3 - D

Not really a castle, Schloss Drachenburg was built between 1882-84 (two years!) as a private villa.  It took almost two decades for the restoration when the state took over in 1989

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 Daliah

I was never very good with a hula hoop, and that was only one hoop.  So watching these guys with multiple ones all over their body is quite mesmerising.  This is actually nothing like hula dancing.  An Anishnaabe folktale says that once there was boy who didn't like to hunt or fish and spent hours watching the animals in the wild and began copying their movements.  Eventually, he added hoops and created dances that he taught to others, with the hoops representing animals, symbols, and designs.

 

tulips

 

Holland is the first country that comes to mind with tulips.  Above is Keukenhof and below are the tulips donated to Canada as a thank you for sheltering the future Queen Juliana during WWII

more tulips can be found at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton (above) and Butchart Gardens in Victoria (below)

poppies

 by Georgia O'Keefe

poppies

 in a garden with poppies

CATURDAY

ladybug

 

It's that time of year when the ladybugs come inside for warmth and a rest.  They are the one insect I don't mind seeing (even inside).

the colour of happiness

 

A presshouse - wine press house, or wine press - in the eastern state of Burgenland, Austria.  There seems to be a few presshouses offered as holiday villas.  As Burgenland is the least populous state, this holiday home might be the perfect quiet, peaceful place to get away from it all.  And drink a little wine.

In nearby Hungary, this hybrid tea rose is front and centre on this 1962 stamp, one of six in a series.

numbers

 

Dahlias are one of the flowers that follow the fibonacci sequence*

as do the feathers on a peacock 

and let's not forget 

pineapples and pine cones

some patterns for Sunday Stamps

*fibonacci sequence - numbers starting with zero and one, is a steadily increasing series where each number is equal to the sum of the preceding two numbers

easterly things

I have shown this before, but as we have new people to our group, it is worth showing again.  This is a huge Pysanka sculpture.  It is 31 feet long and three and a half storeys high.  A colourful roadside attraction in Alberta.

For our food category this anniversary stamp for Nutella is most delicious

I thought I might be at risk of endlessly repeating myself, but then I found this Easter lily from Barbados

 

 

Happy Easter to all who celebrate

calligraphy

 

the comic font of NIPPON suits the comic design of this stamp

I'm not sure about this attempt to join the letters of GRENADA

and my favourite country for calligraphy on stamps CZECHOSLOVAKIA
 

 

some fancy writing for Sunday Stamps

calla

 

spring flowers

artwork by Susan Appleton

trillium

chrome postcard of Ontario's provincial flower (photo by Barry Schneider) they are just starting to bloom!

 

flowers

tulips from the States

 

 hollyhocks from Ukraine

 

 

 

 

 

  sunflowers from Poland

some flowers for spring, summer, and autumn for Sunday Stamps

happy easter

hydrangeas are my favourite indoor Easter flowers, 

although a yard full of these day lilies are a most welcome sight

 

 

 

 

 

 

and, because there's always a chance of snow on Easter, here is snowshoe hare

 

 

Happy Easter

 

ladybugs

 ... or, ladybirds, if you prefer

d day

 

Designs from Germany

In 1960 East Germany had a Chemical Day to recognize chemists.

Dahlias from 2020

for Sunday Stamps - the letter D

callas

Calla Lilies from 2022 and 2004

flowers for Sunday Stamps

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

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

best wishes