Waterfalls

 

1956: Power Stations and Waterfalls (Artist - S Jonsson)

Skogafoss, a 60 metre waterfall on Iceland's south coast with easy access from a car park. 

1977: Europa - Landscapes

In contrast the remote "off-the-beaten-track"  Ofaeru waterfall (Ofaerufoss)  in Iceland's Southern Highlands, a two tier waterfall plunging 40 metres (130 ft). The natural stone bridge spanning the falls was washed away by melting glaciers in 1993.

2026: Waterfalls

High Force, County Durham. The River Tees plunges 21 metres over a vertical cliff. After heavy rain the peat laden river splits into two falls but the rock can be completely covered  by water in exceptional weather.. England's most powerful waterfall in terms of volume.

Hardraw Falls, North Yorkshire plummets over a limestone lip, eroding softer rock to create an overhang. Visitors to this natural amphitheater are warned not to walk behind the veil of water because of the precarious nature of the overhang. 

Sunday Stamps A-Z this week at the letter W - Waterfalls - See It On A Postcard 

Church Towers

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt this month is Architecture, today - Churches

For those experiencing summer heatwaves here is a cool snowy view of Ulverston Parish Church, Cumbria. The tower was rebuilt in 1540 when the old one was destroyed in a gale.

.In the 13th Century as part of a modernisation of All Saints Church in Bakewell a tower and spire were built over the main body of the church. It became apparent in the 18th Century that the tower and spire were too heavy for the stonework and the spire started to crack. It was removed in 1825 and a new tower and spire built which we see today.

St Anna in the town of Verl, Westphalia. An east tower was a novelty at the time when it was built in 1792 as traditionally they would be built on the west side.

Waves

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt for Shapes that are  Wavy or Irregular

Artist - Gisbert Combaz

A lithograph used for an advertising poster in 1899 by  La Libre Esthétique (an artistic society formed in Brussels)  whose yearly exhibitions ran from 1894-1914.  Happily this design contains both wavy lines and irregular shapes.

"The Turbulent Sea"

Whereas these are shape shifting waves

Floating by Vasily Kandinsky (1924) Watercolour and indian ink on paper

Kandinsky experienced synesthesia, where hearing sounds caused him to visually associate and see colours and shapes. He considered music as the ultimate abstract art, dark blue for him was something deep and resonant like a cello or double bass. He often categorised his paintings in musical terms as either  Impressions, Improvisations or Compositions.

U for USA

 

1997: Bugs Bunny

"Whats up Doc?"

2004: Disney Cartoon Characters

Bambi and Thumper the classic 1942 film and Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket, the 1940 film which featured the Academy Award winning song - 'When You Wish Upon a Star"

2014: Batman 75th Anniversary

The inspiration for all those Batman movies began with a comic strip.  Stamp collecting played a role in the childhood of Bruce Wayne who shared the hobby with his father in the comic books of the 1950s. He probably was too busy fighting for justice as Batman to continue with the hobby after that, but maybe he still has quiet moments with his stamp collection.

2001: Porky Pig

That All Folks! Or as Porky Pig says it at the end of a Loony Tunes cartoon "Th-Th-Th-that's all folks". Voiced by Mel Blanc (1908-1989), man of a thousand voices, those same words appear on Blanc's gravestone.

Sunday Stamps A-Z - for USA - at  See It On A Postcard 

Lines

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt for Lines

The old half-timbered houses of Vannes, Brittany

Lines in the sand.   On the reverse of the card - "The mysterious and eternal sand dunes of Lake Michigan reflect and shadow the light of the afternoon sun. Ever constant, ever changing in form and beauty, the dunes provide a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere."

 

In contrast the hard lines of a railway crossing at Darley Dale (Church Lane Crossing) near Matlock, Derbyshire. The card shows the  Flying Scotsman visiting the heritage railway, Peak Rail, in August 2000.

Curves

See It On A Postcard's  Thursday Postcard Hunt for shapes - Curves

2021: Lockdown Birds

A curvaceous bird. During Jersey's first Covid Lockdown in 2020 Berni Martin set herself a project to paint a bird every day. Using a box of paints girted to her by a friend she painted on 100 consecutive days sharing these cute little characters on social media. A selection appeared on Jersey Post's stamps in 2021.

It was especially glorious weather in the British Isles for the first lockdown. The traffic stilled and the birds sang their songs into the air.

The Domes of the Eden Project in Cornwall. The site was an old clay pit. It opened in 2000 and fully opened in 2001.. The largest biome houses a rain-forest and the other is a Mediterranean environment. Botanical gardens with plants for temperate climates are outside, the paths curving amongst them. Cornwall has a mild maritime climate influenced by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and has  micro-climates ranging from tropical-like gardens to misty moorlands.

The Grace of Swans

 

1971: Definitive - Mute Swan

A serene swan

1956: Nordic Day

Whooper swans on the wing,  The five swans symbolise the five Nordic nations.

1986: Water Birds

 A Tundra or Whistling swan who use Mongolia's lakes and wetlands as a temporary resting and feeding place during their spring and autumn migrations.

1987: Swans

Mute swan on land deciding on its next move. A preening Bewick's swan (a subspecies of the Tundra Swan).

Sunday Stamps A-Z for Swans and Sweden - See It On A Postcard