Hallowe'en and a Few Cards

Hello again and Happy Hallowe'en to any of you who celebrate this day. Halloween or Hallowe'en, also known as All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. I have a number of great non- Hallowe'en cards to have a look at , but in addition I also have a couple of Hallowe'en  themed cards which I will mix in with the regulars.

But before we get to any cards , here's a great pumpkin  or Jack- o'- lantern  to add to the festivities.   

Now , I have a small bit of housekeeping to do with regard to yesterday's blog. I put up a card from Ukraine and I really didn't know anything about the card. Leslie was kind enough to leave a comment and offered some information related to the card. The card is a reproduction of a painting from 1880. The subject matter is as follows : It  is an Italian political cartoon showing a large balloon in the shape of a man ready to gobble up the moon, defended by a man holding a fork. Other armed men representing the nations of Europe and North Africa are falling off the balloon into the frying pan of war, held by the Roman god Mars. To quote a friend of mine, "Who Knew? "  It seems, only Leslie. Thanks lots, Leslie. 

On to the cards. Let's start with a gem of a card. A British Airways Concorde. For an Airline / Aircraft postcard collector, it doesn't get much better than that. Just a wonderful card. 

 

Laerke used a couple of Machin definitives along with a Greetings Cartoon Sincerely stamp from a set of 10 issued in 1996. 

My next card comes from Japan. I leave it up to my readers for any interpretation of the card. You are welcome to draw your own conclusions on this one. 

It is a nice card though and it arrived with a couple of nice topical stamps, thanks to Rainym. The larger one on the left is an Albatros stamp issued in 1975. The Whale stamp on the right, sorry , but I have nothing on this one, still a nice stamp though.

Now I think it's time for my first Hallowe'en themed card. These are not cards I have received , but a few blank cards in a huge card  collection that I bought last year.

Here's a card from the Netherlands, from the Land of Maas and Waal. This is a region in the Dutch province of Gelderland, located between the rivers Maas and Waal. Rosemary says that the area where she lives is surrounded by water so there are many ferries, large and small, to get around.

 

Rosemary used a couple of common Netherlands stamps which I have showcased many times before, so I won't this time. 

A card from Romania is next. It is an exhibit of Barite Quartz from The Museum of Mineralogy in Baia Mare , Romania. It is the biggest museum of its kind in Europe. The collection consists of over 20,000 samples. It has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Baia Mare. Here is the exhibit as shown on the postcard. 

Aurica used a 2012 stamp honouring Romanian writer Lucian Blaga. 

It's trick or treat time again. This time it's Charles Schulz's  Woodstock out trick or treating. I think maybe he thinks he's Superman. What do you think ?

Russia is up next . It's Lake Taimenye, located about 50 km from China.  It is the largest lake in the basin of the Katun River. It is situated on the south slope of the Katunsky Mountain Range at a height 1570 m. The length of the lake is 5420 m, maximal width is 1080 m and the depth is 68 m.

The water of the lake has muddy tint that is connected with waters taken from melting glacier. In summers the water on the surface warms up to 14˚C.
Two rivers flow into the lake, which originate in ice cirques of the Katunsky Mountain Range. There is a waterfall on one of the rivers.
In 1978 Taimenya Lake was approved as a monument of nature in Gorno-Altaiskaya autonomous region.

Tatyana used a nice selection of stamps on her card. On the left are definitives from 2008 and 2012. Now let's look at the 2 large stamps on the right. The top one is from a 2011 Aviation issue , 4 in the seyt. The bottom stamp , also from a set of 4, commemorates various Bridges and was issued in 2010.

This is my last Halloweén themed card.

  I think I'll call it a day here, that seems to be enough cards for this time. Thanks to Rosemary, Aurica, Tatyana, Rainym and Laerke for their fine cards.  Enjoy your Hallowe'en.