dangerous, weird, and beautiful

 

the world's most dangerous bird, a southern cassowary

 

 

followed by the world's most bizarre animal, the duck billed platypus

maybe a trip to sunny Spain would be more up your alley

something blue for Sunday Stamps

i heart fish

 

CATURDAY

free public libraries

 A Tudor Revival style Carnegie library built in 1904

A Classical Revival style Carnegie library built in 1906. It was praised by the local newspaper for its "tasteful simplicity"

Most Carnegie Libraries have a distinct style with variations, making them immediately identifiable in any small town. Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie would give grants to build a library to almost any town that requested and agreed to conditions.

Vancouver had a Carnegie library but after a couple of moves for newer and bigger locations, in 1995, a Roman Revival* library was built to resemble the current day Colosseum.

*not a real term, I made it up

some free public buildings for Thursday Postcard Hunt

calligraphy

 

the comic font of NIPPON suits the comic design of this stamp

I'm not sure about this attempt to join the letters of GRENADA

and my favourite country for calligraphy on stamps CZECHOSLOVAKIA
 

 

some fancy writing for Sunday Stamps

year of the dragon

Tomorrow begins The Lunar New Year. It will be the year 4722

windmills

 

the Old Mill in Whitstable

below, somewhere in Netherlands

Zaanse Schans holds a special place for me as I lived near there and used to ride my bike through the area.

some windmills from Kent and North Holland for Thursday Postcard Hunt

sandbar lighthouse

 

The 34' cast iron Pelican Point Lighthouse at Walvis Bay, Namibia.  It sits on a sandbar that keeps growing.  Once located at the edge of the peninsula, it is now 2 km inland.  Beside the lighthouse is a tourist lodge.  When this was built, Namibia was part of South Africa.

a lighthouse for Sunday Stamps

loving kindnesses

 

CATURDAY

groundhog day

 

our local groundhog prognosticator is known as Wiarton Willie

the art of the lighthouse

from Germany

from Finland

from Taiwan

from USA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 from Belarus

 

some illustrated lighthouses from around the world for Thursday Postcard Hunt

an ancient land

 

Shetland, an archipelago off the north coast of Scotland,which was ruled by the Norse from the 8th to the 15th C. On the last Tuesday in January they hold the largest fire festival in Europe. Up Helly Aa in Lerwick can include over 1000 'guizers' (dressed in disguise, in this case Vikings) in a procession that culminates in the burning of a replica Viking Longship. There is much more to it than that, which you can read all about here

trees

above: a year in the life of an apricot tree                                       below: an avenue of ginkgo trees
 

for Sunday Stamps

yoga

 

CATURDAY

kaffee

An ideal place to fall in love with your 

Viennese coffee house business

most beloved

 

I have two stamps of Colette, a French writer whose full name was Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (28 Jan 1873 - 3 Aug 1954). She wrote Gigi, which was the basis of one of my favourite films (the 1958 one with Leslie Caron)

 

From the most beloved writer of France to the best beloved writer of Scotland, Rabbie Burns whose 265th birthday this week inspired this theme. This rosy cheeked portrait is by Alexander Naysmith

Maybe I should have chosen this theme for next week when it would have been Colette's 151st birthday, but I hadn't decided on the second writer at the time.

yelling cat

 

CATURDAY

words of love

 Juliet's Balcony

La Casa di Giulietta dates to the 13th century and was once home to the Cappello family (the inspiration to the Capulets of Shakespeare's play). The balcony was added to the house in the early 20th century after being bought by the city of Verona.  Beneath the balcony are scores of graffiti scribbles.

far away

 

A totally different landscape from yesterday... this view at least doesn't totally obliterate Mt Fuji from the skyline. It is about 100 miles away, or 2-3 hours by car or train.

arctic beauty

 

Lofoten, an archipelago with stunning scenery. It was an inspiration for the landscapes in the movie Frozen

bridges

the same, but different

from 1984, when Europa stamps were all the same design. Each country still managed to show some individuality

a bridge for Sunday Stamps

two views

 

CATURDAY

fantasy

and this may not be strictly a movie poster, but I love it, not least for the Tiffany blue

pyramid

This ancient mosque with a pyramid shaped minaret sits atop a hill in the city of Ghardaia. It is thought to be the first building in the Ghardaia Palace, built around 1048. The smaller six metre minaret is the older one with the larger 23 metre minaret being built in the 16th C.

on the promenade

 

CATURDAY

large letters

you get an idea of the important landmarks of a city within the name

some words and letters for the first Thursday Postcard Hunt of 2024

lucky pig