2023 Dyxum Postcard Exchange (DPE)!!

It's about time I posted the scans of the five cards I received:

The first I received was from Brian (bonneville), ~18x12,5 cm and beautifully printed on matte paper. Arrived unharmed except for a few black spots where the ink stamp from another letter/card made some small dark spots in the sky. It's a photo from the top of Peterborough Cathedral. Very nice and the stamps with Dame Shirley Bassey are an added bonus! Thanks Brian







The second card I received was from Peter (KoBra64), ~15 x 10 cm with a vivid glossy finish. Arrived essentially unharmed without any stains. It's a photo from "Het Schip", the office of the tax authorities and student grant/loan organisation in Groningen as seen from the back yard of Peter's garden. I had seen photos of the building before, but this one with the setting sun behind it is especially nice. Thanks Peter







The third card I received was from Vincent (jvsanchez). ~10 x 15 cm printed on pearle paper. Again arrived unharmed, only a few small dark stains of postmark ink. It's a photo of a hunting tri-color egret spreading its wings to avoid spooking its prey by preventing a reflection. The light on the bird was really nice in this photo. Thanks Vincent







the fourth card came in the same day from Steve (MartyMoose). ~10 x 15 cm and printed on semi-gloss papper. It arrived mainly unharmed but with a few more stains from postmark ink and a ding from a sorting machine. It's a photo of a derelict and partly collapsed house in Southwest Washington state. I like these kind of subjects a lot, decay and reclamation by nature are always interesting. Thanks Steve







The fifth card came from Art (ADub128). ~10 x 15 cm and printed on glossy paper. Except for a few small ink stains it's totally unharmed. It's a photo of a falconer showing an Eurasian Eagle Owl. A beautiful bird indeed and a nice photo with a nice play with limited dof but still showing the falconer in the background. Thanks Art






So, now I only need to wait for the confirmation of the five cars I sent out being received, but I was so late (Nov 6 ) and they were all flying to different continents that I expect it will still take a while.

Together in the mailbox a card from Phil Wood and Maccroft.
Pictures of the cards and from gregja wil follow.

pegelli wrote: confirmation

I can confirm one of them! Another Isle of Skye epic landscape from the now-legendary trip arrived in yesterday's mail. A beautiful moody scene with lots to see, lost in the version captured by my phone. Pristine condition too! Thanks Pieter

Any ideas what to do with the cards that never arrived? I mean: Is resending them a way to mend the situation? Or at least present them here? Otherwise the images would just be wasted - what would be a shame.

Oh and to clarify on the heron - that particular species uses its wings to block reflections from the sun to both see into the water and to calculate prey depth more accurately before it strikes. It also creates shaded areas that attract fish. They drag their wing feathers along the surface to simulate prey for the fish as well.

I'm not sure if herons can account for the refraction of water when they fish, like Kingfishers, but they are one of the known species of tool-using birds :)

The snowy egret is another that uses its wings like the tricolor, and snowies also are known to exchange a specifically chosen stick with their mate when they switch off nesting duties, like a baton.

I think also one of mine is not confirmed as received - to Dena aka Dena.

Looking at the "distribution table" it's clear that you didn't have to send me a card at all, Roger! I have not been on your list.

I didn't want to start fingerpointing. Yes, people are busy and don't respond, and that's understandable (particularly on this day) - and the mail services are not really 100% reliable. We should expect some delivery failures.

The easiest way - instead of reprinting and resending cards (and finding out which ones really failed to be delivered) - would be to have the senders' presentation of their sets of images here - as some (Mestari comes to my mind) have already done. The year is coming to an end and this "exhibition" (that it would be) could be a fitting finale!