snow and ice

From speed skating (dominated in 1964 by Russia and Norway) to slalom skiing (dominated by France and Austria)

 

to curling (dominated in 2014 by Canada, Great Britain, and Sweden)

It was challenging to find anything not related to the Olympics, but then I remembered the World's, which is dominated by Sweden, Canada, and Finland (though it was won by Russia that year)

I can safely say that I have never participated in any of these sports.

For Sunday Stamps - winter sports

tigers

It seems Canada Post has given up making any more Lunar New Year stamps which is so disappointing.

Thank goodness I still have a souvenir sheet (with gold foil) from the last Year of the Tiger, in 2010.

This year, New Year falls on February 1st. I have already stocked up on dumplings.

From fifty years prior, another tiger from the Malaysian state of Trengganu. This tiger features on several identical stamps save for state name on the bottom and its sultan encircled in the corner.

for Sunday Stamps - Lunar New Year, tigers

maps

 

I like how Finland has a small map showing where the National Parks are located.

In 1949, Newfoundland and Labrador (plum colour) became the tenth province. In 1999, The Northwest Territories (purple colour) split creating three territories.

Sometimes it is good to have a map of all the islands so you can see where in relation to the others your specific island is located.

for Sunday Stamps - maps, flags

icon

 

This stamp of Margaret Atwood, celebrating her 60 years of writing,  has the line "a word after a word after a word is power" from one of her poems, Spelling. The photo was taken by Ruven Afandor in 2017. The raven cancellation is in honour of her interest in birds. "In my unlived life I was an illustrator" she has said, and one of her sketches of a version of herself, 'neither fish nor flesh' is also included.

for Sunday Stamps - writers, composers

blue

 

Ballet slippers with a swan reflection for the 50th anniversary of Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, (Festival Hall) where one can enjoy  opera, ballet, and classical music.

A footed pot from China

perhaps a teapot?

For Sunday Stamps - the colour blue

eid

This was the third issue for Canada Post for Eid (the others were in 2020 and 2017). The 2021 version shows the crescent moon and nine stars seen through an intricate latticed arched window.

Happy New Year to all

For Sunday Stamps - recent issues

 

Christmas

 Christmas in 1964

and in 2021

I hope an angel brought some joy to your Christmas Day. We had rain instead of snow this year and the sun stayed hidden all day, making it a little dreary. 

for Sunday Stamps - Christmas

snow

 

Caribou, ermine, snowshoe hare, lemming, and an arctic fox hide easily in the snow with their winter coats.

 

These sheep have their heavy woolly coats to keep them warm as they eat on the snow covered field

The branches of these trees are able to withstand the heavy snow

for Sunday Stamps - winter

I wish everyone a safe and healthy - and happy - Christmas

ranges

 

The Tatra National Park showing the High Tatras along the border of Slovakia and Poland.

and a few hours to the west, we come to the Emmental mountains in the western Alps.

 

Both of these ranges are relatively low in elevation with the Tatras slightly beating out the Emmental with a highest peak of 2,655 m to 2,350 m.

For Sunday Stamps - mountains

moonwalker

 

The Lunokhod, a Soviet rover, and the first roving remote controlled robot to land on the moon.

An extraterrestrial escape from earth

for Sunday Stamps - your choice

editorial content

 

The editorial cartoon is the first thing I look for when reading the paper. Sometimes I like to try to guess which story of the day they choose to illustrate. They can be humorous, thought provoking, poignant, or simply a reflection of the time. After a few years, without context they can sometimes be difficult to understand. 

This set, issued in October 2021, features some well known editorial cartoonists from Canadian newspapers.

Here we have a beaver (our national animal) sitting in a ubiquitous Muskoka chair drinking a beer; another in honour of a hockey game between Russia and Canada in 1972; the relationship between US and Canada; a slightly resentful feeling of Quebecers to the rest of Canada after the 1995 referendum; and finally, a tribute to the hockey players of fatal bush crash in Humboldt.

