Sunday Stamps II - 128

 

2013, Canada, Adopt a Pet series

illustrator: Monika Melnychuk

photography: Raef Miles

The background of these stamps shows a sketch of the dog's dream home. The animal models (there is also a parrot and two cats in the series) are actual shelter animals. The stamps were a partnership with the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies with a message to check out a local humane society or SPCA for a new pet.  

for pets

Sunday Stamps II - 127

2013, Canada
The Kitchen Sink 1919
photographer: Margaret Watkins

An unusual still life of domestic chores - a sink filled with crockery, a milk bottle and a jug. Ms Watkins used palladium printing paper which resulted in softer grey tones.

for photography

Sunday Stamps II - 126

2017, Canada, 100th Anniversary Vimy Ridge
designer: Susan Scott

This joint issue international rate stamp (France and Canada) shows the Canadian version on  the left with the French version on the right. The statues on the stamps are (left) of the Mourning Parent and (right) Canada Bereft. On the sheet is the monument (sculpted by Walter Allward) that serves as a grave marker for all 11,285 Canadian soldiers of all ranks whose bodies were never found. Also shown are the preserved trenches at Hill 45.

for commemorative stamps

Sunday Stamps II - 125

1989, Finland, Christmas
designer: Paavo Huovinen

The Old Church at Sodankyla is one of the oldest timber churches in Lapland. It was built in 1689, but decommissioned in 1859 when a new stone church was built. It almost fell into ruins but in 1929 was restored and now is in use during the summer months.

for places of worship

Sunday Stamps II - 124

1954, Canada
engraver: Silas Robert Allen
based on a photograph by Dorothy Wilding

This issue of six stamps featuring Queen Elizabeth based on a photograph by Dorothy Wilding replaced the five (1¢ to 5¢) issues from 1953 based on a photograph by Yousuf Karsh. (those stamps replaced the King George issues which were also based on a Wilding photograph). Dorothy Wilding (1893-1976) was considered one of Britain's most successful portrait photographers.

for Kings and Queens

Niagara

Canada

The American (foreground) with Bridal Veil (the single fall just beyond the American) are completely on the US side of the border. Horseshoe (background) is mostly within Canada with only a small portion of the north east corner in the US. The Niagara River flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, and while the falls aren't exceptionally high, they are very wide at over 3,400 feet from the extreme American side to the extreme Canadian side.

for Postcards for the Weekend: body of water

Sunday Stamps II - 123

2015, Canada, Weather Wonders - fog at Cape Spear

Cape Spear is on the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland (near St John's) and is the easternmost point of North America. The lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland and Labrador. It was built in 1836, with a new tower built in 1955 using the active light from the original tower. Generations of the Cantwell family of lightkeepers lived at Cape Spear for 150 years, from 1847 to 1997.

for lighthouses and/or windmills

flowerpots

The flowerpots in Tobermory on Georgian Bay were formed after years of rain, wind, waves and ice wore away at the cliff at the water's edge. The softer rock eroded more quickly until the shape of a 'flowerpot' emerged from the harder rock.

The flowerpots in Hopewell Cape on the Bay of Fundy have been formed by tidal erosion. The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. The extremes mean that the base of these rocks are covered in water twice a day. The only way to view them at ground level is at low tide.

In 1903, one of the three stacks at Flowerpot Island collapsed.

In 2016, part of one of the Hopewell Rocks - Elephant Rock - collapsed.

here is a drone view of the collapse
https://youtu.be/vxNKBukqOOU

for Postcards for the Weekend - landforms

Sunday Stamps II - 122

2011, France, transportation

In 2006 a tram network was opened in Mulhouse, a city in Alsace. By 2010 it also included this hybrid tram-train, a first in France. This is a light rail public transport system that runs on urban tram lines that connect with a main railway line. This stamp shows the tram-train at station Mairie. Each station has a different coloured archway holding the electrical wires.

for a favourite, (or Easter)

