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.