Australia Post issues a small number of stamps for Norfolk Island each year. For flora and fauna collectors, it’s a bonanza of beautiful stamps.
Initially, I listed Norfolk with Australia’s stamps, but as time moved along, I realised they needed their own listing. Like many things in life, this project has evolved far beyond what I envisioned at the beginning of the new year. If you’d like to support Bitter Grounds, check out the info at the bottom of the page. Subscribe, support and enjoy.
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I waited to post Finland’s 2021 stamps because I was secretly hoping a few Moomins would appear. So far, not one in site. Guess I’ll have to write a separate article on Finland’s memorable Moomins and be content with the set Posti issued last year. Oh, and if you’ve never encountered Tove Jansson’s magnificent Moomins, this is what they look like:
Stamp collecting needs a patron saint and I think the Hemulens from the Moomin world should be nominated. Hemulens are obsessive stamp collectors who become annoyed when disturbed. Sound familiar? Should we start a petition? Hemulen: get to know the lovable creatures of Moominvalley
Bless my tail! Whatever next! (Moominpapa in Fin Famiily Moomintroll)
But I digress. Finland offers up a great hunting ground for thematic collectors – especially if they enjoy whimsy. It took me forever to settle down to write this article because of the treasure trove of great sites I found while researching Finnish philately. Over the next few weeks, I’ll chase down more information designers, especially the numerous awards they’ve won.
Discussing a few of Finland’s 2021 stamps
There are a couple of stamps I want to draw your attention to. The first is the 2021 Europa FDC It’s a full colour, dramatic extravaganza. Petteri Mattila managed to incorporate all elements of this year’s theme into one cover.
Mattila managed to squeeze all the habitats onto one rectangle without sacrificing details. I’ve seen a lot of First Day Covers, but this one is a real attention grabber.
The second set represents a vastly different design appeal. It’s strength is it’s simplicity and use of white space. The stamps, Glass Art, showcased The Finnish Post Office’s 5th annual Art Prize winner. The competition’s purpose is “to raise the status of stamps and art and increase people’s appreciation of them.” This year’s winner was glass artist, Alma Jantunen. She specialises in creating plant life as glass art. Her work is featured on two stamps showing titled Fruit Bottles and Cactus Pigga, due out in the fall.
People often ask how long it takes. A glass vessel can be made in a minute, but learning how to make it takes years. I throw away pieces that aren’t good enough; sometimes everything breaks. It takes a lot of work to obtain high quality where the design turns out well. Discover Alma Jantunen, artisan Glassblower in Nuutajärvi – Homo Faber Guide.
If you have access to Netflix, check to see if your country is streaming the Canadian show Blown Away. It’s a glassblowing competition currently showing it’s second season.
Quick note on cancels
I’m not happy with the quality of the cancels I’ve used in this article. Although Finland’s post office is first rate in supplying images, they don’t offer much in the way of cancels, so I’ve kind of muddled along with clipping them from FDCs. My apologies to cancel hounds, I’ll try to remedy that as soon as possible.
Now onto the Finland’s 2021 stamp offerings. Enjoy Finland, I certainly did.
January
Finnish Journalists’ Association 100 years
1 stamp, sheet of 10, FDC, cancel
Designer: Ilkka Kärkkäinen Kärkkäinen designed last year’s cheeky “You are what you read stamps” (see below). He was Finland’s Graphic Designer of the Year in 2003. Helsinki Design Week featured him in their March 2021 article.
Release date: January 20, 2021
Greeting flowers – traditional Finnish perennial ornamental plants
2 stamps, FDC, cancel, booklet of two
Designer: Oona Himanen Previous stamp designs include 2020 Spring Rhyme / Migratory birds, 2019 Kalla lilly plant
Release date: January 20, 2021
Flower garden
2 stamps, sheet of 10, FDC, cancel
Designer: Paula Salviander Previous designs include 2020 Wildflowers and Christmas, 2019 Winter Wonders and Frosty Day, 2016 Red House
Salviander’s 2020 wildflowers issues won 3rd place in Finland’s “Most Beautiful Stamp of 2020” competition.