A happy Easter

unsent, Easter

featuring lily of the valley and a newly hatched chick, early signs of rebirth and spring

for Postcards for the Weekend

Consider the Lillies

sunday stamps II - 121

1951, Vietnam, Landscapes of Vietnam
designer: Do Hoang Ke

This olive green stamp shows Pongour Waterfall, the biggest of the falls in Dalat. Pongour is surrounded by unspoilt forest about 50 kms from Dalat City. This terrace waterfall is 40 m high and 100 m wide.

for green

Spring with Krtek

 

received 2016, Czech Republic
Krtek, (the Mole) is an animated cartoon created by Zdenek Miler.

for whimsical postcards for the weekend

Sunday Stamps II - 120

2009, Netherlands, Children's Stamp  surcharge
artist: Christian Borstlap

This stamp is one of a series of six for the theme "Let Children Learn" for Children's Stamp which is a charity focused on the promotion of children's eduction. I had no idea what this was meant to portray until finding this site. Each stamp offers a bit of advice with this bit of inspiration "something boring can be beautiful if you look at it upside down"

for something odd or humorous

Mess

received 2017,  from Lithuania
artist Luka Va

Luka Va is from Lithuania, but now lives in Melbourne Australia.
You can read an interview with this quirky artist here.

for Postcards for the Weekend: odd or humorous

Sunday Stamps II - 119

1981, Canada,  Aircraft
based on a painting by Robert Bradford

Between 1937 and 1942, 1500 Tiger Moths were built by de Havilland. The RCAF first used this model for elementary pilot training in 1938 and thousands of pilots  would receive training during during WWII. Many remembered this plane affectionately as a pleasant aircraft to fly. This stamp shows a DH-82C in Second World War trainer-yellow flying over Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

for flying

Sunday Stamps II - 118

1973, Czechoslovakia
graphic designer Karel Svolinsky
engraver Ladislav Jirka

for flowers

fjords

1980s (?) Norway

There are about 1190 fjords in Norway. Some are as short as 2 or 3 kilometres. Sognefjorden is the largest and most well known at 205 kilometres with 12 smaller fjords branching of it. A fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep cliffs created by glacial erosion. Norway's coastline is 29,000 km if all the fjords are included, but only 2,500 km if they are excluded. Fjord is a Norwegian word.

for Postcards for the weekend

a country I would love to visit

Sunday Stamps II - 117

1953, Bermuda

Bermuda lies in the North Atlantic about 1034 miles northeast of Miami, Florida and 768 miles south Sable Island, Nova Scotia. It is actually 181 islands, with a total land mass of 20 square miles. Only eight of the islands are populated. It was discovered in 1503  by the Spanish explorer, Juan de Bermudez. But it wasn't until 1609 when one of a flotilla of British ships was shipwrecked on its way to the colonies in Virginia that the island had any settlement. It is believed that Shakespeare's The Tempest was based on the account of that shipwreck.

for maps

molen

1980s (?) Netherlands

The 19 windmills at Kinderdijk, near Rotterdam, have been a UNESCO site since 1997.
The windmills themselves have been there since 1740.
Although I've been to Holland several times, I've only been to the Rotterdam area once, in 1980.

for Postcards for the Weekend
a favourite country I've visited

Sunday Stamps II - 116

1982, Canada, Heritage Artifacts Series
designer: Jean Morin

A weathercock is a 'wind vane' in the shape of a rooster often used on church steeples, being the highest point in a village, for showing the direction of the wind. Pope Gregory, in the 6th C, declared the cock/rooster to be a symbol of Christianity which may have led to the beginnings of the steeple tradition.

for roosters/chickens

PEI

At 2,190 square miles, it is Canada's smallest province.
It was named for the father of Queen Victoria.