 

For Sunday Stamps - cartoons or illustrations

tall and wide

two elongated trees from British Honduras (1972) a quamwood tree and a mammee apple tree

Back in the British Isles (1973) we have the mighty oak, which can grow more wide than tall

 

and on to the continental US (1978) - a giant sequoia, white pine, white oak and a gray birch

for Sunday Stamps - trees

folk songs

 stamps with images, lyrics and music

Les Raftsmen from Quebec  followed by The Alberta Homesteader

A Mohawk lullaby called The Bear Will Dance  and finally, from Newfoundland and Labrador, a dance ditty I'se the B'y that Builds the Boat

Some Japanese folk songs with an autumn theme

Autumn Leaves and Home

 

for Sunday Stamps - music

crossing point

 

from 1973 a bridge to Abu Dhabi. Before the Al-Maqta bridge was built in 1968 the only way to get in or out of the city was to wait for low tide and walk by foot or camel. Al Maqta means crossing point.

and from 1985, the oldest bridge in Berlin - Jungfern. It is a bascule bridge, originally built sometime around 1701 with some  remodelling and changes made in 1798 and again in the 20th century which ultimately made the moving parts of the drawbridge inoperable. Ever since, it has been a pedestrian bridge.

for Sunday Stamps - roads, train tracks, or bridges

haunted

 

“Gastown, Vancouver, B.C. — haunted history: Legend has it the Waterfront Station and several bars and restaurants in the neighbourhood are all haunted - making it home to more dearly departed but persistently present spirits than any neighbourhood in Canada.

“Red River Valley, Man. — the ox cart: In 1903, soldiers at Red River Valley’s Fort Garry claimed to have seen phantoms driving a cart pulled by a team of oxen pass through their post at night.

“Levis, Que. — Marie-Josephte Corriveau: In 1763, she was executed on charges of murder. Her soul was said to walk the road at night, approaching travelers and grabbing anyone passing by with her claw-like hands as she opened her blood-red eyes.

“Carcross, Yukon — Caribou Hotel: Built in the town of Bennett in 1898 at the start of the Klondike Gold Rush, the hotel is rumoured to be haunted by late hotel co-owner Bessie Gideon's ghost. She was supposedly buried in Carcross but a cemetery survey did not locate her grave.

“Halifax, N.S. — the Grey Lady: Legend has it that the spirit of the ‘Grey Lady’ wanders the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, mourning her lost love, strolling the second floor at night, smelling of roses and wearing a 19th-century dress.”

For Sunday Stamps - halloween, witches, or just plain scary

cats

a pair of cats enjoying a lazy Sunday in 2004 for stamp collecting month.

and this little cutie not necessarily wanting any more siblings, or future kittens

for Sunday Stamps - felines

wolves

 2003

The gray wolf is the largest wild canine in the world while the timber wolf is considered a sub-species.

1990

for Sunday Stamps - canines

autumnal

walking a yellow leafed road in a forest in Germany

to finding seasonal fruits and berries and nuts in Britain

from 1993, designed by Charlotte Knox

pear, rowan, hazel, blackberry, horse chestnut

apricots and peaches 

from San Marino

for Sunday Stamps - autumn, harvest, food

endeavour

 

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the sailing of the Endeavour. First up is a chart showing the 'discoveries' made by Captain Cook. Second is the ship beached at Endeavour River after damaging it on the Endeavour Reef in 1770.

for Sunday Stamps - celebrating historical events

water

Conservation of water (2002) and a special stamp use for greeting cards (2013).  Bamboo is especially good at conserving water. Once it is established it can get all the water it needs from the ground and can help with soil erosion.

For more water, here is one from the Beautiful China series (2013) showing Xing Hua Duo Tian Agrosystem and the islands of rapeseed flowers (for canola oil). This is a unique land water use where raised cultivated fields surrounded by irrigation canals are made from the sludge. 

and, because this is apple season...

for Sunday Stamps - Asia

on the waterfront

I love how the Clyde Auditorium (on the banls of the River Clyde) is now known by the nickname given to it by the people of Glasgow.  It opened in 1997 and the name was officially changed in 2017.  It has an auditorium that seats 3,000 people

in Oslo, the new Opera House (opened in 2008 and winner of Culture Building of the Year in 2009) wa photographed by Petter Karlstrøm. Built on the banks of the Ostofjord , it is Norway's first purpose built opera house and is the largest cultural building constructed in Norway since 1930

for Sunday Stamps - post war architecture

watercolours

 

Lake Pukaki, painted by New Zealand landscape artist John Gully in 1862. It's hard to see, but Mt Cook is in the distance. For LOTR fans, this was the location of Lake-town.

Up at the other end of the globe in the far north west of Scotland is Ben Arkle, painted by Prince Charles.

I'm not sure either of these paintings would make me want to visit - though, in truth, I have been to both and found them spectacular in real life.

For Sunday Stamps - art/painting

big work

New Zealand is Butterland according to an article I read on the beloved food. It seems this tiny country has a high consumption rate compared to other butter eating countries. It was a dietary staple by the mid twentieth century as this stamp from 1960 can attest (just look at the size!)

    

From an old growth forest tree (1967)             

 

to pulp and paper (1956)

For Sunday Stamps - work, industry