Connections to the World

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Birds on stamps

The theme for this week for Sunday Stamps is birds.

It was tough deciding which birds to post. So I think to make this easier, I created two posts. One was dedicated for birds from the desserts that I got from my boss last month. There were 6 of them so I thought they deserve an entry of their own.

Twenty days ago, I posted Oriental Birds. This time, I'm featuring stamps with birds that are not from my part of the globe.

This is from the series Birds of the Garden from Belarus, released 16 June 2006. The bird is called hawfinch. It's from the same genus Fringilla as the chaffinch from my Friday post. I'm happy to have two finches perched on my blog this week.

From Switzerland, issued on 6 September 2007, Domestic Birds series. This bird with open wings is Tichodroma muraria or wallcreeper. I just love its crimson wings.

These two birds from Belgium were issued 21 January 2008 and 11 November 2011, respectively. The one on the left is the Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes). I must say I have a strong liking with the one on the right, the Long-eared Owl (Asio otus), its erect ear-tufts make it interesting. If I'm a witch, like in Harry Potter, I'll pick this for my owl.

RU-717104, Sender: Olga
Sent: 28 Dec 2011 from Moscow, Russia
Received: 24 Jan 2012, Traveled 8,260 km in 27 days

Technically, this is a postcard but I am happy to share it for the theme, obviously for the reason that it's a collage of birds on stamps -- and really lovely ones! I really find it nice that for most stamps on the foreground, the birds are featured perched on a fruit-bearing plant or on a flower. On a closer look, these stamps are from 20 August 1981. The birds starting from 1 o'clock:

Stonechat (Saxicola torquata) - chat with black plumage and dark-orange breast

Rufous-backed Bunting (Emberiza jankovskii) - very rare "Little Brown Job" bird

Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) - passerine bird with elongated tail feathers

Parrotbill (Sinosuthora webbiana) -

Siberian tit (Poecile cinctus) - also called grey-headed chickadee, another passerine bird

I really had a great time researching about all these birds. I have a penchant for the freedom of flying but afraid of heights myself. At least I get to appreciate this freedom with these birds on stamps.

~maria

Saudi Arabia Bird Stamps 1993

These birds came from a full sheet of 9, issued by the Saudi Post in 1993. The birds starting from upper left, then going down, then from upper right and going down again are as follows:

Arabian Bustard (Ardeotis arabs)
Western Reef Heron (Egretta gularis)
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
Arabian Woodpecker (Dendrocopos dorae)
European Turtledove (Streptopelia turtur)
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)

My favorite from this set is the hoopoe. I think it has a really cool name and it has a really cool crown of feathers, too!

Sharing these birds for Viridian's Sunday Stamps.

~maria

Friday, September 27, 2013

Bird Watch

Here are some birds postcards to complement the stamps to be posted on Sunday:

LT-174535, Sender: Lindenfir
Sent: 27 Dec 2011 from Vilnius, Lithuania
Received 24 Jan 2012, Traveled 9,052 km in 28 days

I wish I can read the scientific name of this bird at the back of the card, but it's in Cyrillic

characters. It looks so regal with its flamboyant crown.

NO-56120, Sender: Julcos
Sent: 6 Dec 2011, Sent from Lillehammer, Norway
Received: 16 Dec 2011, Traveled 9,652 km in 10 days

I believe the name of this bird is chaffinch. Julia, the sender said that

this bird is very popular and there's many of them in Norway.

Card from my own stack.

This is the Philippine cuckoo-dove. I got it from a booklet of migratory birds
published by the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines. According to the site,

the Philippines is home to 600 species of resident and migratory birds.

~maria

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Je suis amoureuse de toi!

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: Sebastien
Sent: 9 Sep 2013 from Cadillac, France
Received: 18 Sep 2013, Traveled ~11,526 km in 9 days

This is a surprise card from a postcard swapping friend in France. He knows that my beau is French. It's so nice of him to gift me this card, together with the bunch we've agreed for swap. He also wrote the translation for the phrase on the card, and it came with an instruction.

I'm writing this post with sweet smile on my face -- I can glance at my beau from time to time, sleeping on the other side of the screen. Thanks to technology, we can be together despite the distance. As I watch him sleep and as I ponder on the events this evening (we had a little misunderstanding), I come to realize even more the essence of love.

Love isn't just about the amorous feelings. Love isn't just about the times when you can understand each other without saying a word. Love isn't just about the feeling of "belonging" and "being at home" with the person.

Tonight I gained more understanding on the need for love to be stronger when you are not in the same page with things. Love is recognizing that the person you're with won't necessarily hold things in the same level of importance as you do. Love is respecting the other person. Love is explaining your side but not insisting that your partner gets to believe the same thing, too.

For more love-ly hearts, visit Clytie's linky part by clicking the meme below. Also, this is a late link-up for Paulita's Dreaming of France...