“The stamp year begins with Valentine’s Day postmarks showing fairy tale-like animals and colourful patterns formed by flowers” Posti press release
Release date: January 20, 2021
April
Lotta Svärd – 100 years of social responsibility
2 stamps, booklet of 10, FDC, cancel
Designer: Klaus Welp The photographs in the two stamps were picked from the Lotta Museum’s extensive photographic collection that contains over 25,000 photos.
Release date: April 28, 2021
Holiday
1 stamp, sheet of 10, FDC, cancel
Designer: Klaus Welp Welp has designed over 100 stamps for the Finnish Post Office. A few my favourite designs include the 2020’s Europa Ancient Postal Routes, Two Hearts, 2018 Finnish Flavours and 2015 Moomins
At the same time, the stamp celebrates Klaus Welp’s extensive career as a stamp designer, as it is already one hundred stamps designed by Welp. Known as a versatile graphic designer and photographer, Welp’s stamps have seen many different topics on a wide scale.
“My favourites include Tove Jansson’s 100th birthday marks, whose work process I experienced particularly strongly. Different environmental themes have also been close to my heart,” Welp says.
Klaus Welp has designed e.g. The most beautiful Wilderness Bridge postage stamp voted the most beautiful in Finland, which also came second in the Europe-wide competition for EUROPA stamps in 2018.
Posti News release: April stamps celebrate lottery and postcard 21.1.21
Release date: April 28, 2021
Postcard 150 years
6 stamps, sheet of 6, FDC, cancel
Designers: Susanna Rumpu and Ari Lakaniemi Rumpu and Lakaniemi have designed a number of stamps together, including the winner of the “Most Beautiful Stamp of 2013” for their Europa: Mail Delivery Vehicles. They also designed the 2007’s Moomin series. You can never have too many Moomins in your life.
Release date: April 28, 2021
Europa: Endangered Animals 3rd in series titled Endangered Animals
3 stamps, FDC, cancel
Finland chose the theme “flying or gliding endangered animals and insects”
Kingfisher
Large Pollo Butterfly
Flying Squirrel
Designer: Petteri Mattila Mattila also designed the previous 2 issues in this series in 2018 and 2016.
Glass art: Alma Janntte
The Finnish Post Office awarded the 2021 art prize to glass blower Alma Jantte, who’s work is featured on these two stamps. Designer: Paula Salviander
Release date: September 8, 2021
Autumn kajo
5 stamps on a miniature sheet
Photographer: Jukka Risikko
All photos were taken in South Ostrobothnia around the town Lapua.
Albert Edelfelt’s Playing Boys on the Beach (1884)
Akseli Gallen-Kallela Skaters on Kalela Beach (1896)
Helene Schjerfbeck’s Convalescent (1888)
Eero Järnefelt’s Landscape from Koli (1930)
Juho Rissanen’s Avanno’s Onkijat (1900)
Hugo Simberg’s Sheep Girl (1913)
Ferdinand von Wright’s Fighting Metsos (1886)
Järnefelt’s artwork should resonate with admirers’ of the Canadian Group of 7 painters. His work shares the same rugged appeal that captures northern landscapes so well. If you are unfamiliar with trees and northern climates take a look at en – Koli.fi, where the painting was done. Canadians should feel right at home with the landscape. Wikipedia has a pretty good write up of the artist: Eero Järnefelt – Wikipedia.
Designer: Ilkka Kärkkäinen
Release date: September 8, 2021
November
Christmas 2021
3 stamps
Red stopper bird
Northern lights
Christmas Lights
Designer: Klaus Welp
Release date: November 3, 2021
First Snow
2 stamps, sheets of 10
Designer: Matti Pikkujämsä
Release date: November 3, 2021
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If you like Finland’s stamps, you might enjoy Faroe Islands as well:
Let’s return to one of my favourites – Namibia Post. I’ve been lurking around their site quite a bit because it has so much information and as a bonus, is easy to navigate. That can’t be said for a lot of post office sites. Yea, that’s my big hobby horse, badly designed post office websites. Occasionally I feel like I’m playing a game of hide the stamps.
