Eagle Creek is a small, unincorporated community in Clackamas County, and 60 km south-east of Portland. The name of Eagle Creek comes from a local stream of the same name, which was named that because of the large number of eagles in the area. It's been called Eagle Creek since 1844.  Carl is a tomato and pepper farmer. He says he's retired, but I would say he is semi-retired. He has about 2 hectares of land to grow his crops. The photo is a card promoting his farm. Go to www.unclewaynestomatoes.com to check out his business!

Bengaluru, or Bangalore, is a megacity of eight million people, with 11 million in the metropolitan area. It is India's third largest city by population (27th in the world). Bangalore is an anglicised verstion of the city's Kannada name,  Bengalūru, and dates back to 890. It was Bangalore for centuries until writer and critic U.R. Ananthamurthy proposed to officially rename Bangalore back to  Bengalūru. It was official on 1 November 2014. Unfortunately for Ananthamurthy, he died in August 2014 and never got to see the official renaming.  The postcard is about She, the tiny, yet mighty, daughter of the endless ocean, barter of love and the queen of eternal peace. 

The card says "Many kisses to all the family." Aussois is located in the French Alps, near the border of Italy. In fact, near Aussois is the  Fréjus Road Tunnel, which links France and Italy. The tunnel is 13 km long and started in 1974. It was completed in 1980 making it the 13th longest tunnel in the world.  There is a toll to use the tunnel. As of January 2023, it costs 51.50 Euros for a single car. If you use the tunnel a lot, you can get 50 passes for 266.70 Euros. There are also rates for motorcycles, recreation vehicles, and semi-trucks. In 2000, in order to improve safety in the tunnel, a strict 70 km/h speed limit and a safe distance of 150 m between vehicles was imposed. The tunnel has closed four times due to accidents in the tunnel, the worst being the death of two Slovak truck drivers. Their death and the resulting fire caused the tunnel to be closed to cars until 4 August 2005 (2 months).  Aussois is a popular ski resort in the winter. It is also a popular summe

Oldsum is located in northern Germany on the island of    Föhr. Oldsum has a population of about 600 people. Well preserved thatched farmhouses are found all over the island. A thatched windmill is Oldsum's most famous landmark, It was originally build around 1700, burned down 200 years later, rebuilt, and was used as a mill until 1954. Since 1954 it is simply a dwelling.  During the 1700s, Oldsum was an important whaling village. The most famous whaler, Matthias "Lucky" Petersen, caught 373 whales in his lifetime. His tomb is fund in the St. Laurentil Church at  Süderende.  Today Oldsum is less about agriculture and more about tourism. It is also more of an artists' village, with many studios and galleries found in the village. 

 

 

Satteldorf is a small town of 5700 found on a tributary (Jagst) of the Neckar. On a factory building in Satteldorf is a replica of the Eiffel Tower.

A nice Christmas card from Dee in Columbus, Ohio. It is a Branson Post Cards from Branson, Missouri.  The Ozarks are two mountain ranges found in the Kansas, Missourit, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The two mountain ranges are the Boston Mountains and the St. Francois Mountains. Together they comprise of about 120 000  km 2  . Branson is located just north of the Arkansas-Missouri border, and is a tourist destination and popularizer of Ozark culture.     

A lovely card of the Ninna-ji  仁和寺  Temple in Kyoto from an American ex-pat living with her husband in Tokyo. Ninna-ji is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1994). The Ninna-ji Temple is the head temple for the Omura School of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism. It was first founded in 888 and reconstructed in the 17th century.  Emperor Kōkō  光孝天皇 ordered the construction of the temple in 886 to bless the nation and propogate Buddhist teachings. His successor, Emperor Uda, saw the construction to its completion.   From 888 to 1869, it was traditional for the reigning emperors to send a son to the temple to take over as head priest when a vacancy arose. Uda retired from the throne and became the first Monzeki  門跡 , or aristocratic priest, of Ninna-ji. The last Monzeki was Junnin Hosshinno, the 30th chief of the temple.  The temple was destroyed by fire and fighting in the  Ōnin War  応仁の乱, a civil war from 1467 to 1477. It was a dispute between Hosokawa Katsumoto  細川 勝元, a high official, and  Yaman

Jackson is the county seat for Madison County and it located 110 kilometers from Memphis. It is the main city in the Jackson Metropolitan Area. It is the seat to Tennessee's Supreme Court for west Tennessee. Of course the sports are what interests me the most and the Jackson Generals were a Double-A team in the Southern League. In 2020 the team had to fold as they lost their Major League Baseball affiliate.  The Winnipeg Goldeyes, who play in the American Association, an independent minor league baseball league, temporarily moved to Jackson in 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions at the international border. They played 33 games in Jackson before the Canadian government gave them permission to resume play in Winnipeg.

A nice Christmas postcard from Espelkamp. Espelkamp has a population of almost 25 000 people.