chateau

 Fontainebleau

and a long view

Fountainebleau is one of the largest French royal chateaux.  It was a favourite hunting lodge of the kings but was gradually transformed into a genuine palace and became a museum and a Unesco World Heritage Site 

x, y, z

xeric plants

above, rachet fruits are known for a high antioxident content and are used to reduce inflammation and lower blood sugar

while the chandelier plant helps to relieve belly aches and is used as a tea to soothe coughs, colds and flu

The buff tail on the queen is an orangish brown colour, while the males and workers tails are more a pale off white.   They can stay awake during winter and will continue to forage during the warmer days.

 

A double collared sunbird from southern Africa.  He's an energetic little guy with a bright, metallic green head and breast with a narrow metallic blue band separating the larger bright red band from the green breast.

and so we have come to our final alphabet week for Sunday Stamps (for now).   It has been a fun ride with so many interesting, and sometimes truly unique and unexpected selections!

sleeping cat

on a Greek Island 

CATURDAY

houses

Tchaikovsky Memorial House

Japan

tenement houses

some different styles of houses for Thursday Postcard Hunt

woody

 

a wood duck a "resplendent denizen of woodland waterways" and a pileated woodpecker which shares many characteristics with the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker

serenade

 Kalinka-Malinka   this fast paced song is a playful plea for a beautiful girl to fall in love with the singer

how do we feel about the accordian?

CATURDAY

three churches

St James Anglican Church, St John's Evangelical Lutheran, and Trinity United

there are other churches in this small town, but these are the ones that get all the glory - and the photographs!

Over in Romania is this painted church, one of eight that are UNESCO listed

a 1970s view of the Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik

and,  Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin

a new month and a new theme of architecture. first up: churches.  next week: houses

strawberry moon

 June, the season for strawberries

and the first full moon of summer 

vulture

 

French Somaliland existed from 1896 to 1967 when it became the French Territory of Afars and Isas.  In 1977, after independence it became known asthe Republic of Djibouti

a Vautour fauve is a Griffon vulture in English and can have a wingspan of 2.8 metres (or over 9'!). It is apparently Europe's most social - and populous - vulture.  Most of the ones in western Europe can be found in the Iberian Peninsula, while the ones in the Horn of Africa (where Djibouti lies) are migratory.

stamp from 1962, designed and engraved by Jacques Combet

take care of the day

 from Finland via Japan

CATURDAY

irregular shapes

 

from Germany

and from Norway

ungulates

I have full sheets of these stamps and have often thought they were rather strange...

When I did a little research, I found that they were designed by Emanuel Hahn (who has done several stamps as well as the caribou on our quarter) in 1956.  

They were not well received.

The above one is known as 'dancing caribou' by collectors (a Can-Can, maybe?)

this one was described as "the most diabolical animal I have ever seen" by a Member of Parliament (with similar, and worse, descriptions by a few others)

maybe these frolicking young goats are more pleasing

world weary

 

CATURDAY

lines

 I appreciate the crispness and precision of the lines in the windows above, though they might be too perfect

but then we head outdoors, and I could sit and look at this view for hours and not feel somehow the need to also be perfect in its presence

fresh water island

 

tulips

 Tulips are maybe my favourite flower. There are so many sizes and styles and colours.  And I love that they close up at night and reopen in daylight, so each one looks like two different flowers

By the time you read this, I will be off on a road trip for two weeks.  All Sunday Stamps and Thursday Postcard Hunt posts have been scheduled so nothing will be missed.  Carry on as usual and I will check in with you all when I return.

soccer

 

CATURDAY

Now that the World Cup is in my own back yard, I am, oddly, less interested.  The shine has worn off.  Doesn't mean I won't get caught up in the matches at some point...

swans, again

A cygnet from the Abbotsbury Swannery.  This time presented as a postcard, not a stamp

Some royal curves...

We have our own Stratford swans.  Many of these are descendants of of a pair of mute swans gifted by Queen Elizabeth in 1973, but the origins go back to 1918.

swans

1993 

illustrations by David Gentleman

Mute swans from Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset, which has an interesting - and ancient - history!

hermitage cat

 

CATURDAY

fonts and letters

there are several fonts, and languages, in this message for our June theme of 'shapes', this week: the shape of letters

information cards are always interesting, even if you already know all the information...

and a busy movie poster from 1943

reach

Although these stamps are from 1989, the reticulated giraffe was only officially recognized as a species by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) in 2025.  Until then, giraffes were classed as one species with nine subspecies.  Distinctive features are the sharp white lines that define the reddish-orange patches that extend down their legs and across their faces.

These creatures can reach up to 6 meters tall, making them the tallest land animal.  They mostly live in Kenya and were considered endangered in 2018, but are slowly recovering with a population of around 16,000-20,000.

cafe cat

 

CATURDAY

blue moon

 second moon in May, which peaks on May 31

forests

Alishan National Scenic Area, famous for its historic narrow-gauge railway that runs along an 86 km route from an elevation of 30 m up to the highest point in Taiwan of 2,316 m

The aunties are having fun dancing in a birch forest in Finland

quercus

 

Quercus rubra, or more commonly, red oak. Stamp is from 1978 and designed by Heather Cooper

Red oak is a native tree and the leaves can grow between 10cm to 20cm in length (or about 2" to 8") and are a good food source for deer, black bear and squirrels

sand dunes

 

My apologies for not posting this on Thursday.  All is well now, but I had a bit of a health issue which put me out of commission for a couple of days.

panda

 

There are no wild pandas in Mongolia, but there is on this 1974 stamp

As we near the end of this alphabet series, I'm wondering what your thoughts are for after we hit Z

Should we continue with another round of A-Z or would you prefer to have a weekly topic?