Namibian naturalist, artist and photographer Helge Denker is single handily responsible for his all NamPost’s beautiful animal and bird stamps. His current designs (see here) for 2021, Snipes and Mustelids (polecats, weasels etc.), are typical of his work. Clean, detailed and informative. What I enjoy most is the little snippets of information about each animal or bird is printed on the First Day Covers. Denker has a design philosophy that will sound familiar to anyone who hangs around my site – he views stamps as representatives of the countries they come from as well:
Postage stamps are miniature ambassadors. They travel around the world promoting their country and heritage. And they are miniature works of art. They portray the essence of so many faucets of nature, culture and society. They can capture so much within that tiny format. And so, a philatelic artist is part artist, part designer, part scientist, part ambassador. A wonderful profession – or a nightmare, depending on the theme and the deadline. Welcome to Wild Heart Journeys (helgedenker.com)
But my friends, we aren’t here to discuss lions, we are here to appreciate the small, but lovely African Barbet. There were so many birds on Namibian stamps to choose from, I had difficulties narrowing down to one set. I opted for the little Barbet. I have a preference for tough little birds. Barbets belong to a large family that ranges all over the world. The African Barbets include 42 species across the continent. At an average of 7″ in length, they are more medium-ish sized, but it still fits within my “little bird” parameters. Barbets are described as “medium sized, chunky, generally colorful, frugivorous, hole-nesting near-passerines” Africa’s Barbets – 10,000 Birds (10000birds.com). They also eat lots of bugs too. I prefer to think of them as stout little birds rather than chunky medium ones. But I suspect the Barbets don’t care, one way or the other.
Namibia Post 2017 Barbets of Africa
A small family of distinctive birds, barbets are stout little creatures with powerful bills and – for their small body size – large
heads. They live in pairs and feed mostly on fruits and insects. Their preference for fruit tends to restrict their range to countryside with
natural or introduced fruit trees, with wild figs an absolute favourite. All barbets excavate their own nests in the thick branches or trunks
of trees, using their bills as wood chisels 2017 NamPost Brochure_FINAL2.pdf
Helge Denker designed each of the stamps and the visually appealing cover. If you go to Namibia Post, you’ll quickly recognise his artwork spread over the years. This little fellow on the left, on the cover below, is the Acacia Pied Barbet.
Namibia Post First Day cover with set of three & cancel
And here he is on full display:
Acacia Pied Barbet
They can be found from the semi-arid savannas to the grasslands. Acacias have also moved into more urban settings and can be found flitting about gardens now. I found a clip of the Acacia’s sound:
And here is the Black Collared Barbet. I was fascinated to read they are “monomorphic”, which means there is little (if any) difference between male and female. That should confuse more than a few bird watchers.
Black Collared Barbet
There call has been described as “too-puddly too-puddly too-puddly” or “too-doodle too-doodle”. I wisely decided to find an audio clip to help with actual call.
Finally the Crested Barbet, according to The Atlas for Southern African Birds, can be found on the savannahs, woodlands, urban areas and grasslands throughout Namibia.
Crested Barbet
Of course I couldn’t leave out the call of a Crested Barbet.
A bit of a short dive into birds of Africa, but a fun one. I’ve already picked out more bird stamps from Namibia for future articles. The artwork is delightful and I can’t wait to return to them.
This page is dedicated to bird watchers everywhere.
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Time to look at Romania 2021 stamp issues. And if there’s one thing Romania does well, it’s art stamps. They have a long history of issuing great works of art on stamps and it’s so exciting to see Romanian artists showcased. That’s one thing I love about stamps, it’s fun to learn about a different country, whether it’s the wildlife, history or people, there’s always something.
Take a little extra time on the Theodor Pallady issues. I’m especially fond of his Paris Street scene. The stamp design does away with the traditional faming and allows the painting to take over the entire scene. It’s a well done bit of eye candy. The other series that stands out is the Ciprian Porumbescu, musician and composer. Some of his music can be found on YouTube, but I’ve kick started your journey with a link to a piece he wrote, a ballad for violin & orchestra. It’s a calm and charming piece of music. I listened to it while setting up this article and realised I now have a new musician to add to my list.
