The title of this post should really be "Autumn in Melbourne", because I know that there are some places in Oz that do not really experience a true Autumn due to climate and location. At lot of people from back home have asked if we see the leaves change color. In short, "yes", but not all trees change color and the colors are not nearly as dramatic as what you might see in Western Maryland or Northern Minnesota. I'm not a botanist, so I don't claim to be familiar with the names of all of the trees in the Melbourne area, but I believe that many of the trees are from the Eucalyptus family, commonly referred to as "gum trees". Correct me if I'm wrong, fellow Aussies, but I do not think that these trees lose their leaves or greens in the winter months. Many produce flowers at some point that I'm assuming die off in Autumn weather. Melbourne is also home to many palm trees, as our winters seem to be mild enough for the palms to handle.
Erik and I are fortunate enough to live on a tree-lined street of trees that do change color, so it has been enjoyable to watch the change of seasons take place right in front of our house. Technically winter began on June 1st, as the Australians don't seem to believe in following the solstice like we do in the States. The first two and a half weeks of winter have been really nice for the most part, with temperatures in the upper 50's to low 60's during the day and low to mid 40's at night. The following pictures were taken about two weeks ago. Now there are far less leaves hanging around on the branches some trees have lost all of their leaves!
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Our street in the middle of the day during the week.
Packed with cars at night even though each house has a two car garage! |
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| Not quite enough leaves for a good leaf pile! |
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Early moon rise.
Fortunately in just a few days we will start seeing more hours of daylight! |
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