Postcards for the weekend

Sunday Stamps II - 115

 2014, Italy, commemorative

Nutella was first sold in 1964, though it began, in a slightly different form, in 1946. Since chocolate was still rationed due to the war, Pietro Ferrero supplemented the cocoa with hazelnuts which were plentiful where his bakery was located in Piedmont.  Nutella's main ingredients are: sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa. Each tablespoonful has 100 calories.

for the northern hemisphere

Sunday Stampos II - 114

1973, China, Giant Panda

Pandas are native to south central China, primarily in Sichuan province. It is thought that there are fewer than 2,000 living in the wild. Although it's classified as a carnivore and could eat rodents, fish, eggs or insects if it wanted to, giant pandas prefer to eat only bamboo. And they can eat up to 28lbs (12kg) of it in a 12 hour period. They are solitary creatures and their only social encounter is during the very brief mating season. The father has no family ties, leaving the mother to raise her cub alone. A baby panda weighs only 3 or 4 ounces when born which is about 1/800th of its mother's weight. By age one, the cub will weigh around 100lbs (45kgs)

for Eastern Hemisphere

Sunday Stamps II - 113

1984, St Lucia
Green Iguana

The Common Green Iguana, or iguana iguana (not sure why this stamp has it as Iguana iguana iguana) is native to Central and South America and parts of the Caribbean. In spite of its name, they can be found in many other colours from blue to black, lavender or pink. The ones in St Lucia are unique to other iguanas in that they are light green with predominant black stripes, have white or cream coloured irises instead of yellow, and have a black, not orange, dewlap. The females also lay only around 25 eggs whereas other iguanas lay around 50 or more.

for Western Hemisphere

Sunday Stamps II - 112

1968, Rwanda
African National Costumes

Rwanda is a land locked country in the Great Lakes region of Central Eastern Africa and is in the southern and eastern hemisphere. Around 10 million people live there. These stamps from 1968 celebrate some of the national costumes. A mushanana is a traditional ceremonial dress for women and consists of a long, flowing skirt bunched at the hips and draped over one shoulder. Although it used to be worn for everyday wear, it is now more commonly seen on formal occasions such as weddings and funerals.

for the southern hemisphere

Sunday Stamps II - 111

1992 Canada in Space

The Anik E2 telecommunications satellite was launched in 1991 and retired in 2005.  The first Anik was launched in 1972 as the first geostationary communications satellites in the world. The name means little brother in Inuktitut. The stamp design shows earth form space and a remote sensing photograph of an are near Quebec City.

for outer space

For the month of February, I thought we'd take a trip to the four corners of the world. 
Any stamp theme from any country that is located in that week's hemisphere.

Year of the Rooster

January 9th, 2017, Canada

prepaid postcard of domestic rate stamp

The Chinese Year of the Fire Rooster begins on January 28th, 2017.  Rooster (or cock, or chicken) is the only bird among the 12 zodiac symbols.

for Postcards for the Weekend

Sunday Stamps II - 110

Jan 25, 1996 Great Britain for Bicentenary of Rabbie Burns
calligraphy by Peter Horridge
illustration by Graham Evernden

A Red, Red Rose is an amalgam of several traditional ballads that Burns reworked describing a love that is both fresh and long lasting. To this day it remains as a testament to the pain of a lover's parting. This set of four stamps commemorating the Immortal Bard was issued on his birthday on the 200th anniversary year of his death. The others in the series each have a line of verse in different calligraphy with an accompanying illustration.

O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June
My luve's like  melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
O deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear
Till all the seas gang dry.

Till all the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rock melt wi' the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear
While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only Luve!
And fare thee weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile.

for books/authors

For the month of February, I thought we'd take a trip to the four corners of the world. 
Any stamp theme from any country that is located in that week's hemisphere.

Aloha

c 1950s postcard folder
Sunset on Diamond Head

Diamond Head is on the island of Oahu, near Waikiki

for sunrise/sunset at Postcards for the Weekend

Sunday Stamps II - 109

2014, Russia, Olympics - curling

Curling is played by sliding heavy granite stones (rocks) across an iced surface (sheet). It was invented in Scotland in the early 16th C. It was also one of the first sports girls and women enjoyed playing. 1998 was the first year that curling was officially included in the Olympics and in 2018, besides the men's and women's teams, there will also be mixed doubles teams.

