A Wonderful Card from Canada

This card was sent to me by Denise from Canada. The picture on the card is of a sheaf of wheat. Pretty nice really, but do look at the stamps my friend affixed to the card. They are simply superb, and almost a collection by themselves. Never before have I ever seen a card with so many stamps. Not ordinary stamps, they are wonderful stamps. Thank you Dear Denise. 

Duluth Street, Montreal

Richard sent me this picture post card of the Duluth Street in the French-speaking area of Montreal, but English speakers will do OK in the many restaurants. Bring your own bottle, and enjoy the people-watching! The Duluth Avenue is an east-west line from Montreal. It connects the Mount Royal Park in Lafontaine Park and crosses the district Le Plateau-Mont-Royal.

There are many restaurants and small shops. Avenue Duluth appears from 1859 under the name of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in the village of the same name. On December 1, 1890, the street was renamed " Duluth ", in honor of Daniel Greysolon, Sieur the Lhut (1639-1710), French “woodsman and explorer”.
The commercial and manufacturing functions primarily characterized this way since the beginning of the twentieth century. They included a candy factory and clothing, shoe stores, a gas station, grocery store and a bakery. Towards the middle of the twentieth century, the shops are among others being replaced by shops of home repair and printing and a veterinary hospital. Partly under the influence of the Greek community of Montreal, the face of the avenue changed in the early 1980s and became highly commercialised. 

Yes you guessed right. The card is from Canada, but posted in the United States. Hence, the really really nice US stamps you see alongside, which had been pasted on the envelope.

Kingston

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the Saint Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario.

Growing European exploration in the 17th century and the desire for the Europeans to establish a presence close to local Native occupants for purpose of trade led to the founding of a French trading post known as Fort Frontenac in 1673. The fort became a focus for settlement.

Located midway between Toronto and Montreal, Kingston was named the first capital of the Province of Canada on February 15, 1841, by Governor Lord Sydenham. While its time as a political centre was short, Kingston has remained an important military installation.

Kingston was the county seat of Frontenac County until 1998. Kingston is a separated municipality from the County of Frontenac. According to the 2011 Canadian census, the population of the city proper was 123,363, while the population of the census metropolitan area (CMA) was 159,561.

Kingston is nicknamed the "Limestone City" because of the many heritage buildings constructed using local limestone.

Look at the lovely stamps Karen has affixed to the card. The prominent stamp is the RMC cadet in his impressive uniform. The Royal Military College of Canada, established in 1876, is Canada's only military university (Collège Militaire Royal in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec is a military college), providing academic and leadership training to officer cadets, other members of Canada's armed forces and civilians. There are currently 1,100 undergraduate students and 500 full and part-time graduate students.

Thank you Karen for this nice card.

Merry Christmas

Thank you Trudy from Canada for this lovely card. Merry Christmas to you too.

Prairies in Canada

Rolf sent me this interesting card showing grain elevators in the prairies in Canada.

The Canadian Prairies is a region of Canada, specifically in Western Canada, which may correspond to several different definitions, natural or political. Notably, the Prairie provinces or simply the Prairies comprise the  provinces of Alberta,  Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are partially covered by prairie(grasslands). In a more restricted sense, the term may also refer only to the areas of those provinces covered by prairie. Prairie also covers portions of northeastern British Columbia, though that province is typically not included in the region in a political sense.

The word prairie usually refers to a type of grassland, and true prairies occur only in the southern reaches of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Contrasted to this are other biomes such as the boreal forest taking up the majority of the Prairie Provinces, or the aspen parkland.

However "the prairies" may also refer to all of the Interior Plains region within Canada, in contrast with the Rocky Mountains and Canadian Shield, and is a continuation of the Great Plains region of the United States.

It may also refer to all of the farmland in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, a definition based on human use, which includes all of the aspen parkland biome.

The Polar Bear

The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size. A boar (adult male) weighs around 350–680 kg (770–1,500 lb), while a sow (adult female) is about half that size. Although it is closely related to the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting the seals which make up most of its diet. Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their time at sea. Their scientific name means "maritime bear", and derives from this fact. Polar bears can hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice, often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present.

The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species, with eight of the nineteen polar bear subpopulations in decline  For decades, large scale hunting raised international concern for the future of the species but populations rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect  For thousands of years, the polar bear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual, and cultural life of Arctic indigenous peoples, and polar bears remain important in their cultures. Thank you Xavier (from Montreal) for this lovely card, which shows a Polar Bear mother relaxing with her cubs.