I’m trying something a bit different or thematic collectors. A number of the subjects have appeared on previous issues and I’m trying to post the information. Tons of stamps to comb through, so please be patient.
More information please
I’ve tried to supply some information for you, and will be adding more in the coming months. It’s not easy finding good English language sources on many of the subjects, which is a crying shame. I lurk around Romanian language sites and use Google or Bing translate, but I can only ask so much of you. I’ll find some new sources. I’ll let you in on a secret, I have pages on Romania bookmarked and go visit them quite often. It’s one of those countries, off the beaten path that would be great to explore. Maybe one day I’ll get there. Well now, that’s not a secret any more.
Oh, and I’m still researching the stamp designers. I’ll have details soon.
January
Collections of Lost Museums – Simu Museum
4 stamps, 4 sheets of 4, 2 FDCs, cancel
Simu Museum (founded by Anastase and Elena Simu) was opened May 21, 1910 and held 624 works of art. It continued to grow over the years, and held a large collection of Romanian art.
In 1960, the Communist government tore the building down and dispersed the collection to two museums.
The works of art represented in these four stamps are: Anastase Simu, a bust sculpted by Frederick Storck; a still life painted by Marius Bunescu: Pears; a Marine painting by Eugen Voinescu; Venice, work of the painter Stefan Popescu.
The Bucharest Museum has a short video featuring photos of the Simus as well as the museum. Although no in English, it is easy to follow and understand. Translations aren’t really needed.
The following pages are in Romanian. Most English language pages on these artists are brief to the point of being useless. Use Google translate.
Mihai Eminescu: poet Mihai Eminescu – Wikipedia
Some of his poems have been translated and you can try them here Mihai Eminescu – Poems by the Famous Poet – All Poetry
Previously portrayed on stamps: 1989 – Personalities, 1950 – 100th Birthday of Eninescu and 1975 – 125th birthday, 2000 – 150th birthday (great souvenir sheet)
Designer: Mihail Vămăşescu
Release date: Jan 15, 2021
The passions of the Kings of Romania (I)
POSTMARK PLACE: Bucharest
4 stamps, 4 sheets of 5, FDCs, Maxi cards, cancels
Carol I (born 1839 – died 1914; Ruler of Romania 1866-1881; King of Romania 1881-1914)
Ferdinand I (born 1865 – died 1927; King of Romania 1914-1927)
Carol II (born October 15th, 1893 – died April 4th, 1953; King of Romania 1930-1940)
Mihai I (born 1921 – died 2017; King of Romania 1927-1930, 1940-1947)
One of the most beautiful and rich natural areas in our country, the so-called Delta of Moldova, includes the Jijia and Miletin Ponds and was recently declared the first Ramsar site in the Region of Moldova (the Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty on wetlands of international importance especially as waterfowl habitat). It consists of a variety of habitats located in the lower part of the Jijia River, before it empties into the Prut River. Among the wet habitats here, we mention rivers, temporary ponds, reeds, grassy swamps. They are bordered by pastures, brushwood and even predominantly traditionally cultivated arable land.
This area of 19,432.5 ha is home to 225 species of birds, of which 140 species nest here, and during migration can provide a resting place for over 40,000 individuals. Romfilatelia – O lume intr-un timbru- DELTA OF MOLDOVA
Designer: George Ursachi
Release date: Feb. 3, 2021
Fauna – Falcons
POSTMARK PLACE: Bucharest
4 stamps, 4 mini sheets of 5, FDC, cancel, 4 Maxi card
I found this great video on Smaranda Brăescu. Although it’s in Romanian, it’s very easy to follow and you get to see rare footage of her. She’s a fascinating woman who doesn’t get the recognition she deserves. This video was posted first on my newsletter. If you sign up for it, you get all the news about this site direct to your mailbox, with a bonus first view special link. Click here and use the sign up box in the middle of the page.
