In: from the USA

I received an envelope, whose sender seemed to be 'Lost Kingdom Station' in Tulsa, USA. Curious to know how this Lost Station would know my name and address I opened the envelope. And... Inside an other envelope, showing these great tiger stamps and wonderful special postmark!

Not send by the Lost Kingdom Station, but via this place by FinnBadger.

He added this great tufted puffin card, from the National Geographic Museum.



Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

In: from the USA

Both FinnBadger and Eva completed the 'A to Z challenge' in April, a wonderful and amazing achievement. For that reason I sent them a special 'A to Z' congratulations mail (see Eva's and FinnBadger's blog).

On my turn I felt lucky, not only by enjoying the forementioned blogs, but also by all kinds of kind and beautiful mail, both FinnBadger and Eva send to me.
As I like typography (and civil airplanes), and there happened to be a matching magazine cover, FinnBadger surprised me by sending this great A-Z envelope.
By the way, do you notice that the airplane on the stamp is flying upside down?

In the envelope a card showing one of my other favourite themes, being born in the Year of the Dragon: a YotD-Dragon!



Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

In: from the USA (and a little bit from Sweden)

At first sight I thought FinnBadger had sent me common sunflowers. Of course they are, but they are located in a special place and represent some history. Fort Ancient is an archaelogical park / museum, and the name of a Native American people.
According to the text on the backside this photo has been made by the Ohio Historical Society, and the sunflowers stand watch over the museum's re-created prehistoric Indian garden. Other plantings include knotweed, goosefoot and other vegetation, consumed or used by prehistoric cultures.

On the envelope FinnBadger added a special and amazing range of stamps: alle related to this famous actress, and gathered from two countries!



Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

In: from the UN and the US

It is fascinating to see how Finnbadger manages to send mail from... er, as many countries as the United Nations do count!

The stamps show three of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the successor of the eight Millenium Goals (which alas haven't been accomplished in 2015).

Inside the envelope, besides a kind message from the sender, a vintage written back of a postcard, and this wonderful mailbox collage by Craftgasm.



Thank you very much, Finnbadger!

In: from the USA

This year it's hundred years ago that the tallest man of Puerto Rico has been born, el Gigante de Carolina: Felipe Birriel Fernández.
This postmark is in honour of him, and with many thanks to FinnBadger I received this postmark, too.
Which has made me wonder: has this mail been traveling from the USA to Puerto Rico - which I always thought to be an independent country, but wikipedia learns me that it isn't - and from there into the world?!?

See more information about Felipe Birriel and other tall men on thetallestman.com.

The postmarks and stamps have been accompanied by this postcard, showing a painting by Charles Seeler, named 'Pertaining to Yachts and Yachting', painted in 1922.



Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

In: from the United States

At first sight I didn't notice it, but suddenly it became clear. You'll probably have seen it immediately: there is a horse in her hair!
Great postcard made out of a calendar and sent by FinnBadger.

I am delighted to also have received horses on the stamps on the back side. Not one, not two but even three horse stamps!



Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

In: from the USA

This postcard from FinnBadger is very special. Not only because of the beautiful design, by Charley Harper, showing a Loon (Diver; 'Duiker' in Dutch), one of my favourite water birds, but also by the postage stamp: it is the new round US stamp and it is the first time for me to see it in real; I love the moon!

FinnBadger chose a perfect combination: the stamp and the picture both show the moon (and the title of Harper's illustration is 'Clair de Loon' which of course reminds us of Debussy's beautiful song).

And third, last but not least: did you notice the postmarks?



Yes, the stamp has been cancelled twice, and even the Harper faux postage got a cancellation mark, on a very special date: leap day!
It doesn't happen often that February counts 29 days, and mail rarely is postmarked this date.
Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

By the way, some more '29 February' postmarks you can find in this IUOMA group.

In: from the USA

Already since my childhood the puffin ('papegaaiduiker' in Dutch, which literally means 'parrot diver') is one of my most favourite birds. I always had thought that there only was one species of puffins, but last year I learnt that the one I knew is named the Atlantic puffin and that there are two more puffins.

So I was very pleased with this recent postcard, which FinnBadger has sent me from the USA (yay, FinnBadger, I jumped another hole in the air :-) ), and to which he had added a stamp of the Tufted puffin (and a Frigatebird, the only one of the three who I have seen in real - an intriguing bird, too).
The picture above has been designed by famous American artist Charley Harper.



The card came in an envelope, made of a Charley Harper calendar page. I've posted the beautiful envelope somewhere else on the world wide web, but the first bird - tiny in an edge of the envelope - which immediately attracted my sight I'll show below. It is... a puffin :-)



Thank you very much, FinnBadger!