Forest Lodge imitates France

Well, it kind of reminded me of France....guess it's the shutters and bike. I am unsure what the "Car Share" parking spot is all about though - first time I have seen that.

Frost in Arncliffe Park

Sydney enjoys a temperate climate, and the suburbs closer to the coast rarely experience frost. I can't remember the last time I saw frost in Arncliffe (away from the coast, they are common in winter, however).

Yesterday Sydney had its coldest June temperatures in a couple of decades - down to a low of 4.7 at 7am, and a high of 14.4 at 3pm. The June mean minimum is 9.3, mean maximum 16.6

Taken from Botanic Gardens

Queensland Bottle Tree

Brachychiton rupestris : Queensland bottle tree, Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

From Southeastern Queensland, restricted to more fertile soils. The starchy roots and seeds were eaten by Aborigines.

Boy extracting thorn, Botanic Gardens

A marble copy of the famous 'Fidele' (faithful) statue was imported into Australia from Italy, in 1883. The original statue known as 'Fidele' (faithful) or 'Spinario' was a bronze Hellenistic statue given to the City of Rome by Pope Sixtus IV in the twelfth century. The subject matter is believed to be the Roman messenger boy, Marcius, who, despite having a prickle in his foot, braved the pain to deliver his message. The original 1st Century BC statue was discovered between 1165-1167 (believed to be of Greek origins) but now stands in the center of a room in the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome . Other copies of thorn boy can be found in the Uffizi gallery in Florence. This statue became one of the first to be copied during the Renaissance Period in both bronze and marble.

Botanic Gardens horses

Mare and Foal by Arthur Jacques LeDuc (1848 - 1918) , restored in 2002 through a gift in honour of the late Lady Berenice Mitchell Finley who loved these gardens.

Botanic Gardens Sensory Fountain

Kids love this fountain; my son did when he was little, and I do now! Sculpted by Tim Jones and cast by David Mune in Elphinstone, Victoria.

Botanic Gardens Biennale

The unbearable lightness of being 2010 by Choi Jeong Hwa. A plastic inflatable flower with motor in the lake in the Botanic Gardens. Part of the Sydney Biennale exhibition.

Carved sandstone replica of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, executed by Walter McGill for Sir James Martin, Premier of New South Wales, 1870, for his residence in Macleay Street. Presented to the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1943.

The original was erected in Athens in in 335/34 B.C.

More here.

Royal Botanic Gardens

Thanks to everyone for their best wishes and messages. I'm fine, surgery went well, and so things proceed step by step.