Flora from national reserves
POSTMARK PLACE: Bucharest
4 stamps, 4 mini sheets of 5, FDC, cancel, sheets of 28 tete-beche, numbered blocks of 4, limited run (231 issues) philatelic folders
Silver Marius Vasile Cozmiuc and Ciprian Tudosa Rowing Men’s Double Sculls
Silver Mihaita Vasile Tiganescu, Mugurel Vasile Semciuc, Stefan Constantin Berariu and Cosmin Pascari – Men’s Coxless Four
Designer: Mihail Vămășescu
Release date: August 18, 2021
Flamingos
4 stamps, FDC, cancel, 4 mini sheets of 5 , 4 full sheets, folder
Andean flamingo
Chilean flamingo
lesser flamingo
pink flamingo
Designer: Razvan Popescu
Release date: August 25, 2021
September
Romania’s Cities – Targu Mures
4 stamps, FDC, cancel, mini sheets of 6, full sheets
Administrative Palace in Targu Mures
Medieval Citadel in Targu Mures
Palace of Culture
“Bolyai Farkas” High-School
Designer: Mihail Vămășescu
Release date: September 2, 2021
European Year of the Rail
4 stamps, 2 FDCs, cancel, 4 mini sheets of 5 stamps, 4 sheets of 28, folder
Resicza” no. 2 steam locomotive, the first built in Southeast Europe, in 1872, at the Resita locomotive factory
DMU in the new Henri Coanda Airport Rail station from Otopeni, from which transport with direct trains has been provided to the Bucharest North station beginning with the 2020/2021 timetable
060 DA type modernized diesel locomotive, with a 2100 HP power, model built in Romania between 1959 and 1988 and modernised between 2000 and 2007
41 series 060 EA electric locomotive, with a 5100 kW power, model built in Romania between 1964 and 1991
Designer: George Ursachi
Release date: September 10, 2021
Paralympic Medal Winners
2 stamps, 2 mini sheets of 6, 2 sheets of 28
Alexandru Bologa, winner of the bronze medal in the judoka event in the 60 kg category. He won bronze at Rio 2016 games. Mr Bologa holds a degree in psychology from the Babeș-Bolyai University.
“When I started in 2012 I didn’t know too much about judo. Since then I have improved a lot as an athlete and as a person. It is a very complete sport.” (paralympic.org, 19 Jun 2021; Athlete, 01 Apr 2016)
Photographer: Rafal Borza Designer: Mihail Vămășescu
Release date: September 16, 2021
Turtles
4 stamp, FDC, cancel, 4 maxi cards, 4 mini sheets of 5, 4 sheets of 28
Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) – found in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Vulnerable species
Chinese stripe-necked turtle (Mauremys sinensis) – found in China, Laos, Taiwan and Vietnam. Endangered species
Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca ibera) – found in northern Africa, southwest Asia and southern Europe, and the subspecies ibera is present in southern Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and even Iran. Endangered species
Horsfield’s tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii) – found in arid regions of Central Asia. Vulnerable species
Yellow-spotted Amazon River turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) – on FDC. Found along the Amazon basin and Orinoco rivers.
Designer: Razvan Popescu
Release date: September 22, 2021
Exotic Pigeons
4 stamps FDC, cancel, 4 maxi cards, 4 mini sheets of 5, 4 sheets of 28
jambu fruit dove (Ptilinopus jambu) – found in Thailand, Malaysia, and Brunei. Endangered species.
Victoria crowned pigeon (Goura victoria) – found New Guinea Island and the surrounding islands. Near endangered species.
common emerald dove (Chalcophaps indica) – found South-East Asia and the Indian subcontinent
Nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) – found on islands in Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean and coast of South-East Asia. Near endangered species.
thick-billed green pigeon (Treron curvirostra) – on FDC. Found South-east Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
The Europa 2021 Endangered Wildlife issues offer a stunning array of bugs, birds ‘n mammals to round up. Any collector of animals on stamps will be in paradise with this multi national European contest. I waited until a substantial number of stamps became available before cobbling things together and now, finally, there is a lot to love here. I’m sure I’ve missed a country or two. I’ll eventually scoop them up in my next sweep of Europa stamps.
