market

So, a little introduction may be in order for the newer visitors (hi NaBloPoMo people).  Postcard and stamp collecting has become an almost all consuming hobby since I joined Postcrossing - gasp! - 17 years ago. It has its own wikipedia page. I collect a lot of cards from across Canada to send out (found at postcard shows) but the others, I say I accumulate rather than collect.  A couple of local stamp dealers help with getting older Canadian stamps, which saves money in the long run, and, to me at least, is a fun and interesting addition to the backs of the postcards.

Although this particular Farmer's Market (in St Jacob's, celebrating 50 years!) isn't one of them, where I live, we are fortunate enough to have a farmer's market somewhere within a 20 minute drive every day of the week.  Most of them are only open from June until October.  I am already missing them.  Supporting local growers is important, though expensive. So often my support might only be visiting and conversing with the vendors.

NaBloPoMo 

black and white with scenery

some black and white Holstein cows ignoring the tulips, with a canal in the foreground

a black and white Spitz dog (Fino) and his companion, a brown Spaniel (Tiny) with some mountains and a lake in the background painted in 1791

some black faced sheep in Ireland with mountains and possibly water in the sky.

some landscapes with animals for Thursday Postcard Hunt

NaBloPoMo 

water and light

celebrated during the full moon, this year to be held Nov 5 & 6

also known as the Festival of Lights or Floating Lantern Festival

krathong = basket or vessel and loy = to float 

By releasing your krathong onto the water you are letting go of anger and bad luck you've been holding onto during the past year.  It is also a way of paying respect to the water goddess andfor the water itself while asking forgiveness for polluting it.  Though, in reality, the lighting of these individual lanterns creates its own pollution with tonnes of rubbish needing to be collected out of the rivers the day after.  It is now recommended that eco friendly krathongs be used (example: banana leaves or coconut shells) 

If, like me, you are not able to be there in person, you can read about what you're missing here

Participating in NaBloPoMo (where I seem to have problems commenting on some blogs - specifically any on Wordpress)

three swans

Dating back to 1517, this former coaching inn in the town of Market Harborough was chosen by King Charles I as a rest stop on his way to the Battle of Naseby in 1645 during the Civil War (he lost)

It is still in use today as a Hotel and Wedding Venue.  You can read more about it here, and see its updated decor and menu (and book a room if you so wish)

I'm participating in NaBloPoMo This is day 4 of 30.  Check out the other bloggers and join in!

steamclock

The Gastown Steam Clock was installed in the 1970s to cover up one of the vents of the downtown steam heating system.  The steam powers the winding mechanism, and it plays the Westminster Chimes every hour when tourists flock to catch the puffs of steam.

The clocks did their annual 'fall back' this weekend.  I am still trying to sort out what time it really is.

5,000 km

 This has a distinct look of Dick Bruna's work

Japan has a "letter writing day" on the 23rd of each month to encourage people to write and send letters to friends and loved ones to counteract the trend of digital communication.  And to help the cause, there are numerous stamps dedicated to this.  I wish we could adopt this  (in light of our current postal situation in Canada, and the cries of "who gets mail anymore, anyway").

About 5,000 km away from Japan is Nepal and this black  francolin of the pheasant family.  It is considered 'of least concern'

 

Another country that is about 5,000 km from Japan is  Nauru.  Once occupied by Japan (during WWII), it is the 3rd smallest country in the world.  It's highest elevation is about 213' above sea level and there are no rivers, but judging by this stamp it might have magnificent sunrises (and presumably sunsets)

three N countries

oopsie

 

 

CATURDAY

in the light of the moon

 

Issued in 1974 as part of the American Folklore series showing the infamous Headless Horseman pursuing poor Ichabod Crane.  Written in 1819.

lithographed stamp designed by Leonard Everett Fisher

a black cat for hallowe'en

 

There was belief that black cats and witches were 'familiars'  due to the belief that witches could take the form of their black cat companions for spying and other dark magic.  She looks a bit mischievous, and the poor cat, maybe, has a pleading look?

received from Postcrossing

magyar

The moon that Luna 1 missed in 1959. The Soviets expected the Luna 1 to impact the moon, but instead became the first human made object to orbit the sun, where it continues today (between the sun and mars)

Medieval authors called the country by the Latin name Ungaria and later Hungaria, but the Hungarians even today call themselves Magyars and their homeland Magyarország (ország means country in Hungarian).  

Maybe travelling closer to home, Lake Balaton, the largest lake in central Europe, and a favourite tourist destination.  One feature of the area is an echo that could be heard from a certain point from the sound bouncing off the wall of the abbey.  Today, with all the newer construction it is less evident.  There was a famous poem written about this phenomena by Janos Garay and I wonder if that is what the mysterious paper and feather (pen?) indicates?

elegance of brown

Brown is the least preferred colour of autumn, and yet that was expected to be the more predominant one this year due to our very dry, hot summer.  So, here is a more elegant Brown.

The Brown Palace Hotel located in the heart of downtown Denver has been offering old world elegance to travelers, business people and celebrities since 1892.

It boasts one of the first atrium style lobbies which rises eight stories with balconies of cast iron railings and ornate grillwork.  

Afternoon Tea in the Grand lobby is a cherished tradition that continues to this day ($65 and up)

received on Postcrossing

east wing

 he said it wouldn't be touched...

The East Wing as it once was and will be no more after Trump's demolition crew set to demolishing it for the abomination of a ballroom.

time for shelter

 An old water tower pump clock tower in Norfolk

Originally built 1862 as a water reservoir. The clock was presented to the town in 1901 by Mary Pimm in honour of her late husband.  After the war, the town clock was converted to its present use as a rest shelter.

louis

Celebrating French history.  Designed by Albert Decarie

The 'Sun King' with the  Palace of Versailles in the background, into which he moved the court and government in 1682 making it the de facto capital of France.  He reigned for an astounding 72 years and 110 days.  born 1638, died 1715 

An older Louis - Louis Hébert, born 1575 in Paris, died 1627 in Quebec City - was the first French apothecary in the New World.  The stamp, designed by Clermont Malenfant, shows Louis surrounded by objects of his trade, including a mortar and pestle as well as a sprig of balsam fir and silverweed, both useful as herbal medicines.

tea party

 

CATURDAY

a touch of red

 

known as the birthplace of the modern form of the can-can 

received on Postcrossing

swing bridge

 a popular tourist attraction

I would love to see this bridge in operation.  It connects the Sundestrand (the only south facing beach in Germany)  with the southern part of Wilhelmshaven

thanksgiving spoon

 

May your Thanksgiving bill o' fare

Have spoonfuls of happiness there 

kangaroos and koalas

Koalas are sometimes called koala bears, which is wrong, no matter how cuddly teddy bear-ish they look.  They are marsupials, which bears are certainly not.  Kangaroos however, are, so koalas and kangaroos are related.

There are four species of kangaroos - Eastern Grey, Western Grey, Red, and Antilopine.

The Antilopine kangaroos are found primarily in the north. The Reds are the largest.  There are way more Eastern Greys than Western Greys.  Both of these stamps feature Eastern Greys.

one large cat

 

CATURDAY

a wash in yellow

 wash day

"and I helped"

justice

The French Palais de Justice is a much grander name than the English utilitarian sounding Courthouse

unfortunately, the Monaco Palais de Justice is not open to the public, unlike this 1921 court house in Yorkton

 

marmalade

 

CATURDAY

a taste of orange

 simply mouthwatering

received on Postcrossing

books

 

of mystery

how many have you read or are familiar with? 

received from Postcrossing 

gaspé

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 might 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