Sunday 30 September 2018

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #86 - ART INDIGENOUS

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!
This is a photo of a large painting by the Fairfield Collective that we have hanging up at home. It is called "Australian Bounty" and depicts the land of Australia with its settlements (concentric circles) linked by roads (red wavy lines). Animals with their tracks and plants symbolise the bounty of the land, while people sitting amongst these (pale horseshoe shapes), show that they live in harmony with the land.
This post is part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

Saturday 29 September 2018

OLD DOG

"Old age has its pleasures, which, though different, are not less than the pleasures of youth." - W. Somerset Maugham

How fine it is to just sit and enjoy the sun, while dog-napping!

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

Friday 28 September 2018

SUNRISE

This post is part of the Nature Notes meme,
and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

PAULOWNIA

Paulownia is a genus of six to 17 species (depending on taxonomic authority) of flowering plants in the family Paulowniaceae, related to and sometimes included in the Scrophulariaceae. They are present in much of China, south to northern Laos and Vietnam and are long cultivated elsewhere in eastern Asia, notably in Japan and Korea. They are deciduous trees 12–15 m tall, with large, heart-shaped leaves 15–40 cm across, arranged in opposite pairs on the stem. The flowers are produced in early spring on panicles 10–30 cm long, with a tubular purple corolla resembling a foxglove flower. The fruit is a dry capsule, containing thousands of minute seeds.

The genus, originally Pavlovnia but now usually spelled Paulownia, was named in honour of Anna Paulowna, queen consort of The Netherlands (1795–1865), daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia. It is also called "princess tree" for the same reason.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

Wednesday 26 September 2018

LETTER 3

“Small men command the letter of the law. Great men serve its spirit. For the spirit of the law is justice... and justice is the spirit of God.” ― JC Marino

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

Tuesday 25 September 2018

LIPARI, ITALY

Lipari (Italian pronunciation: [ˈliːpari], Sicilian: Lìpari, Latin: Lipara, Ancient Greek: Μελιγουνίς Meligounis or Λιπάρα Lipara) is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town and comune, which is administratively part of the Metropolitan City of Messina. Its population is 12,734, but during the May to September tourist season, the total population may reach up to 20,000.

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.

Monday 24 September 2018

GREECE I.D.

A postcard from Greece, serving to identify the country in a mosaic.

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

Sunday 23 September 2018

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #85 - FLY

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!
The bluebottle fly or bottlebee (Calliphora vomitoria) is a common blow fly found in most areas of the world and is the type species for the genus Calliphora. Similar species include the greenbottle fly, a close relative that can be distinguished by its bright green metallic colouring. Bluebottle fly adults feed on nectar, while the larvae feed on carcasses of dead animals. Adults are also pollinators to some flowers with strong odour.
This post is part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

Saturday 22 September 2018

DUCK

The Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea) is a small duck. The male has brown back, rich chestnut coloured chest and sides with dark tail and white patch on the rear (the white patch is in front of the tail at the "water line" when it swims). The head is dark green. Females are brown with scalloped pattern. The bill is grey in both sexes. The female Chestnut Teal is very similar to the Grey Teal, but is darker.

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

Friday 21 September 2018

SPRING SKY

Spectacular clouds as changeable weather ushers in our Southern Hemisphere Spring.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

Thursday 20 September 2018

CALLERY PEAR

Pyrus calleryana, the Callery pear known in the USA as the Bradford Pear, is a species of pear native to China and Vietnam, in the family Rosaceae. It is a deciduous tree growing to 5 to 8 m tall, often with a conic to rounded crown. The leaves are oval, 4 to 8 cm long, glossy dark green above, and slightly paler below.

The white, five-petaled flowers are about 2 to 2.5 cm in diameter. They are produced abundantly in early spring, before the leaves expand fully. The fruits of the Callery pear are small (less than one cm in diameter), and hard, almost woody, until softened by frost, after which they are readily taken by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings. In summer, the foliage is dark green and very smooth, and in autumn the leaves commonly turn brilliant colours, ranging from yellow and orange to more commonly red, pink, purple, and bronze.