EUROPA 2021 – Endangered Wildlife
Each year a theme is picked and all members can compete. Competition breaks down into 2 categories:
Juried
Popular
Voting will take place next year, so be sure to bookmark this site to find the winners. When voting opens I’ll post a link. You can vote for your favourite stamp here: EUROPA 2021 (posteurop.org)
Last year’s theme was Ancient Postal Routes, which offered some creative takes on mail delivery. Although my choices didn’t win, I’m actually thrilled with the winners. I’ll cover this in a separate article. Otherwise this will turn into one of those interminably long slogs for you.
I haven’t come close to finishing the list. Some issues haven’t been released and some have sparse information attached. There is a lot of work left to do on this page which means it’ll be continuously updated throughout the year, as I have with the Year of the Ox list. I am still sourcing good links for you about each animal. Part of the purpose of this series is to educate the public about endangered wildlife and to that end, I’ll share information on the various critters listed below.
A few days ago, I was chatting with a friend and she remarked that it was nice to see the “non cuddly” wildlife honoured. Its easy to draw attention to the puffins and adorable mice. It’s harder to get people to understand why beetles and frogs are so vital. Although I think Germany did a spectacular job with their Beetles. The stamps in this series do an admirable job in showcasing the diversity of species under threat. I’ll do my bit and try to give you some good information.
I’m thinking of running a poll on which will be the winner. I’ll work on it over the next week and if I like the way it looks, throw it up here.
These stamps are for local delivery only. Turkish Cyprus stamps aren’t recognised by the UPU, nor is it a member of the Universal Postal Union or POSTEUROP.
The wildcat is one of Czech rarest mammals. The difference between the wildcat and the domestic cat is readily apparent: the wild species is larger, mostly due to the longer and thicker hair. The fur colour is typically grey-brown to grey-yellow with distinct stripes on the back, legs, and tail. The shape, length, and the way the wild and the domestic species hold the tail also differ. The wildcat has a larger head, clearly smaller ears, and long sensitive whiskers.
In the Czech Republic, the wildcat usually lives in deciduous or mixed forests in low-lying mountainous or hilly areas. What it needs is a place to hide in, such as rock crevices, cavities in old massive trees, or abandoned fox and badger burrows. Future issues – Česká pošta (ceskaposta.cz)
Designer: Jaromír and Libuše Knotkovi
Previous designs: EUROPA: National Birds – Common kingfisher and the 2020 Songbirds around us series I, II & III and Honeybees as well as numerous wildlife issues over the past 6 years.
Jaromír Knotek was born on 18 February 1949 in Kladno. He is a Czech painter, graphic artist, and illustrator, whose art includes scientific illustrations. He and his wife, illustrator Libuše Knotková, also designed many postage stamps.
Libuše Knotková was born on 23 May 1949. Her father, Ladislav Jirka, made a significant contribution to the history and development of Czech stamp design.
Libuše and Jaromír Knotek resumed the family tradition and designed multiple Czech stamps as well as drawings for first day covers
Issue Plan of Czech Postage Stamp Issues 2020, p. 13
Designer: : Broll and Prascida Broll & Prascida have designed stamps for both France and Andorra (FR) Visit their extensive portfolio online to see their delicately detailed work. Cancel: Florence Gendre Gendre is an accomplished water colourist and member of Société Française d’Illustration Botanique (SFIB)
Release date: May 25, 2021
Georgia
Krtsanisi Forest Park, Tbilisi
2 stamps, souvenir sheet
Endangered pistachio tree with a gazelle and bald eagle.
