Another Kick At the Postcard Can

Her we go again. A few more postcards to have a look at , and the best thing is , they all arrive with stamps.  Today's card are a bit of a strange lot to say the least.
Let's start with a card from West Chester, Pennsylvania , U.S.A. It's Longwood Gardens, over 1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands and meadows, located in Kennett Square. With over 11,000 different types of plants and trees, it is one of the premier botanical gardens in the U.S.

This is another card from Mike and Ashley. In addition to their great postcards , they are really helping me with collecting current U.S. stamps, like the 3 on this card. These are all new to my collection. So let's have a look at them.
First up is the Janis Joplin First Class rate Forever stamp. It was issued in August of 2014. It's from the Music Icons series, along with such greats as Ray Charles, Johnny Cash , Jimi Hendrix and others. Joplin was an icon of the 1960s whose bluesy voice propelled her to the top of rock stardom. I can hear her now belting out "Me & Bobby McGee ".  Then we have the Jimi Hendrix First Class rate Forever stamp, issued in March of 2014. Hendrix is considered one of the most important rock guitarists of the 20th century. His sound was a combination of rock, jazz, soul and the blues. I remember well his renditions of "Purple Haze" and  "Hey Joe ". And, just below the Joplin stamp is one of four in a Coastal Birds set issued just last month. This one shows the King Eider. The others in the set are a Red Knot, the Spoonbill and a Frigatebird. These are set as Postcard Rate nondenominated  stamps and will always be valid for that rate. I guess though  the Postcard rate only applies in the U.S.A. itself , otherwise I wouldn't have received Janis and Jimi.    

Next is a little pin-up for all you pin-up people out there. Honestly it's a case like this . Back when Playboy Magazine was popular, men often said , "I only read Playboy for the articles ". Well I think I can safely say with cards like this one , "I'm only showing the card for the stamps " But I do agree with her shirt, she 's certainly Unique. The card arrived from a Postcrosser in the Netherlands.

Lorje used 4 different stamps but I'm only going to showcase the larger two on the right. The other 2 are definitives from 2006 and 2003. On the far right is a 2002 stamp issued for Floriade, the international exhibition and garden festival. Held every 10 years, the next one will be in 2022 in Almere, the newest city in the Netherlands. The stamp with the rabbit or hare is just that. I couldn't find any info at all on it. That's the way it goes sometimes.

France, Strasbourg in fact is where my next card originated. It shows the Palace of Europe, the seat of the Council of Europe, since 1977. The Palace of Europe square in shape, 106 metres on each side, with a height of 38 metres (nine stories). Its total working area is 64,000 square metres. It has 17 meeting rooms and a thousand offices for staff of the Council of Europe secretariat. The exterior of the building is red, silver, and brown. 

Johan used 1 of 2 stamps issued in 2014 highlighting the European Council, along with a number of definitives . It's also nice to see that they were cancelled at the Council itself.

Now here's a card from 2009 celebrating the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.
The festival is a celebration of the March 27, 1912 gift of Japanese cherry trees from Tokyo . There are literally many thousands of these trees there now.

Adam used an interesting selection of stamps on this card. The vertical stamp on the left is from 1960 . It commemorates 100 years of a U.S. Japan treaty. Next, the long pink and blue on top is actually 2 stamps from 2012. They commemorate the Centennial of the Cherry Blossoms in Washington. Lastly are 2 U.S. Airmail stamps, not something one sees much anymore. The one on the left was issued in 1948 and the other dates from the 1970s.

Camels in India. I can't say this is something I think about when India pops into my head. Elephants yes, camels not so much. But apparently it's a fairly common sight. I've never been there, so what do I know ?
  Indian Camels are about 6 feet long and weigh around 700 kg. It is 7 feet high from its hump. It's  tail is 50 cm long. It is characterized by long curved neck, large mouth and high hump. They are usually brown or black in colour. They have thin, long and powerful legs. They have large eyes with long eyelashes and bushy eyebrows.but small ears. Indian camels have broad, flat and leathery pads with two toes on each foot with leathery patches on their knees. 

Adrian used 3 copies of a 2008 definitive stamp featuring Indira Gandhi.

O.K. here's another pin-up , this time from Germany. Again, only showing it for the stamps .

Michaela used a small selection of stamps here, including 2 Flower definitives. The larger stamp on the right is a 2015 stamp highlighting the Lindau Lighthouse. It's the southernmost light in Germany , located on Lake Constance. Opened in 1853 , the light is 33 metres tall. Finally we see a 2012 3 Cent Numeral Stamp. 

Next and last is a card from China. Not much to say about this card as I really don't know what it's about, or what's written on it. Here it is. 

  

Nika used a  recent Heart shape stamp along with a 2015 Year of the Sheep stamp and a 2000 Butterfly stamp.

  

There you have it. Thanks for cards go out to Mike & Ashley, Lorje, Johan, Adam, Adrian , Michaela and Nika. 

Thanks for dropping by , see you next time. Take care.