SURVIVOR

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

AFRICAN DAISY

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

EDAM

Edam is a city in the northwest Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Combined with Volendam, Edam forms the municipality of Edam-Volendam. Approximately 7,380 people live in Edam. The entire municipality of Edam-Volendam has 28,492 inhabitants. The name Edam originates from a dam on the little river E or IJe where the first settlement was located and which was therefore called IJedam. Edam is famous as the original source of the cheese with the same name.

The city of Edam was founded around a dam crossing the river E or IJe close by the Zuiderzee now known as the IJsselmeer. Around 1230 the channel was dammed. At the dam goods had to be loaded onto other vessels and the inhabitants of Edam could levy a toll. This enabled Edam to grow as a trade town. Shipbuilding and fishing brought Edam more wealth.

Count Willem V of Holland gave Edam city rights in 1357. One of the reasons he did this was because of the war between the Hoeken and the Kabeljauwen. They fought a battle for the rule over the cities of Holland. Thanks to the city rights the people of Edam could make a new harbour. Because of the harbour the city was now connected with the big cities in Holland and the international trading routes.

By the 16th century there were as many as 33 wharves in Edam, which along with the fact that Edam was also granted the right to have a market three times every year provided a big boost for the local economy - making it one of the more important cities of North Holland, vying with Enkhuizen, Hoorn and Amsterdam. However, the open sea mouth caused flooding problems in the hinterland and in 1544 Emperor Charles V gave orders to close the harbour with lock gates, which were built in the town centre in 1569. This resulted in the harbour silting up and the ship building industry went into a decline by the end of the 17th century.

The cheese market was the primary boost of the economy of Edam in the 16th century. On 16 April 1526 Emperor Charles V gave Edam the right to have a market every week. In 1594 this right was given for eternity by Prince Willem I as a sign of appreciation for the good collaboration during the siege of Alkmaar. After Edam was granted the right to have weekly markets, commercial cheese markets were held in the town until 1922. Since 1989, the cheese market in Edam has been revived as a re-enactment for tourists. It is held every Wednesday in July and August.

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.

CALENDULAS

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

FIERY SUNSET

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

WATTLE

Acacia, known commonly as mimosa, acacia, thorntree or wattle, is a polyphyletic genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. It was described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773 based on the African species Acacia nilotica.

Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not. All species are pod-bearing, with sap and leaves often bearing large amounts of tannins and condensed tannins that historically found use as pharmaceuticals and preservatives.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos 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.

CHESTER, UK

Chester (Welsh: Caer, Welsh pronunciation: ['kai̯r]) is a walled city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales. With a population of 118,200 in 2011, it is the most populous settlement of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 332,200 in 2014. Chester was granted city status in 1541.

Chester was founded as a "castrum" or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix in the reign of the Emperor Vespasian in 79 AD. One of the main army camps in Roman Britain, Deva later became a major civilian settlement. In 689, King Æthelred of Mercia founded the Minster Church of West Mercia, which later became Chester's first cathedral, and the Saxons extended and strengthened the walls to protect the city against the Danes. Chester was one of the last cities in England to fall to the Normans. William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a castle, to dominate the town and the nearby Welsh border.

Chester is one of the best preserved walled cities in Britain. It has a number of medieval buildings, but some of the black-and-white buildings within the city centre are Victorian restorations. Apart from a 100-metre (330 ft) section, the listed Grade I walls are almost complete. The Industrial Revolution brought railways, canals, and new roads to the city, which saw substantial expansion and development – Chester Town Hall and the Grosvenor Museum are examples of Victorian architecture from this period.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

WILD

A neighbour's cat that seems a little bit disgruntled and is perhaps a little on the wild side?

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

SPRING SONG

Singing for Spring to come...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

CHIVES FLOWER

Chives is the common name of Allium schoenoprasum, in the family Amaryllidaceae. As most of the other species of the Allium genus, chives are a choice edible herb. A perennial plant, it is widespread in nature across much of Europe, Asia and North America. A. schoenoprasum is the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old Worlds. 

The name of the species derives from the Greek σχοίνος, skhoínos (sedge) and πράσον, práson (leek). Its English name, chives, derives from the French word cive, from cepa, the Latin word for onion. Chives are a commonly used herb and can be found in grocery stores or grown in home gardens. In culinary use, the scapes and the unopened, immature flower buds are diced and used as an ingredient for fish, potatoes, soups, and other dishes. Chives have insect-repelling properties that can be used in gardens to control pests.

The flowers are pale purple, and star-shaped with six petals, 1–2 cm wide, and produced in a dense inflorescence of 10-30 together; before opening, the inflorescence is surrounded by a papery bract. The seeds are produced in a small three-valved capsule, maturing in summer. The herb flowers from April to May in the southern parts of its habitat zones and in June in the northern parts.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SEASONS

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

YARRA SUNRISE

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

BROAD SKY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

DAFFODILS

Spring bulbs are beginning to flower in our garden and the miniature daffodils shown here are a good addition to the front of the bulb border, in clumps around garden beds or lawns, or grown in pots. Miniature daffodils have been bred to emphasise the special characteristics of the smaller growing species of daffodil (Narcissus).

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

BANK PLACE

Bank Place is a street in Melbourne, Victoria. It is a short, narrow laneway, running south from Little Collins Street between Queen Street and William Street in the central business district of Melbourne. Located in the heart of the financial sector, Bank Place (which incorporates several smaller lanes, such as Mitre Lane) is an oasis of heritage pre-war buildings dating from the 1860s through to the 1920s.

The lane also includes several ornate heritage lamp posts and bluestone alleys. It is home to several bars, cafes and eateries which serve many of the nearby office workers. Many of the taller old buildings have been converted into loft style apartments. By night, one can imagine being transported to older times when life was a little simpler...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.