In 2014 the winners were:

(Women) Canada (G), GB (S), Sweden (B)

(Men) Canada (G), Sweden (S), GB (B).

for winter sports

Sunday Stamps II - 108

2012, Germany, Christmas welfare stamp

The chapel in this stamp is in Elmau/Oberbayern, Bavaria on the grounds of the Schloss Elmau.

The money from the extra n25cents postage goes to the Federal Association of Voluntary Welfare which helps low income people in need of more than what the government provides.

for winter white

Sunday Stamps II - 107

1998 Czech Republic

This black grouse is turning its back on the year that was.
Unfortunately, these have been in decline for the last 5-6 years and are now rare birds in the Czech Republic.

for a favourite stamp

Sunday Stamps II - 106

2007, Ireland

Merry Christmas!

his night

hang up the stocking
turn out the light
make way for Santa
this is his night

Sunday Stamps II - 105

2011, Finland, Christmas "Light in the Window"
1st class overseas
designers: Aino-Maija Metsola and Georgi Eremenko

Aino-Maija Metsola is a Helsinki based illustrator and graphic designer (married to designer Georgi Eremenko) known for her bold colours and repetitive patterns. She is currently an in-house illustrator and designer for Marimekko.

for a secular Christmas

Sunday Stamps II - 104

1965 Switzerland
designer: Edi Hauri

Edi Hauri (1911-88) was from Basel and a prolific graphic designer whose works included travel posters, maps and stamps. The Matterhorn straddles the main watershed and the border of Switzerland and Italy. It overlooks the Swiss town of Zermatt and the Italian town of Breuli-Cervinia. In Italian it is known as Monte Cervino  At 4,478 metres (or 14692 feet) it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps and in Europe.

for mountains

Sunday Stamps II - 103

2001, Botswana joint issue with South Africa

The two stamps on this souvenir sheet are of a leopard and a bat eared fox. Though leopards are the most common cat in Botswana, they are also the most elusive. The bat eared fox is also known as the cape fox and is the only known true fox in southern Africa. It is also a prey of the leopard. Off on the upper right are some kudus, a type of antelope known for its twisting horns.  Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park was created in 1999 with South Africa. It is a 37,000 sq km protected area that borders both countries with three quarters of the area within Botswana.  The animals are free to roam their ancient migration routes without encountering any fences.

for wild animals

Sunday Stamps II - 102

1998, US,  Celebrate the Century series
illustrated by Richard Waldrep

Binney & Smith developed its wax crayons in 1903 which were branded as Crayola - a name derived from 'craie', French for chalk and 'ola' from oily, or oleaginous, continuing with the popularity at the time of commercial brand names ending with 'ola' (Mazola, Victrola, granola, pianola). Crayola is sold in over 80 countries, though most of the crayons are made in the US. Crayons are sticks of coloured wax, chalk and charcoal. This stamp features the Gold Medal box - the award was won in for their dustless chalk at the 1904 World's Fair. The first box of No 8 crayons had eight colours. You can find a comprehensive list of all the colours ever produced by Crayola here.

for 20th century inventions

Sunday Stamps II - 101

2013 Canada Children's Literature
illustrator and author: Marie-Louise Gay

This stamp features the cover illustration from the book Read Me A Story, by Marie-Louise Gay. The series of books, first published in 1999, tells of nine year old Stella and her four year old brother Sam. Stella has a wild imagination and Sam is curious and inquisitive. In this story Stella introduces her younger brother to the pleasures of reading. It's been described as a model of positive sibling relations and the way books and stories can play into everyday life.

for: children

Sunday Stamps II - 100

1994, Saint Lucia, 

Commemorating the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War from 1938 until 1949 when it became the Women's Royal Army Corps.  All women who were in the army were in the ATS with the exception of nurses and other medical officers. They were attached to the Territorial Army and received two thirds the pay of the male soldiers. By 1941 there were 65,000 women in the ATS from the ages of 17-50.

