black gold

Famed for its Baroque Portuguese Colonial architecture, Ouro Preto is a World Heritage Site.

It was the focal point of the gold rush during Portuguese rule in Brazil.

Alishan Forest Railway

The Alishan National Scenic Area is right in the middle of Taiwan. The Japanese used the mountain for logging and built this railway for that purpose. The diesel train that runs along the old original wooden rails has now become a major tourist attraction.

chasing chickens

Pettson and Findus
Findus chasing chickens ... I hope Pettson doesn't trip over any of them!

traditional views

Traditional scenes from Japan
Kinkaku-ji Temple (Kyoto)      Mt Fuji and sakura
Shops at Asakusa Temple (Tokyo)    Himeji-jo Castle (Himeji)

Novokuznetskaya

Despite the war, this metro station was opened 1943. There is an urban legend that the benches were made of carrara marble taken form Christ the Saviour Cathedral before it was demolished in 1931, but the marble actually is from the Urals, not Italy.

frauenkirche

It has been said that the dome had been hit by more than 100 cannonballs during the Seven Years' War and survived. However, it did not survive the bombings of 1945. The ruins were left as a memorial until reunification when it was rebuilt. The reconstruction of the exterior was completed in 2004 and the interior in 2005.

Sunday Stamps - summer

Party like it's 1999. A pre Euro stamp from France showing a happy sun for your holidays.

for: summer, sun, heat

asahi

Asahi, a clean, crisp, 'karakuchi' (dry) tasting beer

little mermaid, big flag

Statue by Edvard Eriksen. She is in Copenhagen at the Langelinie promenade.

As of today she is 106 years old. Poor thing has been vandalized, and decapitated several times. 

Each time she has been restored.

one of a creep

"it is unlawful to touch, harm, harass, or collect a wild desert tortoise"

wireless

he sent an an early text message

bamboo

Zhuhai Bamboo Forest
from China

futuristic

Inside the Reichstag Dome where you can get a 360° view over Berlin.
Designed by Norman Foster

Sunday Stamps - Z

The Frankfurt Zoological Garden is described as a green oasis in the heart of the city. By the end of WWII it was in ruins, with only 20 animals left still alive. Then, Bernhard Grzimek took over as directer and was instrumental in making it one of the largest zoological gardens in Germany. It is the second oldest zoo, after Berlin, and now has over 4,500 animals.

for the letter Z - zoo

And so ends another round. We will give the alphabet a rest and next week start a round of thematics.

Please feel free to make any suggestions.

102 years old

Pike Place Public Market
opened August 17 1907

"Seattleits may be coffee snobs, but they're coffee snobs with good intentions who really know their stuff" ~ Cafe Vita Public Brewing School, Pike Street

wishes

artist: Victoria Kirdiy

I wish you happiness 

like sparkling dew on the flowers 

and an endless midday sky

carpet

Every two years, Belgium lets loose with the begonias and creates a carpet for the Grand Place in Brussels. This one is from 2004. Each carpet is made from over a million flowers and is put together by volunteers from all over Belgium.

mostly England

A map of Great Britain with Northern Ireland seemingly as an after thought (no worthy illustrated icons in NI?)

iceberg

There are fewer, and smaller, icebergs off the coast of  Newfoundland and Labrador, but I'm sure the ones left are still a magnificent sight.

a small falcon

Birds of Prey, 2019

Sunday Stamps - Y

Snoopy has always been my favourite Peanuts character — doing his happy dance, or as the WWI Flying Ace on his Sopwith Camel biplane/doghouse. Snoopy began his fantasy career as a fighter pilot in 1965. I always thought his scarf was red (as it is usually shown), but this 2001 stamp has him bedecked in yellow.

And, as a bonus (while researching the colour of his scarf) it seems that during a story line from August 7-10, 1968, for the one and only time, it was revealed to be Snoopy's birthday!

August 10th

His first appearance was in October 1950, and he would have been about a year old then, so by now would be an astounding 70  — or 490 dog  — years old this weekend.

for the letter Y - yellow

Red Square

around 1910
It was not a World Heritage Site when this photo was taken. Not sure if the cobbles are still there.

Raffles

A colonial style luxury hotel  that is now a National Monument of Singapore

blue

Delft tiles of canal houses

quidi vidi

Now a neighbourhood of St John's, it was once an historic fishing village.

The big green building is a major attraction - it's the Quidi Vidi Brewery

As an aside, Quidi Vidi Lake is where the annual Royal St John's Regatta takes place on the first Wednesday of August. Last year, it celebrated its 200th anniversary. It is a civic holiday in NL.

moraine

What this card doesn't mention is that it is, if not the most, then one of the most photographed lakes in Canada.

forests

anyone interested in berry picking?

Sunday Stamps - X

These are plants that have adapted to live in desert conditions. Cacti are probably the most well known  plants used in xeriscaping — dry landscaping — but we also have the agave from which we can get tequila. The saguaro can grow to 40 feet (12 metres) tall whereas the beavertail cactus (which I know as a prickly pear cactus) is only about 2 - 15 inches (70 - 400 mm). The last one is a barrel cactus which is known to sometimes fall over because it grows based on sun orientation, though as it tilts towards the southwest it can also be a compass guide for travellers. 

for the letter X - xeric (dry)

If anyone has a special topical that they collect, let me know and it can be included in our new round of themes, starting August 25th.

more sheep

these ones, with bells, are from Russia

sheep

Herdwick sheep are native to the Lake District in Cumbria. Beatrix Potter is known to have helped bring the breed out from its threatened status by buying up fell farms and carefully breeding the sheep.

It was James Rebanks who taught the world of life as a shepherd in the fells through his book (Herdwick Shephard) and twitter account (herdyshepherd1)

corn-y

They were the photoshopped cards of the day a hundred years ago.

Tall tale postcards were popular until around the First World War. The majority of these cards came from rural areas — with food specific to the region as the most common subject — as a humorous way to entice people to visit and perhaps settle in this area of such great abundance. Hence Iowa corn.