Breezy Days

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt, this month is watching the weather, today - Blue Skies

Ravenglass is one of the coastal villages of West Cumbria, the gulls are flying on the breeze. The painting is by the watercolour artist Alfred Heaton Cooper(1863-1929) known for his paintings of the Lake District and the Norwegian fjords.  The scene is a  reprinting of one of the early railway companies (Furness Railway) postcards showing the view from Gull Island of the village and a steam train crossing the viaduct heading south.

'A Sudden Gust of Wind' (after Hokusai) by the Canadian photographer Jeff Wall. The original is a photographic transparency which is in an illuminated display case. The Hokkusai can be seen on Wikipedia's Jeff Wall page.

 For contrast here is an idyllic still summer day in the Koli National Park, Finland. Lake Pielinan seen from the top of Ukko-Koli, a hill named after the God of the Sky (and weather), Ukko 

Shelters

 See It On a Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt - Shelters

Charcoal Burning

A charcoal burners hut. A charcoal burn requires constant day and night supervision to watch the smoke colour and seal any cracks in the earth mound and control the air flow. The huts are simple structures consisting of a stone base, wooden poles, turf and branches.  At the height of the industrial revolution there must have been hundreds. The remains can still be seen in the woods today, here is an example.

Barn in Winter. (2016: Finnish Barns Maximum Card 112)

 I presume this what the Finns call a Lato (Hay Barn). A good thing to take shelter in if you were caught in a snow storm.

But let our thoughts turn to summer and the 3-12 August 1951 Scout Jamboree in Bad Jschl, Austria. This card has both a hut and tents. The card comes with a

postmark and a scouts message home as he sets out in that direction. It says "At the moment I am not sure who is going to wait for who at Dieppe but I believe it is equal. Otherwise alive and I am not broke yet. Today it is sun again"

Forest

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is in a Forest

The aunties welcoming the spring and enjoying the sun as much as the wood anemones in a woodland clearing. In old Scots this would be called a spinkie-den which is a woodland clearing full of flowers. I am sure the Finns have a name for it too.

 An early morning mist rising from a forest in North Kerala where I have been told there are bears.

 Moors and mist come together on Rievaulx Moor, North Yorkshire. It will be blue skies everywhere at the moment as we are in the middle of a heat wave.  The Forestry Commission car parking area serves as a start point for walks or just head up on the easy access track to reach the the whitewashed trig point which marks the 328m top and a reward of its 360 degree panoramic view.

Dogs

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is looking for Pets

Its springtime, blossom and flowers are blooming, and there is no need to wrap up in layers to

Cifford's Tower, York 1952-1953 by LS Lowry (1887-1976)

take a dog for a walk. Lowry usually has a dog somewhere in his urban paintings. This one is unusual in that he is away from his home base and they are not random dogs (and the occasional cat) walking through a crowd but feature dogs and their owners. Lowry's three paintings of York which were commissioned for £50 in 1952 are here.

Fidelity by Briton Riviere 1840-1920)

Originally titled Prisoners when shown at the Royal Academy in 1869 the painting depicts a young poacher and his loyal dog locked  in a prison cell and no doubt about to face some harsh punishment (the Victorian game laws were enforced with great severity). The painting was purchased by the industrialist and philanthropist Lord Leverhulme in 1903 who changed the name to 'Fidelity', shifting the focus from the crime to the comfort and love of a dog.

Break Time

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt - is seeing Animals in the Wild

A Honey Buzzard wondering where lunch is located.. It eats wasp and bee larvae, evolution has provided thick feathers and extra scaly legs to protect it from stings. 

"Hi There"

The alert tranquility of a fox

 

A "Puffin Patrol" somewhere on the Yorkshire coast

Window Light

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt - Lights in Windows

Christmas Day - "Waiting" by Heikki Laaksonen

He will have finished waiting by now

Duke Street After Rain by John Duffin

Warm lights, cold rain. Duffin has made the town hall clock a mini moon. I think you would want me to point out the postbox on the near left.

2016: Agatha Christie (Illustrator - Neil Webb)

There are hidden clues in this illustration of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. The red figure fleeing the scene is a red herring. If  heat is applied to the black curtain of the second window the murderer appears. If only it was that easy for Hercule Poirot.  The suspects are written along the bottom of the stamp in micro text. The steam from the engine forms Poirot's profile.

Train windows make quite a few appearances in fiction whether spotting something from a window or seeing something in a window on a passing train, as imagined here by Neil Webb. Since Murder on the Orient Express was first published in 1933 there have been 3 film versions of the story. Screen Rant reprises and asks the question - which actor was the best Poirot? 

Winter Light

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt - Looking for light in Snowy Scenes

Light in the forest

Lighting up the night

"Manor Class No 7812 'Erlestoke Manor' departs on a very wintery morning"

A Santa Special train steams away in morning light on the Severn Valley Railway. The trains are asleep during January but will make an entrance after sunset in February with the Boogie Lights Express , a moving sound and light show.

Reflections

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt for Light and Reflections...

A serene swan swims over the still water of Ulverston Canal basin.

On the shifting tidal sands of Morecambe Bay early in the 20th century. The cocklers are softening the sands by rocking their jumbos which bring the cockles to the surface. The process would be the same today but it is no longer a main source of income for anyone. There would not be a large family group and of course instead of a horse and cart there would be a tractor or quad bike. When one is a mile out the local knowledge of tides, the continual changes in the channels and quicksand just as important today as in past centuries.

In contrast here is a city that looks as though it is floating between two worlds.  Joensuu is the regional capital of North Karelia in Finnish Lakeland. The city is on the shores of two lakes and at the mouth of the river Pielinen. 

