simply mouthwatering

simply mouthwatering
This map is pre 1990s - the province abbreviation changed from P.Q (Province de Quebec) to the 2 letter Qc in 1991.
The Ten-Thousand Mile Long Wall*
Other names used in Chinese medieval records are 'ramparts', 'frontiers', 'barriers', 'fortresses', 'border wall'.
Built between the 3rd century B.C. and 17th century A.D. - so it took more than 2,000 years, as a series of fortifications. Which makes me wonder if anyone ever thought of the 'historical' significance of what they were building and if it last anywhere as long as it has. Or they may have been too concerned with surviving the ordeal.
*It is actually more than 13,000 miles
With four official languages in Switzerland, trying to fit Schweiz, Suisse, Svizerra, and the Romansch Svizra would take up most of the room on a stamp, so they settled on the Latin name 'Helvetia' (official name Confederatio Helvetica- why the CH as the international country code). Interestingly, in Irish Gaelic and Romanian, the name for Switzerland is closer to Helvetia than variations of Swiss.
'Croatia', on the other hand, is from the Latin name for the country. Hrvatska is derived from the Slavic name, which is used by the people themselves. The international country code is HR instead of CR because it was already taken by Costa Rica. I admit, I often initially mistake HR for Hungary
another country with a non English name on their stamp (we'll get to that one with 'M')
I found an interesting article explaining how Croatia/Hrvatska came to be. The original Slavic name was Horvatska, later into Hrvatska. Latin does not really pronounce the letter 'h', and starting the name with just an 'r' wasn't quite right, so they made it a 'ch' which became just a 'c'. A 'v' after an 'r' is easy for Slavic speakers but not Latin, so it was transformed into a vowel 'o'. So now we have a Slavic 'Horvat' which became Hrvat, which became a Latin 'Croat' with the usual Latin ending for Slavic countries 'ia'
Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park (est 2002)
Gabon, on the west coast of Africa on the equator
stamp shows a colourful, but toxic, "sunset moth" their bright colours are a warning to predators
The Rana pretiosa - Oregon spotted frog - is the most endangered frog in Canada. There's only a couple hundred of them found in the lower section of British Columbia
The Anaxyrus fowleri - Fowler's toad- is an east coaster from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes, but is only found in Canada in a small section of southwestern Ontario.
In both cases, habitat loss from development and pollution are contributors to their decline.
A frog and a toad - at least he's a Fowler's toad - for stamps with an F
Ot en Sien, illustrated by Cornelis Jetses
hopelessly old fashioned, and no longer read in schools, but I still have the books I collected to learn Dutch when I was living there.
Audubon's depiction of these egrets was made 1827-38.
their website generously offers a virtual tour
I once knew someone with this name. Not surprisingly, she was always having to correct people - no, not Delia - and then having to spell it and it didn't help that she spelt it DaliahI have never seen a hedgehog in the wild, but I think they are adorable creatures
I have, however, seen countless raccoons in the wild. I'm not sure I would consider them 'adorable'some illustrated animals for Thursday Postcard Hunt
where I live, there are many waterfalls - these are perhaps the most picturesque
but, there has been so little rain lately, that at least two of these have no flow (Tews and Tiffany) and the other two are more like a trickle.Not to be confused with 'Honduras', British Honduras was a Crown Colony on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula. Although in Central America, it identifies with the Caribbean.
In 1973, the name was changed to BELIZE, and the country gained its independence in 1981.
these animals fit nicely into the compact island of Taiwan,
but, it is a special joy to receive a shaped map card
although, Bulgaria has many sticky out bits, but this card arrived in fine formThe Arctic islands are an archipelago of over 36,000 islands. I will admit, I had no idea there were so many! Only 11 are inhabited.