonic elements located on Carmel Hill, in Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain). Carmel Hill belongs to the mountain range of Collserola – the Parc del Carmel is located on the northern face. Park Güell is located in La Salut, a neighbourhood in the Gràcia district of Barcelona. With urbanisation in mind, Eusebi Güell assigned the design of the park to Antoni Gaudí, a renowned architect and the face of Catalan modernism. The park was built between 1900 and 1914 and was officially opened as a public park in 1926. In 1984, UNESCO declared the park a World Heritage Site under “Works of Antoni Gaudí”

Park Güell is the reflection of Gaudí’s artistic plenitude, which belongs to his naturalist phase (first decade of the 20th century). During this period, the architect perfected his personal style through inspiration from organic shapes. He put into practice a series of new structural solutions rooted in the analysis of geometry. To that, the Catalan artist adds creative liberty and an imaginative, ornamental creation.

Güell and Gaudí conceived this park, situated within a natural park. They imagined an organised grouping of high-quality homes, decked out with all the latest technological advancements to ensure maximum comfort, finished off with an artistic touch. They also envisioned a community strongly influenced by symbolism, since, in the common elements of the park, they were trying to synthesise many of the political and religious ideals shared by patron and architect: therefore there are noticeable concepts originating from political Catalanism – especially in the entrance stairway where the Catalonian countries are represented – and from Catholicism – the Monumento al Calvario, originally designed to be a chapel. The mythological elements are so important: apparently Güell and Gaudí's conception of the park was also inspired by the Temple of Apollo of Delphi.

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.

TROPICAL!

The Tropicana Fruit Juice Bar in Melbourne's CBD is a well-known landmark at 213 Elizabeth St. If nothing else, the bags of oranges and fresh pineapples will certainly catch your eye! Certainly brings a bit of sun to the sidewalk, even on a rather grey Melbourne day...

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

ST FRANCIS, MELBOURNE

The ‘Mother Church of Victoria’, St Francis’ Church, was built between 1841 and 1845 on the block of land originally reserved for the Catholic Church in Melbourne. Soon after Melbourne’s pioneer priest, the Franciscan Fr Patrick Geoghegan, arrived in 1839, a temporary chapel made of second-hand floorboards was erected on the site of the future St Francis’ Church. When sufficient funds were raised to finance a permanent building, Geoghegan commissioned the architect Samuel Jackson to design the present church, which he dedicated to St Francis’ of Assisi.

The foundation stone of St Francis’ Church was laid on 4 October 1841. The first mass was celebrated in the completed nave of the church on 22 May 1842. And the church was blessed and opened on 23 October 1845. St Francis’ became Melbourne’s first Catholic cathedral with the arrival of Bishop James Alipius Goold in 1848. Its cathedral status ended when the nave of the partially built St Patrick’s Cathedral was opened for worship in the late 1860s.

Although the church may be dwarfed by the huge office blocks surrounding it, it is still a wonderful place to visit and find some spiritual sustenance. The beautiful ‘Ladye Chapel’ on the western side of St Francis’ Church was constructed in the mid 1850s and blessed on 31 May 1858. This is an awe-inspiring place for quiet reflection or prayer.

This post is part of the Our Beautiful World meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme,
and also part of the Spiritual Sundays meme,
and also part of the inSPIREd Sunday meme.

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #69

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 Orange you Glad It's Friday meme.
and also part of the Scenic Weekends 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!

AT THE MARKET

Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

MOKARA ORCHIDS

Mokara orchids are a hybrid between three different orchid varieties (genera: Ascocentrum, Vanda and Arachnis) in the family Orchidaceae. They were developed in the late 60's and are now one of the most popular orchid on the market. They are excellent cut flowers, which in ideal conditions will last a few weeks in the vase.

They have a few distinctive elements that differentiates them from:
1) Thicker stems is a good differentiator. They have a much thicker stem than those found on Dendrobium orchids;
2) The closed bud of a bloom is quite small and round, unlike the Dendrobium which is larger, more elongated and 'bell shaped' at the base.
3) The petals on each bloom are often broader and fleshier than that found on a Dendrobium orchid. Mokara's are great for earthy and bright coloured arrangements (a lot of red, orange yellow, strong purple and pink varieties).

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

NHILL, VICTORIA

Nhill is a town in the Wimmera, in western Victoria, Australia. Nhill is located on the Western Highway, half-way between Adelaide and Melbourne. At the 2011 census Nhill had a population of 2278. "Nhill" is believed to be a Wergaia word meaning "early morning mist rising over water" or "white mist rising from the water".

Nhill is the administrative headquarters for Shire of Hindmarsh and residents are mainly employed in either farming or food processing, most notably in grain and fowl. The town is home to a community of Karen people. Originally coming to Australia as refugees, the Karen community settled in Nhill in the early 2010s to work at the Luv-a-Duck food processing facility. In 2012, there were over 100 Karen residents in Nhill.

The 2011 Australian census listed the main religions in Nhill as Uniting Church 26.8%, Lutheran 15.6%, Anglican 13.4% and Catholic 12.9%. 31.3% either recorded "no religion" or did not answer.

The Electoral district of Lowan is a rural Victorian Legislative Assembly (Lower House) electoral district of the Victorian Parliament. Lowan includes the country towns of Casterton, Coleraine, Dartmoor, Dimboola, Hamilton, Horsham, Jeparit, Kaniva, Nhill and Rainbow. It is the largest electoral district in Victoria. The current seat was established in 2002 although several previous seats held the same name.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday 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.