Woodpeckers

 

2001: Woodpeckers (Artist - Erik Bruun)

  

An issue designed by Erik Bruun known for his iconic Finnish bird and wildlife stamps  Born in 1926 Finland's Posti will be celebrating his birthday in April with some of those stamp designs. Approaching his 100th year I believe he is still painting and drawing but just for pleasure.

The sheet features 6 woodpecker varieties. The top pair - lesser spotted and three toed woodpeckers, middle. white-backed and great spotted woodpeckers and lastly grey headed and a black woodpecker

1970: Birds (Design- Richard Gerbig)

Another Great spotted but living in Switzerland

1996: Birds (Design- Michael Matherly)

Flying to the USA and another species to add to this list, the Red-headed Woodpecker.

Sunday Stamps A-Z this week here for Woodpeckers and wildlife - See It On A Postcard 

Decorate

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is decorating  Christmas Trees

After their fun in the forest last Thursday the tree has arrived indoors and the aunties have been fruitfully engaged decorating it.

1981: Christmas in Your Community (Artist - Alan Copp)

Parcels and baubles predominate on this Christmas Tree in  Royal Square St Helier. The scene is ornamented with a Christmas Rose. A flower that is linked to the Nativity by a legend of a poor shepherdess who had no gift for Jesus and wept. Her tears fell into the snow but an angel, taking pity on her, touched the ground where her tears had fallen and a plant bloomed with white flowers (symbolising purity and hope). The little shepherdess was then able to present this miraculous gift to the Christ Child.

This was Jersey's first issue of stamps for Christmas, designed by one of Jersey Post's favourite illustrators, Alan R Copp.

Cut and Collect

See It On A Postcard's  Thursday Postcard Hunt - Christmas Trees

Picking the perfect tree.  The Finns have many descriptive words for pine trees, a Petäjä is a tall straight pine and would be one to search out for Christmas. Pines are also considered rather human like as Inge Löök shows.

Lots of trees to choose from at Christmas time in a Finnish forest.

50% are pine and a third spruce the rest are deciduous trees, especially birch. Meanwhile away from this snowy landscape 

50%

2018: Christmas PHQ Card (Illustrator - Andrew Davidson)

 in a city far away a shopping trip has included a tree.

In the Woods

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt looking at Scenery.. with animals

A handsome elk with its velvet antlers in summertime, when the living is easy

Illustrator - Jaana Aalto

 A wolf moon appears in January, when the days lengthen and the cold strengthens

 

Surprised! by Henri Rousseau (1891) 

A tiger stalks its prey in the warmth of a jungle as imagined by Henri Rousseau (he never left France). The first of his many jungle paintings it is also known as Tiger in a Tropical Storm. So warm but wet.  The rain and lightening are difficult to see on the card and better seen on this larger version.

Fine Food

See It On A Postcard's  Thursday Postcard Hunt - Food (or plants)

A visit to the delicatessen

Russian Cuisine - Margarita Tkachenko  

Something for the cooler months. The postcard was sent from Tomsk, Siberia whose 'weather changes very quickly". The writer said she regularly cooks borsch which "combines perfectly with fresh onions, garlic and sour cream", as the card confirms.

 The highly sought after cloudberry, sometimes referred to as Arctic Gold.

 

Strawberries - Wijnand Warendorf (2012)

 

Another delicious summer berry by the realist painter Wijnand Warendorf. 

Map the World

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt on this month's theme - Illustrations;  Week 1 - Maps

Moominland Midwinter

Sensibly the Moomins sleep through the winter but one year Moomintroll wakes up and cannot get back to sleep, goes outside, and does not recognise this world of white which seems empty and feels lonely and frightening, but it is not long before someone appears. The Moominland Midwinter book, was published in 1957 with map and illustrations. Tove Jansen dedicated it to her mother. The perfect book for the winter season.

Welcome to Andalusia

Time to head for the sun and sea of Spain for a map one could use for exploring the real world.

Japan

See It On A Postcard's  Thursday Postcard Hunt  for A place you would like to visit

Kyoto

so I have chosen Japan, a country with a culture both ancient and modern

Cat looking at fields of Asakusa by Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

and maybe I will stay in a house that overlooks the rice fields of Asakusa  that comes with a resident cat, although will have to travel back in time as the closest rice fields to Tokyo today are at Chiba. In the present times the area of Asukusa with its waterfront and temple complex is a popular tourist destination. The woodblock print is from '100 Views of Edo'. It depends on weather conditions and urban haze if a view of Mt Fuji 62 miles (100k) away can be seen from Tokyo.  As I have travelled back in time why not travel in imagination to

Moominland. It looks as though it is Moomintroll's birthday although he has yet to arrive.  Moomin Day is in August (as is my birthday).  We don't know how old Moomintroll is, and Tove Jansson did not say, but wrote in her notebook "He is of that particular age when summers are long, the water warm and new things are constantly happening" Jansson's home in summer was on an island in the Gulf of Finland. I would head further into the Baltic Sea from there to the Åland Islands. I remember reading of an artist who would go there every summer because of the amazing light. Water, light, islands and ferry rides, a true summer delight.

"Visit Aland"

Postcard of the same image Åland issued for the Europa stamp theme of 'Visit' in 2012

Colourful Animals

 See It on A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is searching for Colourful Animals

The elusive lynx in the colours of the forest by the textile designer Saara Kurkela

Here's looking at you

Japanese porcelain seated tiger c1700 (Bowes Museum)

An alert tiger with some fine stripes.