Hello November

That's right , it is November and I'm only a day late. But looking out my window, you would think it's more like December or January. It's completely white, snow has been falling since mid morning. We've got about 10 cm on the ground now and it's still coming down. I've already had to clear the walkway and driveway . If the weatherperson is to be believed , we will get just as much or more again tomorrow. Oh well, it is November and I am in Canada.

Cards, did someone say cards ?  I've got some great ones for this time. Let's get right to it before I have to go back and shovel. How about a card from Dublin, Ireland to get things going.
Monika sent this card with a view of the Blasket Islands.  The Blasket Islands are a group of islands off the west coast of Ireland, forming part of County Kerry. They were inhabited until 1953 by a completely Irish-speaking population, and today are part of the Gaeltacht ,  where the government recognises that the Irish language  is the predominant language. The inhabitants were evacuated to the mainland on 17 November 1953. The Great Blasket Island remains uninhabited today, but visitors can travel by ferry over to this remote and wildly beautiful place and spend several hours or all day marvelling at its natural beauty and what remains of years of human endeavour.

Monika used a really small stamp from this year. It is a self adhesive definitive featuring an Beadlet Anemone.

 

My next card is from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. It's an aerial view of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado Mountain , Guanabara Bay and Sugar Loaf.   Corcovado is a 710 metre granite peak.

My brother Dale sent this card during his latest visit to Rio. He used a couple of small stamps, too. The one on the right is from 2011 and is 1 of 3 in a set commemorating Postal service. I guess I'll go out on a limb here and  say that the cards I receive from Brazil don't usually arrive with very nice stamps . They are usually of the size and type found on this card. It's not that the country doesn't issue interesting and attractive stamps, they do. It seems it's a case of only the crap getting down to the local post office for use on the mail. I'm not saying Brazil is alone in this , they are not, it evens happens here in Canada. What do you think, does this happen in your country ? Leave a comment and let me know.
Anyway, here's the stamps in question.

 

Here's a card from Russia featuring the TU-160, often called Black Jack by NATO.

 The Tupolev Tu-160 is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. The Tu-160 is currently the world's largest combat aircraft and  largest supersonic aircraft.  Entering service in 1987, the Tu-160 was the last strategic bomber  designed for the Soviet Union. The aircraft is in service, with at least 16 aircraft currently in use with the Russian Air Force.

 Another case of a rather dull , not exciting stamp . This one is 1 of 12 in a definitive set of the Kremlin, issued in 2009.  For the same cost, it could have arrived with 3 Yuri Gagarin stamps and I would have been quite happy.

Here is another Russian card. This one features Maria, the third daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna (1899 - 1918 ) and her entire Imperial family were murdered in 1918, following the Russian Revolution of 1917.

 Nastya used another of those Kremlin definitives from 2009, but she also used a new 2011 stamp. It commemorates the 350th anniversary of Irkutsk, one of the largest cities in Siberia. The city of just over a half million people was founded back in 1661.

 

Annie from McAllen , Texas sent my next card. It's an old times picture of Brownsville Airport on its opening in 1929.  It is located on the southernmost tip of Texas on the northern bank of the Rio Grande. The IATA airport code is BRO. On March 9, 1929, Charles Lindbergh landed at BRO after a five hour, 38 minute historic flight from Mexico City to the United States. Among the attendees was Amelia Earhart,  for whom the main street in front of the Airport is named.

 

Annie used a 2012 Innovative Choreographers , self adhesive stamp from the set of 4. 

 That should do for this time. Thanks to Annie, Monika, Dale, and Nastya. And yes, as I end this , it's still snowing. Take care, come back again soon for more postcards.