Their dense clusters of white blossoms are conspicuous and very pretty in early spring, however their smell is commonly found unpleasant by many people (me included!). The smell is often described as 'fishy' and 'putrid'.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

Wednesday 19 September 2018

KEYS 2

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.
I get up in the morning, torture a typewriter until it screams, then stop. - Clarence Budington Kelland

Tuesday 18 September 2018

DUNKIRK, FRANCE

Dunkirk (French: Dunkerque, Dutch: Duinkerke) is a town in the region of Nord-Pas de Calais in France. The name Dunkirk derives from West Flemish "dun" (Dune) and "Kerke" (Church), i.e. "The Church on the Dunes". Dunkirk is a small town in the northernmost tip of France. It is very close to the border with Belgium and is actually located on the shores of the North Sea. Dunkirk has a wide variety of tourist attractions including beaches, architectural and historical sites, festivals, cafes with live music, a theatre, a conference centre, museums, cinemas and its Carnival. Seven hundred hectares of dunes, 15 kilometres of beaches, and a recognised sailing resort make the Flanders coast an increasingly popular seaside resort for tourists who can find quality activities and entertainment all year round.

A history enthusiast after having visited the Dunkirk War Museum and the Town Cemetery's War Memorial might want to head South-East to the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ieper, Belgium. The Museum which looks at the history of the First World War in the Western Flanders Front region. Both France and Belgium have abolished passport control under the Schengen Agreement, so moving between these countries is easy. Other locations worth visiting which are connected to the First World war is the The Museum of the Great War in Péronne, France and the Sommme 1916 Museum in Albert, also in France.

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.

Sunday 16 September 2018

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #84 - PAPERWEIGHT

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!
This post is part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme,

Saturday 15 September 2018

WILLIE WAGTAIL

The willie (or willy) wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) is a passerine bird native to Australia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago, and Eastern Indonesia. It is a common and familiar bird throughout much of its range, living in most habitats apart from thick forest. Measuring 19–21.5 cm in length, the willie wagtail is contrastingly coloured with almost entirely black upperparts and white underparts; the male and female have similar plumage.

Three subspecies are recognised; Rhipidura leucophrys leucophrys from central and southern Australia, the smaller R. l. picata from northern Australia, and the larger R. l. melaleuca from New Guinea and islands in its vicinity. It is unrelated to the true wagtails of the genus Motacilla. The willie wagtail is insectivorous and spends much time chasing prey in open habitat. Its common name is derived from its habit of wagging its tail horizontally when foraging on the ground.

Aggressive and territorial, the willie wagtail will often harass much larger birds such as the laughing kookaburra and wedge-tailed eagle. It has responded well to human alteration of the landscape and is a common sight in urban lawns, parks, and gardens. It was widely featured in Aboriginal folklore around the country as either a bringer of bad news or a stealer of secrets.

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



Thursday 13 September 2018

PLUM BLOSSOM

plum blossoms...
I shake off all thoughts
of returning home

Chenou Liu

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

Wednesday 12 September 2018

JACK 3

A jack or knave is a playing card which, in traditional French and English decks, pictures a man in the traditional or historic aristocratic dress generally associated with Europe of the 16th or 17th century. The usual rank of a jack, within its suit, plays as if it was an 11 (that is, between the 10 and the queen). As the lowest face (or "court") card, the jack often represents a minimum standard — for example, many poker games require a minimum hand of a pair of jacks ("jacks or better") in order to continue play.

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

Tuesday 11 September 2018

BARI, ITALY

Bari (Bari dialect: Bare; Latin: Barium; Ancient Greek: Βάριον, Bárion) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas. The city itself has a population of about 326,799, as of 2015, over 116 square kilometres, while the urban area counts 653,028 inhabitants over 203 square kilometres. The metropolitan area counts 1.3 million inhabitants.

Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the north is the closely built old town on the peninsula between two modern harbours, with the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, the Cathedral of San Sabino (1035–1171) and the Hohenstaufen Castle built for Frederick II, which is now also a major nightlife district. To the south is the Murat quarter (erected by Joachim Murat), the modern heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea and the major shopping district (the via Sparano and via Argiro). Modern residential zones surround the centre of Bari were built during the 1960s and 1970s replacing the old suburbs that had developed along roads splaying outwards from gates in the city walls. In addition, the outer suburbs have developed rapidly during the 1990s. The city has a redeveloped airport named after Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyła Airport, with connections to several European cities.

Bari Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Bari or Cattedrale di San Sabino) is the cathedral of Bari, in Apulia, southern Italy, senior to, though less famous than, the Basilica of St Nicholas (Basilica di San Nicola) in the same city. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Bari-Bitonto, as it was previously of the archbishops, earlier bishops, of Bari. It is dedicated to Saint Sabinus, a bishop of Canosa, whose relics were brought here in the 9th century. The present building was constructed between the late 12th and late 13th centuries, mostly in the last thirty years of the 12th century, and was built on the site of the ruins of the Imperial Byzantine cathedral destroyed in 1156 by William I of Sicily known as the Wicked (il Malo); to the right of the transept it is still possible to observe traces of the original pavement which extends under the nave.

