gaspe

This map is pre 1990s - the province abbreviation changed from P.Q (Province de Quebec) to  the 2 letter Qc in 1991.

indigenous

This set came out last year (Eva has already introduced us to Christi Belcourt for 'B'). Grandmother Josephine Mandamin was a water rights activist and co-founder of Mother Earth Water Walk

Elisapie Isaac is an Inuk musician, actress, broadcaster, filmmaker, and activist.  In the background is a landscape view of Nunavik where she was born and raised.  An Inuktitut version of the Fleetwood Mac song Dreams

eyes wide open

 

CATURDAY

great wall

 The Ten-Thousand Mile Long Wall*

Other names used in Chinese medieval records are 'ramparts', 'frontiers', 'barriers', 'fortresses', 'border wall'.

Built between the 3rd century B.C.  and 17th century A.D. -  so it took more than 2,000 years, as a series of fortifications.  Which makes me wonder if anyone ever thought of the 'historical' significance of what they were building and if it last anywhere as long as it has.  Or they may have been too concerned with surviving the ordeal.

*It is actually more than 13,000 miles 

the golden state

 

my first Loupaper card

nature park

 

The Palatinate Forest is one of the largest contiguous forest areas in Germany.  It is a low mountain region in the southwest with it's highest elevation at 672.6 m

not always h

 

With four official languages in Switzerland, trying to fit Schweiz, Suisse, Svizerra, and the Romansch Svizra would take up most of the room on a stamp, so they settled on the Latin name 'Helvetia' (official name Confederatio Helvetica- why the CH as the international country code).  Interestingly, in Irish Gaelic and Romanian, the name for Switzerland is closer to Helvetia than variations of Swiss.

'Croatia', on the other hand, is from the Latin name for the country. Hrvatska is derived from the Slavic name, which is used by the people themselves.  The international country code is HR instead of CR because it was already taken by Costa Rica.  I admit, I often initially mistake HR for Hungary

another country with a non English name on their stamp (we'll get to that one with 'M')

I found an interesting article explaining how Croatia/Hrvatska came to be. The original Slavic name was Horvatska, later into Hrvatska.  Latin does not really pronounce the letter 'h', and starting the name with just an 'r' wasn't quite right, so they made it a 'ch' which became just a 'c'.  A 'v' after an 'r' is easy for Slavic speakers but not Latin, so it was transformed into a vowel 'o'.  So now we have a Slavic 'Horvat'  which became Hrvat, which became a Latin 'Croat' with the usual Latin ending for Slavic countries 'ia'

comfort

 

CATURDAY

where twines the path

Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park (est 2002)

 

"The Trossachs were Scotlands first National Park.  A place where the lowlands and highlands meet, with varied scenery of rolling lowland landscapes, tranquil lochs and rugged mountains in the north"

Loch Lomond is perhaps the better known of the 22 lochs

but Loch Katrine is lovely to walk around

gabon

 

Gabon, on the west coast of Africa on the equator

stamp shows a colourful, but toxic, "sunset moth"  their bright colours are a warning to predators 

overwhelmed

 

CATURDAY

famous

 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - even his name sounds musical - (1756-1791) 

 

Ava Gabor (1919-1995) here portraying Lisa Douglas with Arnold the pig, from the 1960s tv show Green Acres

croaking

 

The Rana pretiosa - Oregon spotted frog - is the most endangered frog in Canada. There's only a couple hundred of them found in the lower section of British Columbia

The Anaxyrus fowleri - Fowler's toad- is an east coaster from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes, but is only found in Canada in a small section of southwestern Ontario.

In both cases, habitat loss from development and pollution are contributors to their decline.

A frog and a toad - at least he's a Fowler's toad - for stamps with an F

friends

 

CATURDAY

reading

I love this one of the little polar bear reading, illustrated by Hans de Beer

Ot en Sien,  illustrated by Cornelis Jetses

hopelessly old fashioned, and no longer read in schools, but I still have  the books I collected to learn Dutch when I was living there.