Toronto

Toronto is the largest city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from the Mississaugas of the New Credit. The settlement was later established as the Town of York and proclaimed as the new capital of Upper Canada by its lieutenant governor, John Graves Simcoe. In 1834, York was incorporated as a city and renamed to its present name. The city was ransacked in the Battle of York during the War of 1812 and damaged in two great fires in 1849 and in 1904. Since its incorporation, Toronto has repeatedly expanded its borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities, most recently in 1998.
With over 2.6 million residents, it is the fifth most populous city in North America. Its cosmopolitan and international population reflects its role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada. Toronto is one of the world's most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born residents, with about 49% of the population born outside Canada. 
As Canada's commercial capital and one of the world's top financial centres, Toronto is considered an alpha world city by the Globalisation and World Cities (GaWC) study group. It is home to the Toronto Stock Exchange, the world's seventh largest in terms of market value. Toronto contains more corporate headquarters than any other Canadian city, including those of Canada's five largest banks. Toronto's leading economic sectors include finance, business services, telecommunications, aerospace, transportation, media, arts, film, music, television production, publishing, software production, medical research, education, tourism, engineering, and sports industries. According to Forbes, Toronto is the tenth-most economically powerful city in the world and one of the fastest growing among the G7 nations, whilst PwC ranks the city as the world's second-best "metro powerhouse". Toronto was ranked twelfth in the world and fourth in the Americas in 2010 for economic innovation by 2thinknow. The cost of living in Toronto was ranked highest in Canada in 2011^[update]. Thank you Isabelle for this card with the wonderful aerial view of part of Toronto.

Inukshuk

The English Bay Inukshuk is a popular attraction. Located off the popular Vancouver Seawall, This simple yet stunning piece of art identifies with the Canadian land it has been built on. Sitting on the edge of a small peninsula with a circular walking path with the Burrard Inlet, Cascade Mountain range and ocean lines behind, it is a picturesque and popular site no matter the weather or time of day as the Inukshuk is lit up at night. Hundreds of tourists a day have their photo taken with this iconic Vancouver art piece and it was the symbol for the 2010 Winter Games.One of the most iconic Canadian images in the last decade has become the inuksuk, which can be seen coast to coast on road sides, as art forms and in Vancouver's case, as a two story granite sculpture on a small jetty by English Bay created by artisan Alvin Kanak from the North West Territories in 1987 as a gift for the World Expo.

The history behind the Inukshuk is its use in the northern region of Canada where these built forms are used as a point of reference, or navigation, necessary since in the winter months pathways are indistinguishable and the landscape all appears the same. These stone 'signposts' mark hunting grounds and directions to settlements. Traditional Inukshuk however, are not built in the shape of a person, the figures that appear human like are usually refered to as inunnguaq.

The inukshuk is a familiar image as it was the chosen symbol for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is called 'Ilanaaq', the Inuktitut interpretation for the word: 'friend'.

Linda sent me this lovely card.

Neil’s Harbour, Nova Scotia

Neil's Harbour is a small fishing village in northern Cape Breton Island, in Victoria County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located between Ingonish and Dingwall, just south of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Although the population is unknown, an estimate is between 200 and 404. The town has one operating church, which is Anglican, and one non-operational church, which was Presbyterian. There are a few cottages/summer homes in Neil's Harbour, but mostly there are local residents who work in the Lobster/Crab and Fishing Industry

The Canadian Coast Guard owns the lighthouse. Interestingly, the tower has served as an ice cream shop in the summer. Thank you Maria for this nice card.

United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea

In June 2000, after two years of fighting in a border dispute, Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a cessation of hostilities agreement following proximity talks led by Algeria and the Organization of African Unity. In July, the Security Council set up UNMEE to maintain liaison with the parties and establish a mechanism for verifying the ceasefire. In September 2000, the Council authorized UNMEE to monitor the cessation of hostilities and to help ensure the observance of security commitments.

On 30 July 2008, the Security Council terminated the mandate of UNMEE with effect from the following day. The Council decision came in response to crippling restrictions imposed by Eritrea on UNMEE, as well as the cutting off of fuel supplies – making it impossible for the operation to continue carrying out its mandated tasks, and putting at risk the safety and security of UN personnel.

The picture shows a Corporal of a Canadian Regiment making friends with a young Ethiopian. The Obverse of the card at left gives more information regarding the card and the nice stamp affixed to the card. Thank you Ian Perry for this nice card.

Canada – The Gastown Steam Clock

This steam clock stands on a street corner of Gastown in Vancouver, British Columbia and is one of the world's only functioning steam clocks. It is powered by steam from an underground system of pipes that supply steam to heat many of the downtown buildings of Vancouver, BC. Every quarter of an hour the Gastown steam clock sounds its whistle and you can watch the steam shoot from the vents at the top of the clock. If you look through the glass panels on the side of the steam clock you will see how the steel balls are raised to the top of the clock under steam power and then they slowly fall to create the power to make the steam clock work. This pretty card was given to me by Asha.

Canada - Ottawa - Parliament Hill

This nice card showing Parliament Hill In winter was sent to me by Sandi.