air mail

There was a time when the post travelled by balloon

In 1955 France issued a stamp to commemorate 85 years of airmail service. 

In 1870 during the Siege of Paris a balloon could fly higher than the range of enemy rifles thus allowing Gaston Tissandier, a chemist and ballooning pioneer, to deliver 175 lbs of mail. There is an English translation of his writing of the flight and efforts to deliver 30,000 letters from the people of Paris.

for Sunday Stamps - air travel

bountiful tree

A semi-postal stamp from 2020 for the Canada Post Community Foundation features a 'diverse community of animals living peacefully in a bountiful tree' (artist Isabelle Arseneault). It may not exactly be a spring theme, but now is the time when we start seeing more animals about and it does remind me of us all emerging from our winter homes to play. Of course only these ones are able to get so close as they share stories of their months of isolation from each other...

for Sunday Stamps - spring, flowers, or Easter

anne

The quintessential Canadian girl

beloved by the Japanese

This was a joint issue from 2008 for the 100th anniversary of Anne of Green Gables

for Sunday Stamps - children

swimmers of the sea

 

A short beaked common dolphin. They are one of three species of dolphins in the Black Sea (the others being bottlenose and harbour porpoise).They are social animals often in pods of over 1,000. They are also fast swimmers (60km/hr) and known for their aerial acrobatics.

The Black Sea is an inland sea bordered by Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey

for Sunday Stamps - the deep blue sea

writing

Czechoslovakian stamps come first to mind when thinking of unusual and interesting typefaces 

from the cosmonaut series with Gagarin of 1964

 to the flower series with a chrysanthemum of 1973

 

 

 

 

 

 

for Sunday Stamps - fonts and typefaces

lush

 Garajonay National Park in the Canary Islands is 40 sq. km. This stamp shows some of the large rock formations which are former volcanoes carved by erosion and a small hint that it is also a lush forest. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1986.

From Spain

 to Singapore

and the Singapore Botanic Gardens which only became a World Heritage Site in 2015 (and Singapore's first UNESCO site and the first and only tropical garden on the heritage list) but it was created in 1859. The stamps feature the gazebo at the Bandstand, Burkill Hall (the original residence of the superintendent) and Tanglin Gate (the main entrance)

For Sunday Stamps - World Heritage Sites

travels

 The St Lawrence Seaway is a system of locks, canals and channels that allows for ocean going ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the western end of Lake Superior, a distance of 3,750 kms. The Canadian stamp shows a compressed view of the 15 locks with the seven on the right on the St Lawrence River, the Welland Canal in the middle, and the Great Lakes and the locks at Sault Ste Marie on Lake Superior. The American stamp shows an aerial view of the route with the mouth of the St Lawrence River on the bottom right.For Sunday Stamps - your choice

green

We have had a snow storm this week and now everything is covered in white. I eagerly await spring and some fresh green leaves.

This low value stamp featuring a simple head shot of the Queen also has a tree in the top left corner. Each stamp of this series had a symbol representing some sector of the economy - in this case, forestry. Apparently, in 1960, 48% of Canada's land mass was covered in forest. It seems we are down to 38% by 2020.

For Sunday Stamps - the colour green

red, red rose

February is really not the month for roses, yet for many, this is the go to flower for Valentine's

o my luve's like a red, red rose that's newly sprung in June

Perhaps by June a romantic stroll through a rose garden 

with more than 900 varieties will be possible.

for Sunday Stamps - romantic

horns a plenty

For the Year of the Goat 2015, from Philippines.

Plus a goat-antelope from western Russia

 

 

 

 

On the left is the world's largest mountain sheep which live in Central Asia with magnificent corkscrew horns that can measure 190cm.  On the right is a Siberian bighorn (or snow) sheep

For Sunday Stamps - animals of the Lunar New Year

catflap

coming indoors

CATURDAY

crowns

I thought wearing a crown might be heavy and awkward, but this basket maker has a much more awkward physical load on his head! From 1953.

It seems my poor 12 year old computer needs upgrades for photo editing. I hope to have this sorted by next Sunday. It will be a weight of my head and shoulders...

For Sunday Stamps - country names no longer existing

sad cats

why are there so many sad kitties?

CATURDAY

Tekahionwake

E Pauline Johnson (1861-1913) was a Canadian poet of mixed Mohawk and English heritage.  She was a poet, writer and performer at a time when dramatic poetry readings were popular. She was one of the few female writers at the time who could make an independent living from her writings and performances. She was also the first indigenous poet to have her works published. 

Tekahionwake was her Mohawk stage name.

For Sunday Stamps - poets or writers

rat catcher

Dick Whittington and his cat

CATURDAY

courtyard

Le Petit Theatre Du Vieux Carre in the French Quarter of New Orleans, first opened in 1916. The courtyard is considered one of the most beautiful in the city.

dressing table

This is a self portrait of Zinaida Serebriakova (1884-1967) . Titled At the Dressing Table, 1909. She was born into an artistic family of architects, painters, sculptors. Actor Peter Ustinov is also related to her.

For Sunday Stamps - women

sad faces

and a lovely bowl

CATURDAY

midtown

murals

somptueues chevelure verte

sumptuous green hair

Leonard Cohen

shortbread

yummy, buttery goodness

joy

 

I wish you all the joy that you can wish

totem

up, up, and away

 

A spherical pressurized aluminum gondola took Auguste Piccard up into the stratosphere in for the first time in 1931.  He would make 27 trips upwards, finally reaching a record breaking 14 miles above ground.   It is possible that he was the first to see the curvature of the earth. Piccard was a Swiss physicist, inventor, and explorer (1884-1962).   He had a twin brother named Jean and they were the inspiration behind the name of Starfleet Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

for Sunday Stamps - science

just sitting and waiting

methinks this cat knows a secret

CATURDAY

mysterious rider

A majestic life sized horseman on a near vertical cliff from around the  8th century.

most modern

All steel, Diesel electric ferry

"WESTSIDE"

Largest, most modern passenger and automobile ferry on the Mississippi River or its tributaries operating from New Orleans to Algiers, Louisiana by the Algiers Public Service Company, Incorporated

bauhaus

Bauhaus, also known as the International Style 

Dessau, Germany

Bauhaus, also known as the International Style

wawa

Wawa needed to have something to attract people to visit their small town after the new Trans Canada Highway diverted traffic. In Ojibway Wawa means 'wild goose' or 'Land of the Big Goose'. The goose (replaced twice) has stood here for 60 years.

high level

It's been a very long time since horses were allowed on this bridge.

 

wine and cheese

 

In 2006 when this set of wine and cheese stamps was issued, the Canada Post website claimed 170 wineries in Canada. That number seemed a little low to me. Now, there are over 800 registered wineries with well over 50 of them in the Niagara region where I live. The stamps shape represent wine labels and cheese wedges.

for Sunday Stamps - food/drink

boating

and I think we are about to be distracted
falling overboard in 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... CATURDAY

2021

 

Welcome 2021!

carnival

 

I'm not sure if Carnival is actually a holiday in some countries, but it most likely won't be celebrated in 2021. We could all do with some dancing in the streets and wild costumes.

for Sunday Stamps - holidays

sweetness

a face of innocence?

CATURDAY

gingerbread

 

From my house to yours 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

sleigh

 Santa's on his way

received from Germany

Mary

 

Genesis - A stylized Madonna and Child painting by First Nations artist Daphne Odjig from 2002

for Sunday Stamps - religious Christmas

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas

Stay safe