A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 17 November 2020 - T for Finland, walking and caterpillars

 Hello lovely ladies, it is Tuesday again and time to join the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard. It involves bringing a drink or drink related  image. You will see mine later, but first off my postcard:

It comes from Finland and features the artist Elin Danielson-Gambogi (1861-1919) in her studio in Paris in the 1880s.

Elin Danielson-Gambogi was a Finnish painter, best known for her realist works and portraits. Danielson-Gambogi was part of the first generation of Finnish women artists who received professional education in art, the so-called "painter sisters' generation".

In 1895, she received a scholarship and traveled to Florence, Italy. A year later she moved to the village of Antignano in Livorno where she met an Italian painter 13 years younger, Raffaello Gambogi (1874–1943).

The painting below is called 'The sisters' (1891) and I think it might qualify me for the T-Party. I love the coffee set. I think Valerie has a set like that...

They began working together and got married in 1898. They held exhibitions in Paris, Florence (where she was awarded an art prize by the city) and Milan and in many Finnish cities, and their paintings were also included in the 1900 World's Fair in Paris, where she again won bronze medal. She also got to second place at the 1901 national portrait painting competition organized by the Finnish state. King Umberto even purchased a painting from her.

This one is called 'After breakfast' (1890). This has a tea pot and liquor glasses in it. 

Their marriage was strained when Raffaello fell in love with her Finnish friend Dora Wahlroos. She moved to Finland for a while, but returned in 1903. Because of World War I, her connection to her home land was cut, and by the time she died of pneumonia at Antignano in 1919, she had been mostly forgotten in Finland.

I love the paintings of this artist, who I had never heard of to be honest.

The stamp is also very beautiful. 

It is about the artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela (26 April 1865 – 7 March 1931).

 He is another Finnish painter I had never heard of and who has had a fascinating career. Below is the painting from the stamp:

Gallen-Kallela was inspired by Sibelius' tone poem En saga (A Fairy Tale). On the right is Sibelius himself, at top left is the visuals it brought to Gallen-Kallela's mind and the empty section at bottom left was supposed to have notes from the tone poem, but Sibelius didn't wish to add them.

Have you all had a good week? We are in almost total lockdown. Everything is closed, bar the necessary food shops, farmacy and post office. The schools are still continuing as far as I know. I haven't been out at all except to the local shop. 

I tell a lie. On Saturday my friend and I drove into the mountains to go for a walk. We didn't want to walk among the trees as it was already a dull day. So we drove until we got to the top (just over 2056m/7650feet) and walked along a fire break.

The weather was not very nice, but perfect for walking. And we did not meet a single soul.

Below is typical vegetation of this area. (I forgot what it is called now, sorry)

Can you spot something on the ground?

A bit closer so you can see better:

They are nasty things called processionaria caterpillars. 

The pine processionary (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) is a moth of the family Thaumetopoeidae. The species was first described  in 1775. Sometimes placed in the genus Traumatocampa, it is one of the most destructive species to pines and cedars in Central Asia, North Africa and the countries of southern Europe. The urticating hairs of the caterpillar larvae cause harmful reactions in humans and other mammals. The species is notable for the behaviour of its caterpillars, which overwinter in tent-like nests high in pine trees, and which proceed through the woods in nose-to-tail columns, protected by their severely irritating hairs, as described by the French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre.

They get their name from the way they move from one tree to the next: in procession.

Everywhere on our walk we saw the devastation that these critters cause.

They build these silken nest 'tents' for their larvae. Almost every pine had one or two of these nests.

We saw nicer animals too, like mountain goats (sorry, no photos. they were too quick).

Do you know what this is a sign of?

Wild boar. Of course we didn't see any as they are nocturnal. (What a relief).

I love watching the vultures:

They are difficult to capture with a phone. This was a group of 18 Griffon vultures, soaring above us. We watched them for many minutes. They are so majestic and huge!

With a wingspan of 2.8 metres and weighing 8 kilos, that’s 9 foot and 17lbs in old money, Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) is one of our largest raptors. They are carrion eaters.

(The above is not my photo, but is from the Internet)

That is it from me today. 

Happy T-Day to all,

Lisca

Edit:

The caterpillars you saw, are not one long caterpillar. They are hundreds of caterpillars marching one after the other in processional style. I have seen lines of many meters long crossing a road and I didn't find the beginning nor the end. Awesome as well as gruesome. They don't seem to have natural predators here and it is a big problem.