for war and peace

Sunday Stamps II - 99

2016, USA, National Parks Service Centenary
photo by Art Wolfe

Photographer Art Wolfe described this shot as "perfectly backlit bison standing on a small rise in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley". It was taken at dawn on a cold winter's night in February, 2000.  This was the last of the 16 Forever stamps issued this year in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the National Parks Service. Yellowstone became a National Park in 1872 as the first national park in the US (it is also considered as possibly the first in the world) and previous to 1916 was managed by the US Army. The free ranging bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the States. Mostly in Wyoming, the park (and, presumably, the bison) also extends into Montana and Idaho.

for fireworks, or night views

jack-o-lantern

2016, USA Halloween
carved by Paul Montanari
photographed by Sally Andersen-Bruce
designed by Derry Noyes

The Forever Jack-O-Lantern stamps are the first Halloween themed stamps by the USPS.

Folklorists trace the name to a scoundrel named jack who meets up with the Devil. Jack unscrupulously tricks the Devil which prevents him from going to Heaven. The Devil is infuriated by the trickery and refuses to carry jack's soul to Hell. With nowhere to go after he dies, jack wanders the earth with a lantern made from a hollowed out pumpkin (or turnip) lit by an ember from the fires of Hell.

Sunday Stamps II - 98

2016, Australia Fair Dinkum Aussie Alphabet Series
S for South Australia
artist: Gavin Ryan

The idea is for Australians to "grab a magnifying glass" and attempt to see how many hidden names, places and treasures can be found on each stamp. This one shows (apart from the three men and a baby) a snail, shark, surf, sandcastle, starfish and a sausage. Once you know that each thing on the stamp will correspond to the designated letter, and that all can be found in that letter's state (in this case South Australia) it sort of makes sense. Except for the angry looking dad taking over the building of the 'sandcastle' that looks more like a bridge than a castle. And the little girl feeding a sausage to a shark. And would any self respecting surfer dude carry his surfboard in a shopping cart?

(I accidentally passed my postcard on before checking to see if my photo of the stamp was clear. It wasn't. So this one is from the website.)

for the bizarre or unexplainable

Sunday Stamps II - 97

1984 NABA ZURI National stamp show Jun 22 - July 1
 se-tenant stamp showing a panorama view of Zurich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and was 'founded' by the Romans in 15BC, though there is evidence it was settled more than 6400 years ago. Each stamp shows one of the four major churches in the old town. On the far right you can see the Grossmünster, followed by the Predigerkirche, St Peter's and the Fraümunster. The Limmat river and the Münsterbrucke are front and centre.

Sunday Stamps II - 96

2005, Russia, gastronomy
designer: V Larichkin

For 2005, the Europa theme was gastronomy and Russia chose to showcase a typical feast that includes a samovar with tea, a stack of blinis (pancakes) and pots of caviar. A samovar is a metal container with a spigot at the bottom and is used to heat water usually for tea. These are usually quite ornate and the older ones are prized for their workmanship. Blinis are thin, light pancakes often served covered with butter, sour cream, honey, or caviar. Blinis are often served for celebrations.

for foods of the world

Sunday Stamps II - 95

1990, Canada for Canada Post Corporation

This is how the Canada Post delivery vans looked in the late 1980s and 1990s. The Post Office department was known as Royal Mail Canada from 1867 until the late 1960s when it was rebranded as Canada Post. The short from of the official name was known as Poste Mail in Quebec and Mail Poste in English Canada, although now it is Canada Post (English) and Postes Canada (French). Canada Post delivers to a larger area than the postal service of any other country in the world. In 2014, a controversial plan to phase out door-to-door delivery was initiated, although already any subdivisions built after 1985 were having to go to 'community mailboxes' to pick up their mail.

for postal related