Autumn is the hardest season. The leaves are all falling, and they’re falling like
they’re falling in love with the ground.
―
AUTUMN IN THE FITZROY GARDENS – April 26th 2023 – EAST MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. Not a very sharp focus on this shot, but I do like the composition within the frame.
I left home early on the 26th of April so I’d have extra time to take a short walk before my appointment in East Melbourne.
The Fitzroy Gardens is one of Melbourne’s most historic and beautiful gardens. Located in East Melbourne, Fitzroy Gardens is bounded by Lansdowne, Wellington, Clarendon and Albert streets.Originally set aside as a reserve in 1848, the gardens were named after Sir Charles Augustus Fitzroy, Governor of NSW. The gardens were laid out in 1859 and were developed as a garden under the supervision of Deputy Surveyor-General Clement Hodgkinson, with the assistance of gardener James Sinclair.
The layout follows a classic Victorian era design, featuring pathways lined with magnificent elm trees, known to be some of the best grown in Victoria. There are a variety of flowers and ornamental shrubs and trees, which together with extensive lawns creates a diverse and layered landscape.
The watercourse that runs through the centre of the gardens is an ephemeral tributary of the Yarra River, Birrarung.
Most of the bushes and trees were still lush with the ripening of the summer sun, but some showed the distinct leaf fall of Autumn. In some cases, I had to search all over the flowering bushes to find specimens that were worthy of a photo.
I must admit I was a bit out of practice at taking photos of flowers too 😀
The Agapanthus flowers were mostly wilted, but then I found the one below.
The sun was glorious that day and I wished I was able to take a long walk as I had the time, but not the physical ability to do so.
A brisk wind sprang up making me pause to wait for the ‘seventh gust’ which signalled a lessening of the breeze. I say ‘seventh gust’ but I’m never sure exactly when that occurs. Like the waves on a beach or the wind across the landscape, if you are sensitive to Mother Nature, you do find a gust (of wind) that dies down slightly (regularly) to enable an easier photo shot.
Obviously, this quietening of the breeze does not occur during wild or fierce storms, but on a good day, stop and open your senses to the changes in air movement.
Sometimes I think Melbourne is the windiest city in Australia. When I lived on the southeast side of Melbourne next to the Royal Botanic Gardens, I was totally convinced it was the most blustery side of Melbourne as the wind turned winter umbrellas inside-out and bent the flowers down in a graceful prayer almost every day that I walked through the Gardens on the way to work. Once, I swear I was lifted off my feet (and I’m no lightweight).
But generally, Melbourne can actually have 4 seasons in one day so tourists should be prepared to pack all-season clothes.
I didn’t take many photos back on that day in late April and as I’ve mentioned in another post, I don’t have the eyesight to see on the LCD screen on a sunny day these days, so just had to click (& review when I downloaded the images at home).
Most of my images were blurred or and when I switched to manual mode, I got the light settings wrong.
Never mind.
There’s always another hour, on another day, sometime in the future, to do flower photography.
(NOTE: the DRAFT for this post has been sitting in my WordPress box for nearly 2 weeks, so it’s good to update it to PUBLISH).
On a happy note, my new(ish) digital microscope has been at the repairers for nearly 2 months waiting on a new digital screen from overseas and I received a phone call last Friday to say it’s repaired and ready to pick up (probably this afternoon).
YIPPEE!!!!
For those not acquainted with digital microscopes, mine has a (9″) digital screen and an inbuilt 3mp camera on top of the ‘scope instead of an eyepiece (to look through). Here’s hoping I can now take a sample of plants (or whatever), photograph the fine details, and then transfer the image to my iMac to include in some future blog posts. I had many samples prior to breaking it, but not good enough to share.
Well, that was the idea when I bought a very extravagant Christmas present for myself during the usual Christmas/New Year break in Dec/Jan.
I had been looking for a new hobby since early last year now I can’t walk outdoors so much and hopefully, this is it.
(I say a short walk as I’m still recovering from a fall when I caught my shoe on the corner of my desk chair mat mid-March and crashed very heavily onto my knees, catching my right outer shin on the sharp bed frame corner. Instant large swelling on my shin the size of a cricket ball and severe pain in my knees resulted in an ambulance and x-rays at the local hospital E.R. No broken bones but some soft tissue damage to both knees and shin making it painful to walk much around my apartment, let alone attempt outdoors. Dare I say it’s dangerous living in a tiny apartment LOL 😀 The orthopaedist’s opinion I sought said it might be months before the pain recedes. Sometimes I think I’m a walking accident waiting to happen 😀 ).
I also say, I trip or fall a lot as I’ve walked everywhere since 2003 when I sold my car. People who drive their car everywhere are less likely to have falls and more likely to have engine trouble 🙂
A Moment in Time 