Middelburg - Holland

Middelburg  is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and is the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000. This card was sent to me by Anne from Neuwegen.

Helene Schjerfbeck

My friend Merja sent me this pretty card with a painting by Helene Schjerfbeck.

Helene Schjerfbeck (1862–1946). Was a Finnish painter. She is most widely known for her realist works and self-portraits, and less well known for her landscapes and still lifes. Throughout her long life, her work changed dramatically. ‘At Home’, 1903. Acquired by the Turku Art Museum from the 1904 Turku Art Society's annual exhibition. Helene Schjerfbeck is known especially for paintings depicting women, children and the home. As early as the 1890s Schjerfbeck felt a need to simplify her style, which initially led her to eliminate details from the background and to reduce her palette. This is apparent also in many of the portraits she painted of her mother, Olga Schjerfbeck (1839–1923).

Her work starts with a dazzlingly skilled, somewhat melancholic version of late-19th-century academic realism…it ends with distilled, nearly abstract images in which pure paint and cryptic description are held in perfect balance.(Roberta Smith, New York Times, November 27th 1992)

Ice Fishing in Finland

The smallest lakes freeze usually in late November and the bigger lakes in December. This signals the winter fishing season in the Finland. The ice-fishing season lasts 4–5 months ending in April. There are a lot of risks in this sport. Usually the fishermen walk on only a few inches of ice. Midwinter is the most difficult fishing season. The days are short and usually there is plenty of snow on the ice. The weather may be cold and the fish are quite passive then. The few light hours around noon are the best for ice-fishing in December and January. A special period starts in late January when about one month´s long burbot fishing season begins. Burbot can be caught from quite shallow water in the evening with special burbot jigs.

In February the days get lighter and longer and perch get more and more active. The best ice-fishing season now starts. The biggest perch are usually caught in late February and in March when there may be still snow on the ice. For instance the Finnish record perch of 21st Century, a specimen weighing 2.475 kg, was caught 12th February 2005 in the Tampere Region. The main ice-fishing catch is perch, but zander, pike and whitefish are also potential game species on certain lakes, as are salmonoids on ‘plant and fish’ lakes. The region’s waters provide almost endless opportunities for ice-fishing different kinds of cyprinids. The early season and the late season are the best periods. Just after the lakes have got a thin ice cover perch are usually active and the catch can be very good. Especially if there aren´t much snow covering the ice yet.

Ice fishing is not just a way to get food over the winter, its long history in Finnish culture. In the past 20 years ice fishing has changed drastically, it is more modern and the way of fishing has advanced with technology.

Thank you Dear Merja for this lovely card.

Tight Rope Cycling

Without a safety net a cyclist crosses on a tight-rope with his human passenger hanging underneath. And, mind you all this over a 1000 meter deep gorge. Scene of this show, was in a valley in Chaibuxi national park in central China's Hubei Province. I have never seen or hjeard of such a stunt. All I can say is unbelievable. Thank you Vorliebe from Witten in Germany for a really wonderful card.

Fox Bay - Bay of the Black Sea

Fox Bay - Bay of the Black Sea,lies  between the mountain ranges of Kara-Dag and Meganom. Fox harbor - this is probably the most famous beach in the Crimea, which is a girded foot sand strip Echki Dagh. Of course, in the Crimea in general a lot of wonderful beaches with the same soft sand and gentle sea, but only on Lieske reigns true spirit of carelessness and emancipation.  The Fox Bay you can relax as you wish: if you want - live in a tent, if you want - go ahead naked on the beach, if you want - hang with a backpack on the beach or beat the tambourine, drink beer, bathe in the sea and so on and so forth. However, nudity - this is not an obligatory component of the beach, you want - relax dressed, and in any way you want.

Thank you Eugenia for a pretty card.

Hyannis Harbour – Cape Cod

Hyannis is the largest of seven villages in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Also it is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area as a result of the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer to Hyannis as the "Capital of the Cape". It contains the Barnstable city offices and two important shopping districts, the historic downtown Main Street and the Route 132 commercial district, including Cape Cod Mall and Cape Cod Potato Chips. And, Baxter's Fish and Chips seen in the centre of the card) must be a very popular place!

Hyannis is an important tourist destination and the primary ferry boat and general aviation link for passengers and freight to Nantucket Island. Hyannis provides secondary passenger access to the island of Martha's Vineyard. Due to its large natural harbour, Hyannis is the largest recreational boating and second largest commercial fishing port on Cape Cod.

Thank you Andrew for this lovely card.

Season's Greetings

A very pretty card from my friend Ada in Warsaw. Thank you Dear. Wish you all the best in the New Year too.