Churches

 

1994: Cathedrals (Design - Yu Artsimenev)

The glory of St Basil's Cathedral in Red Square, Moscow

1990: Village Churches from Jutland

to the humble village church, but as every church-crawler knows however humble there is always something to admire. L-R (3.5) Gjellerup Church, above the door is the :Latin  inscription "In 1150 the church was founded in the honour of God", this makes it the oldest dated building in Denmark. 4.75 Veng, the oldest monastery church in Denmark, built by the Benedictines around 1100; 8.25- Bredsten church was constructed in the 1100s  and redesigned in the baroque style in the 18th Century. 

2003: The Church of Kumlinge (Design - Pirkko Nahtero)

Travel to Aland and the isolated  St Anne's church located in the middle of the island of Kumlinge. One of the big draws for visitors are the 15th Century wall and ceiling paintings and the oldest alter piece in Finland (1250).

1991 Discount Stamps: Skansen 100 Years (Design - A Oldenburg)

The old wooden church in the village of Seglora was due for demolition when a stone church was built to replace it however it was saved and moved to Skansen in 1916.  Today it is a popular place for weddings.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Places of Worship - pray visit See It On A Postcard

Black Birds

 

1985: Native Birds

A conservation success, in 1980 the Black Robin had the smallest population of any bird species due to non-native predators. Today there is a stable population of about 300 on two New Zealand islands.

1998|: |Pro Juventute

No such problems with the Great Crested Grebe, estimated to have a global population of over a million.

1970: Birds

Common Black Hawk, also known as the Crab Hawk for its food choices are -  crabs, crayfish and amphibians. It hunts low along streams and sometimes wading in the water.

St Vincent have Queen Elizabeth on their bank notes and stamps so like us will be seeing many changes. 

1987: 40th Anniv of Wedding of Queen Elizabeth and 150th Anniv of Queen Victoria's Accession

The Queen and the christening of Prince Charles, we will have to get used to calling him King Charles. Weird to hear the national anthem as God Save the King at her Remembrance service in St Paul's Cathedral this week  She had a unique relationship to St Vincent as in all her duties  relating to the islands she spoke an acted as their constitutional monarch - Queen of St Vincent and the Grenadines and not as Queen of the UK.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Black - See It On A Postcard

Having Fun

 

2013: Town Festivals (Design - Linda Olafsdottir)

Having fun at the festivals across Iceland.  There must be lots to enjoy for they issued another set the following year.

1972: 150th Anniversary of the Carnival in Cologne (Design - Erna de Vries)

On a different scale is one of Germany's biggest carnivals in Cologne. Described as "A celebration crazier than Oktoberfest", six days of mayhem, no wonder there are clowns on the stamp.

1979: Quebec Carnival (Design - Antoine Dumas)

Wrap up warm it is the largest winter festival in the world in Quebec. Seen waving at the back is the carnivals mascot - Bonhomme Carnaval, who also gets his own ice palace!

1978: Christmas (Design - Faith Jaques)

Time to go indoors and dance around a tree singing carols

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Festivals, People having a good time - See It On A Postcard 

Coastal Flowers

 

1999: Coastal Flowers (Design - Wayne Rankin; Cover Design - Melinda Coombs)

 

A day for the seaside here, warm with blue skies but I travel by stamps to the sandy coasts of Australia where flowers play a role in the forming and stabilising the dunes while looking beautiful.

The flowers are clockwise - Fuchsia;  the yellow trailing Guinea flower; Australian Bluebells which occur throughout southeastern Australia and Beach Morning Glory.

2021: The Calf of Man - 70th Anniversary of the Manx National Trust

One of a set of stamps celebrating the Calf of Man, a small island just off the southwest coast of the Isle of Man, a nature reserve and bird observatory, the flower they chose for the stamp set was Thrift or Sea Pink, a familiar plant of wild coasts, although people grow it in their gardens too, a very accommodating plant. 

1997: 19th Century Flower Paintings

 

Some more garden flowers captured in art - Blue Gentian

This painting is of a flower grown from a Brazilian bulb in a London hot house - Hippeastrum rutilum, one of the many species of Amaryllis from South America.

Fuchsia and a tulip

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Flowers - in boom at See It On A Postcard

Birds

2012: Poultry (Design - T Lindstrom)

 Agricultural Shows are still in full swing and they always include various competitions for poultry. There is a mind blowing number of classes for hard and soft feather varieties and it is all for glory as the prize money is minuscule.  These Swedish cockerels and hens look fine enough to show.

Top - Heather Hen, very hardy with a dense downy plumage and thick undercoat; Old Swedish Dwarf Hen 

Bottom - Swedish Flower hen an endangered breed; Painted Hen

2016: Birds - White-tailed Eagle

Any one of them would make a nice snack for this fellow, Sweden's largest bird of prey.

1995: Wild Birds

Nothing for them to fear here in the forest with the beautiful red-billed streamertail.

1998: Endangered Birds

Some more pretty birds - Aquatic Warblers; Ferruginous Ducks and Hen Harriers

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - birds - fly over to See It On A Postcard

Trees

 

2000: The Forest (Design - Ingalill Axelsson)

A forest of silver birch, beautiful and resilient. The other stamp is a very important subject in the 'Right of Public Access' and to be able to enjoy a  shady walk in summer anywhere

1970: Tourist Publicity (Design - Claude Durrens)

or dream of relaxing under palm trees on a tropical island.

Preferring something cooler?

2017: Green Mann (Design - Nicola Dixon)

Aren't trees wonderful.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Trees - more to admire on  See It On A Postcard

Cool

 

1979: Landscapes

One may travel to Greece for the sun, which is what I would like to do now. The weather here at the moment is best described as changeable, however a heatwave from the south is promised for the week ahead. Meanwhile for those of you in hotter places here is a cooling view, I start with the snow on Parnassus.

1989: Swedish Polar Research - 250th Anniversary of the Royal Academy of Science

Always reliably cool in the polar regions.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Snow/Winter Themes - keep cool at See It On A Postcard