Wonderful Stamps, Stripes, Marion Dufresne, Aland, Estonian Air and Wolsztyn

Here I am again, settled in for another update. Before I get to today's cards , I have a little business from last time to finish up, with regard to the upcoming World Post Day. I said I would send a postcard to the first reader that left a comment about World Post Day. Well, that postcard will go to Spencer who commented from Singapore. He has a fine postcard blog called "I've Got Mail !" and you can find it here . His card goes in the mail on Wednesday. Now the 2nd bit of business- I put the names of my regular contributors  in my ball cap and had My Lovely Teena draw one name. The winner is Jean Pierre. His postcard also goes in the mail on Wednesday. Let's hear it for the winners.

On to today's postcards. My first card is a very colorful card with baby chicks, flowers, eggs and a butterfly from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.

       A young student named Anastasia sent this card. I don't know if she is a stamp collector , but she used a wonderful selection of large stamps on her card. Let's start with the triangle stamp on the left. It is from a souvenir sheet of 6 different Minerals stamps issued in 2009. Now the 3 ladies - they are 3 of 12 in a Traditional Marriage Costumes m/sheet issued in 2007. Finally the stamp on bottom right. It was issued in 2012 commemorating the 12 floor Ginzburg Skyscrapper.

Stripes is up next, no , not the 1981 movie starring Bill Murray and John Candy. It's the stripes of Burchell's Zebra. Burchell's zebra is a southern subspecies of the plains zebra. It is named after the British explorer and naturalist William John Burchell. It is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Botswana and eastern South Africa.

Bruce who hails from South Africa sent this card from his travels in Kenya, in East Africa. He used a 2011 stamp showing a coffee plant . It is 1 of 6 in a set of plants.

The Marion Dufresne is sailing in next. The Marion Dufresne is a research and supply vessel named in honor of 18th century French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne launched in 1995 and having two main missions: logistic support for the French Austral islands  and oceanographic research. The Marion Dufresne  is used to service the districts of the Crozet and Kerguelen Islands , and the smaller islands of Amsterdam  and St-Paul, delivering supplies, fuel, and personnel to the three permanently manned bases in the region. The ship operates with a crew of 28 and can carry 110 passengers.

This card compliments of Jean Pierre is postmarked Kerguelen Island, TAAF or the Territority of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, an Overseas Territory of France. It most likely travelled to Kerguelen on the Marion Dufresne.   Jean Pierre used 2 stamps from 2012. The left stamp shows the French buoy-laying vessel Marius Motet , while the right stamp features a snail. 

Now for a card from Mariehamn, Aland. Mariehamn is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. Like all of Åland, Mariehamn is unilingually Swedish0speaking  and around 88% of the inhabitants speak it as their native language. Mariehamn is also called “the town of the thousand Linden trees”, refering to the Linden trees which line an avenue across town.
Aimo's card gives us a look at a few areas around Aland.

 

Aimo used a number of stamps on his card including the Apple definitives in the top left . Next to the apples is a 2007 stamp , 1 of 2 in a set of Mushrooms. Then on the right is a Dragonfly stamp , 1 of 2 in a 2012 set. 

 

Here is another addition to my Aircraft/Airlines on Postcards Collection. It's an Estonian Air Boeing  737. This card commemorates Estonian Air's First 10 Years in the Sky.

 

This postcard was stamped on the front with a nice 2013 Year of the Snake stamp, as you can see in the picture above. Meelis , a Postcrosser in Estonia sent this one along. 

Today's last card is from Poland. On it we see a train from Wolszztyn, a town in Western Poland, famous as the location of a locomotive Roundhouse. A roundhouse is a large circular or semi-circular structure used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Wolsztyn recently , well back in 2007, celebrated the its roundhouse centenary.

  On the left, Joanna used a 2006 stamp from a set of 4 Paintings. The one shown is Flower Sellers by O. Boznanska. On the right she used a 2010 stamp , 1 of 4 in a set of Minerals.

 

Well folks, that's all for this time. Thanks for cards go to Aimo,. Jean Pierre, Anastasia, Bruce, Meelis and Joanna.