Walking to Fairfield.

Aradhna & I dove into a spring-like Saturday with a walk to Fairfield. We passed through Darebin Parklands (above) along the way, one of many rehabilitated green havens in Melbourne's north.
Aradhna atop a bridge over Darebin Creek.
The creek flows into the Yarra a few kilometres south of here, making it an ideal industrial location in 19th-century Melbourne.
Snake season.
Remnants of a wagon trail that dates to 1870.
Fruit trees throughout Victoria are in full bloom.

Outside the park in a tiny suburb called Alphington we came upon a common weekend sight: Footy.
Aradhna and I spotted this tawny frogmouth on a low tree branch being harassed by a pair of ravens up the road from our place in Ivanhoe. We chased the ravens away and watched it (while it did the same to us) until it safely flew away.

Darebin Parklands, Wednesday a.m.

Finally brought my camera to Darebin Parklands yesterday morning. A short walk from our place in Ivanhoe, it's a wonderful stretch of green along Darebin Creek.
What I find especially wonderful about this park is its past history as a site of environmental degradation. (Something this former resident of NJ is sadly familiar with.) Here, a stately mulberry tree stands beside a 19th-century track that was once known as Mulberry Avenue.

Winter's approach is evident in this bark-shedding eucalyptus tree.

A pied cormorant surveys its soggy turf.
A pair of ducks cut through the swampy muck.

This is Australia, after all.
How a red gum tree gets its name.