I've not actually read this book, (illustrations by Quentin Blake)  but I love the movie and will watch it every time it's on tv. 

It may surprise some people, but for someone who is terrified of spiders, this was one of my favourite stories.  illustrated by Garth Williams

some children's stories for the first week back to school for Thursday Postcard Hunt

kyusu

 

egret

 

These don't look so 'little' to me, but the translation is "little egret" which weighs about 310 g, or almost 11 oz.  I rather like the rhyming scientific name.  Above is  the Reddish Egret (700-850 g or 25-30 oz), which is far better displayed on a souvenir sheet than just the stamp.  The $5 in Eastern Caribbean Dollars is equal to 1.58 euros, 1.38 pound sterling, 1.85 USD, and 2.54 CAD

Audubon's depiction of these egrets was made 1827-38.  

suspicious

 

CATURDAY

from japan

 

WATERLILIES AND PERSIMMONS

3 - D

Not really a castle, Schloss Drachenburg was built between 1882-84 (two years!) as a private villa.  It took almost two decades for the restoration when the state took over in 1989

their website generously offers a virtual tour

I once knew someone with this name.  Not surprisingly, she was always having to correct people - no, not Delia - and then having to spell it and it didn't help that she spelt it Daliah

I was never very good with a hula hoop, and that was only one hoop.  So watching these guys with multiple ones all over their body is quite mesmerising.  This is actually nothing like hula dancing.  An Anishnaabe folktale says that once there was boy who didn't like to hunt or fish and spent hours watching the animals in the wild and began copying their movements.  Eventually, he added hoops and created dances that he taught to others, with the hoops representing animals, symbols, and designs.

 

five cats

CATURDAY
 

in the wild

 I have never seen a hedgehog in the wild, but I think they are adorable creatures

I have, however, seen countless raccoons in the wild.  I'm not sure I would consider them 'adorable'

some illustrated animals for Thursday Postcard Hunt

falling water

 where I live, there are many waterfalls - these are perhaps the most picturesque

but, there has been so little rain lately, that at least two of these have no flow (Tews and Tiffany) and the other two are more like a trickle.

cents

 20 centimes coin from Switzerland showing the head of Liberty (designed in 1879)

 

2 cent stamp from Netherlands  (1946)

bright and moody

 

above by a local artist, Sylvia Simpson

below by a famous artist, Vincent Van Gogh 

belize

Not to be confused with 'Honduras', British Honduras was a Crown Colony on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula.  Although in Central America, it identifies with the Caribbean.

In 1973, the name was changed to BELIZE, and the country gained its independence in 1981.

pretty in pink

 

CATURDAY

shape of the land

these animals fit nicely into the compact island of Taiwan,  

but, it is a special joy to receive a shaped map card

although, Bulgaria has many sticky out bits, but this card arrived in fine form

arctic

 

The Arctic islands are an archipelago of over 36,000 islands.  I will admit, I had no idea there were so many!  Only 11 are inhabited.

snow

it is still hot, though not as humid as last week.  getting this card yesterday of a kitty striding through the snow was very welcome

CATURDAY

water

For all of my life, I have always lived near water - in many cases within walking distance of a lake, a creek, canal, river, or a pond.  I cannot imagine living somewhere without a body of water,  but I also cannot imagine going through some of the cataclysmic flooding such water can bring.  Any floods near me have been, well, not devastating.

I am fortunate to live near Niagara Falls.  And it's fortunate that I really like it there.  Sure, there is a bit of tacky touristy hell there, but the falls themselves are magnificent and I will happily drive past them at any time of the year.  Especially in winter.

Oceans are okay, though with the latest tsunami threats in the Pacific, I'd be happier on a calm cruise in Estonia.

maybe add a few islands

or a waterfall

Rivers in a city are especially attractive as they provide an opportunity for bridges.  I have been known to go miles out of my way for a waterfall or bridge.  (I've been to Milford Sound, but not Prague)

sometimes, you can't really escape water, and that's fine with me

my happy place: anywhere near water