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!