A postage stamp created under the auspices of the European Union of National Post Operators “Post Europe” has been in circulation since October, depicting an endangered Cyprus turpentine tree, Goitered gazelle and bald eagle. The public presentation of the stamp was held in Krtsanisi Forest Park, within the framework of which 150 seedlings of Cyprus turpentine tree were planted, and a photo exhibition organized by “National Geographic” was held. Presentation of Postage Stamp Created under Auspices of Post Europe Held in Krtsanisi Park – Georgia Today
Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) | Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis)
2 stamps, FDC, cancel, booklet
For the first time, the EUROPA Greek stamps are designed by students of the Athens School of Fine Arts who have attended the class “Graphic Arts – Stamp” from the Engraving Department, taught by Dr. Myrsini Vardopoulou and supervised by Prof. Yannis Gourzis
The design used a main feature of Engraving, namely breaking down the drawing into lines. “Thus, we have achieved a different artistic approach; one could say that it directly refers to old copperplate engraving stamps, but in combination with modern techniques. The most important aspect of this work is the clarity of the drawing”, points outs the teacher. ELTA > Company > Press Office > Press releases
2 stamps, self-adhesive booklets, blocks of 4, 2 sheets of 10, 3 FDCs, cancel
Designer: Miki Jacobsen Previous designs include 2020 Mammals, 2018 Sports in Greenland Inuit and Dene Games and 2019 50th anniversary of the first International Post Day
This stamp is part of a larger set issued by Isle of Man titled The Calf of Man: Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the Manx National Trust Now Part of Manx National Heritage. The set includes 10 stamps featuring various parts of the Manx National Trust. The sheerwater is the only stamp in the set featuring the Europa logo.
The Area of Solila is located in the wetlands section of the coastal belt of tivat bay and captures an unused flood area in the area of Grbalje polje.
In the flora and vegetation of the Montenegrin littoral, the Area of Solila is recognized by the vegetation inhabited by salty wet habitats. Since these complex types of natural vegetation on a muddy-clay surface have already disappeared on most habitats on the eastern Adriatic coast, this preservation of the compactness of the Tivat salt salt area as a safe habitat for halophyte vegetation stands out as a special ecological challenge. In the territory of Tivat salts, 14 representatives of amphibians and reptiles were registered.
So far, 111 bird species have been registered on the Solili, representing more than 20% of the total number of species of European ornithophaune. Salts are the habitat of numerous endangered species and are protected as a special flora-faunist reserve.
Montenegro post office
Designer: Romana Pehar Pehar is a painter from Kotor. You can see more of his work on his Tumbler site Romana Pehar (tumblr.com)
Geotritone (amphibian), visible in sheet selvedge sparrow Monticola Solitarius, the small rodent Moscardinus, the rare mantis Empusa Pennata and the grasshopper Acrometopa Macropoda
River Crab visible in sheet selvedgeskunk, the amphibious Bombina Pachypus, the butterfly Zerinthia Cassandra and the fish Barbus Caninus
1 stamp, FDC, cancel, booklet, maxi, postcard
I had a few issues with translations re: what I think are the postcard and maxi. If this is incorrect information, please leave a comment below and I’ll be happy to fix the info.
Designer: Kamila Štanclová
FDC engraver: František Horniak
Release date: May 7, 2021
Spain
Iberian Lynx
1 stamp, sheets of 25, folder, postcard, 2 cancels
POSTMARK PLACE: Madrid and Barcelona
2 stamps, 2 sheets of 6, 2 FDCs, cancel
POSTMARK PLACE: Kyiv and Transcarpathian Region
Killer wheels | Cry of the Carpathians
Beech virgin forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2017). The Carpathian mountain forests in Central Europe are one of the most important havens for large predators, including the brown bear.
Beech virgin forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2017). The Carpathian mountain forests in Central Europe are one of the most important havens for large predators, including the brown bear.
According to the UN, the forests of the Ukrainian Carpathians are disappearing at an alarming rate due to illegal logging. This has already led to climate change, and as a result -large-scale floods, flooded villages and roads, the destruction of bridges. And the worst – destruction of a unique ecosystem, because the Carpathians – it is a climatic factor of all Ukraine. Philately of Ukraine, No. 26
I want to thank everyone who has dropped me a note and still visited the site, despite the lack of fun content. It's been a bit of a hard slog on this end and the double vision really makes things a bit rough. However, it looks like a diagnosis is on the horizon which means treatment.
In the meantime, I'm going to try and write. If I get things a little wonky, just sigh with me. Its hard to take life seriously when everything is blurry and doubled.