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

Monday 10 September 2018

AUSTRALIA I.D.

I was asked to do a little design project as an exercise in Photoshop technique, which identified the country I call home. The result is this "Country I.D. Mosaic" for Australia. Can you do a similar one for the country you call home?

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

Sunday 9 September 2018

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #83 - DAWG

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!
This post is part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Critters meme.

Thursday 6 September 2018

SPANISH BLUEBELL

Hyacinthoides hispanica (syn. Endymion hispanicus or Scilla hispanica), the Spanish bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial native to the Iberian Peninsula. It is one of around 11 species in the genus Hyacinthoides, others including the common bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) in northwestern Europe, and the Italian bluebell (Hyacinthoides italica) further east in the Mediterranean region.

It is distinguished from the common bluebell by its paler, larger blue flowers, more erect flower stem (raceme), broader leaves, blue anthers (where the common bluebell has creamy-white ones) and little or no scent compared to the strong fragrant scent of the northern species. The Spanish bluebell is also cultivated as a garden plant, and several named cultivars exist with flowers in various shades of white, pink and blue.

I've processed the photo in Photoshop using a variety of filters to give it a slightly painterly look.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

Wednesday 5 September 2018

INDIGO

Indigo is a deep and rich colour close to the colour wheel blue (a primary colour in the RGB colour space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine. It is traditionally regarded as a colour in the visible spectrum, as well as one of the seven colours of the rainbow, the colour between violet and blue; however, sources differ as to its actual position in the electromagnetic spectrum.

The colour indigo is named after the indigo dye derived from the plant Indigofera tinctoria and related species. The first known recorded use of indigo as a colour name in English was in 1289. Historically, the term indigo was only applied to the natural dye extracted from the leaves of certain plants, and this process was important economically because blue dyes were once rare. A large percentage of indigo dye produced today, several thousand tonnes each year, is synthetic. It is the blue often associated with denim cloth and blue jeans. Natural indigo is still available and is used in artisanal dying.

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

Here is "Mood Indigo" (1930) & (1955), a jazz composition and song, with music by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard with lyrics by Irving Mills. It is sung by Ella Fitzgerald, from "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book".


Tuesday 4 September 2018

HEIDELBERG, GERMANY

Heidelberg is a city situated on the River Neckar in south-west Germany. The fifth-largest town in the State of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Mannheim and Freiburg im Breisgau, Heidelberg is part of the densely populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. In 2011, over 149,000 people lived in the city. A former residence of the Electorate of the Palatinate, Heidelberg is the location of Heidelberg University, well known far beyond Germany's borders.

Heidelberg is a popular tourist destination due to its romantic and picturesque cityscape, including Heidelberg Castle and the baroque style Old Town. The "old town" (German: Altstadt), on the south bank of the Neckar, is long and narrow. It is dominated by the ruins of Heidelberg Castle, 80 metres above the Neckar on the steep wooded slopes of the Königstuhl (King's chair or throne) hill. The Main Street (Hauptstrasse), a mile-long pedestrian street, running the length of the old town.

The old stone bridge was erected 1786–1788. A medieval bridge gate is on the side of the old town, and was originally part of the town wall. Baroque tower helmets were added as part of the erection of the stone bridge in 1788. The Church of the Holy Spirit (Heiliggeistkirche), a late Gothic church in the marketplace of the old town. The Karls‘ gate (Karlstor) is a triumphal arch in honour of the Prince Elector Karl Theodor, located at Heidelberg's east side. It was built 1775–1781 and designed by Nicolas de Pigage.

The house Zum Ritter Sankt Georg (Knight St. George) is one of the few buildings to survive the War of Succession. Standing across from the Church of the Holy Spirit, it was built in the style of the late Renaissance. It is named after the sculpture at the top. The Marstall (Stables), a 16th-century building on the Neckar that has served several purposes through its history. It is now a cafeteria for the university.

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.







Monday 3 September 2018

BUDDHA

"Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship." - Buddha

This post is part of the Mosaic 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.

Sunday 2 September 2018

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #82 - 3,423 KM FAR

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!
The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland, Australia. It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 750 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River, which is the endpoint of the highway. The entire highway is part of the National Highway system linking Darwin and Brisbane: formerly National Highway 54, Queensland began to convert to the alphanumeric system much of Australia had adopted in the early-2000s and is now designated as National Highway A2.

Driving from Brisbane to Darwin on this highway would be 3,423 km and would take about 40 hours driving at the speed limits along the way. It's quite far...
This post is part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.