SUNDAY BEST #224 - LILLY-PILLY

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 theme is of your own choosing, so post on any subject you desire.

All about lilly-pillies here.

This post is also part of the Photo Sunday meme

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Last week, Lydia in Sydney had some great reflection photos in Sydney Harbour, the one below was my fave. Please visit her blog for more great photos!

WINTER WONDERS

Rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus) and flowering white ironbark gum tree (Eucalyptus leucoxylon). Typical early Winter sight in the bushland around Melbourne.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

SUNDAY BEST #223 - RED

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 theme is of your own choosing, so post on any subject you desire.

This post is also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Last week, Image-in-ing in the USA showcased some of her photos on the theme of flight. Please visit her blog for more details.

GUNGURRU

Eucalyptus caesia, commonly known as Caesia, Gungurru or Silver Princess, is a mallee of the Eucalyptus genus. It is endemic to the central Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, where it is found on a small number of granite outcrops. The name "silver" refers to the white powder that covers the branches, flower buds and fruit. "Gungurru" comes from the name used by the indigenous Noongar people.

Two subspecies have been identified: caesia (about 6–9 metres tall) and magna (up to 15 metres tall). The bark is red-brown, of the curly minni ritchi type. Branches tend to flail or weep on the ground. Trees have large red-pink or white flowers, 40-50mm in diameter. They are widely grown as ornamental native plants, but have become rare in the wild.

Eucalyptus caesia was named in 1867 by George Bentham from specimens collected by James Drummond in 1847. Drummond made his collection too late in the season to gather buds and flowers, and this made later identification difficult. During the Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition of 1891–2, Richard Helms gathered specimens of a Eucalyptus that the Indigenous Australians of the area called "Gungurru". This was almost certainly Eucalyptus woodwardii, but in 1896 it was misidentified by Mueller and Tate as E. caesia.

This led to the incorrect application of the common name "Gungurru" to E. caesia, and to confusion about the species' distribution. Authenticated collections of E. caesia were later made by A. Morrison in 1885, and in 1923 Charles Gardner collected specimens from a form with considerably larger leaves, buds, flowers and fruits. This was later recognised as subspecies magna by Brooker and Hopper (1982), with the original form being designated subspecies caesia.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SUNDAY BEST #222 - EVENING WALK

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 theme is of your own choosing, so post on any subject you desire.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Last week, Klara in Poland showed some photos of an interesting breakwater. Please visit her blog for more details.

PANSIES

The garden pansy is a type of large-flowered hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower. It is derived by hybridisation from several species in the section Melanium ("the pansies") of the genus Viola, particularly Viola tricolor, a wildflower of Europe and western Asia known as heartsease. Some of these hybrids are referred to as Viola × wittrockiana Gams ex Nauenb. & Buttler. For simplicity, the older name Viola tricolor var. hortensis is often used.

The garden pansy flower is 3-10 cm in diameter and has two slightly overlapping upper petals, two side petals, and a single bottom petal with a slight beard emanating from the flower's centre. These petals are usually white or yellow, purplish, or blue. The plant may grow to 20 cm in height, and prefers sun to varying degrees and well-draining soils.

The name "pansy" is derived from the French word pensée, "thought", and was imported into Late Middle English as a name of viola in the mid-15th century, as the flower was regarded as a symbol of remembrance. The name "love in idleness" was meant to imply the image of a lover who has little or no other employment than to think of his beloved. The name "heart’s-ease" came from St. Euphrasia, whose name in Greek signifies cheerfulness of mind. The woman, who refused marriage and took the veil, was considered a pattern of humility, hence the name "humble violet".

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SUNDAY BEST #221 - MUM'S DAY EVERY DAY

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 theme is of your own choosing, so post on any subject you desire.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Last week, Lydia from Sydney posted some photos taken at the opera on the harbour in Sydney. Please visit her blog for more great photos!

BLUEBIRD

This is a photo taken by Eileen of the Saturday Critters meme site. Her photo was marred by an obscuring twig in front of the bluebird's face. I've taken the liberty to cut the twig and restore our view to the critter's face with the help of Photoshop.

Happy Mother's Day, Eileen!

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

POLYGALA

Polygala myrtifolia, the myrtle-leaf milkwort, is an evergreen 2-4m tall South African shrub or small tree found along the southern and south-eastern coasts, from near Clanwilliam in the Western Cape to KwaZulu-Natal. It is a fast-growing pioneer plant, a typical fynbos component, and may be found on dunes, rocky places, along forest margins, beside streams, and in open grassland. It belongs to the milkwort family of Polygalaceae.

The thin, oval, mucronate leaves, 25–50 mm long and up to 13 mm wide, are arranged alternately and have entire margins - some forms of P. myrtifolia have thin, needle-like leaves. The attractive mauve sweetpea-like flowers, which close at night, may also be pink, magenta, crimson or white, and have a characteristic brush-like tuft protruding from the keel. For pollination an intricate piston mechanism is used. The fruit is an oval, brown, dehiscent capsule which is narrowly winged. The species is often cultivated in South African and Australasian gardens.

The genus of Polygala comprises some 360 species with a wide distribution in the tropics and temperate zones. 'Polygala' is interpreted as 'much milk' since the plant was thought to stimulate milk production in European cows - 'myrtifolia' translates as 'myrtle-shaped leaves'. This species has become naturalised in some of the coastal areas of Australia, Norfolk Island, New Zealand and California.

This species is noted for its antibacterial and antifungal properties. Research conducted by the University of KwaZulu Natal found that aqueous extracts of P. myrtifolia proved effective against Candida albicans (causative agent of thrush).

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SUNDAY BEST #220 - YARD WORK

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 theme is of your own choosing, so post on any subject you desire.

This post is also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Last week, Klara in Poland showed some photos of a very special beach.

Please visit her blog for more details.