Herbs, USA

Quite lousy as usual with this blog....one of the major reasons is that it is always rather difficult for me to choose what to post...whenever I pick something, the next thing that comes to my mind is that I should save that for another occasion (esp. with the commemorative stamps) so in the end I post nothing. Well, I decided to change that attitude and somewhat take the thinking and deciding in a different direction, so here we go..:)

For today I chose this LOVELY cover from Bryon...one of the greatest contributors to my collections and a person who gives me great incentives to keep on posting and leave the hibernation mode :) (Plus I realized Ive never posted anything from the USA here so far...)

Bryon sent me a cover using the set of 5 herbs' stamps that the USPS issued this year. Why they make a great cover? Coz my heart gets a special beat when I see a cover with a whole set of stamps...no stamp lacking...no additional one used...pure perfection!!! I actually grew this passion not so long ago, after going through my collections and these kind of covers just stood out! And I realized I was in love! Well, ok, not literally, but I think it sort of best describes my revelation :)

These herbs' stamps are definitives (who would have thought I would love a definitives' cover so much :))
and the face value of each is 29 cents. They all feature various herbs used for fragrance, flavoring, medicine, and/or decoration. Each stamp depicts a particular species in bloom, as well as a typical leaf and flower or seed capsule. The species shown are (from left to right): Origanum vulgare (oregano), Linum perenne (flax), Digitalis purpurea (foxglove), Lavandula angustifolia (lavender), and Salvia officinalis (sage). Only the common names appear on the stamps

regarding the technical specifications:
 - Issue Date: April 7, 2011
- Issue Type: Definitive
- Manufacturing Process: Gravure
- Paper Type: Prephosphored, Type II
- Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
- stamp size: 22.10 x 24.94 mm


thanks a LOT Bryon!!!

Nanji Islands, China

for today's entry at Viridan's blog, i picked this set of mint stamps I have from China, portraying the Nanji Islands.

the stamps are just fantastic, so im pretty sure in real it is even more amazing!

Nanji Island is the main island of a group of 15 islands and islets, situated in the south-eastern waters of Pingyang County, Zhejiang Province, in south-east China. This was the first marine/coastal biosphere reserve in China. The 28 km long coastline consists of exposed bedrock and sharp cliffs, bays and islets. The biosphere reserve offers a multitude of diverse marine habitats which host a rich number of shellfish and algae species. Fifteen of the identified 403 species of shellfish have been found only in the Nanji waters. The shellfish and algae are intermittently distributed in the tropical and temperate marine realms, which makes this species-rich site even more important for conservation and scientific research. These species are concentrated in the core areas, which consist of two islets and a portion of Nanji Island and their surrounding waters, with an area of 663 hectares. The total area, including the transition area, is 20,629 hectares. The Nanji Island is divided into the Dasha’ao, the Sanpanwei and the Zhucaibaiyu scenic areas, where on the middle stamp you can see Sanpanwei, while the third stamp shows the Dasha'ao.
the first stamp shows the the famous Longchuan Reef

the stamps were issued on July 10th 2007, and each has a face value of 120 fen.

Size of stamps:  50 * 30 mm
Perforation:       13 * 12.5
Printing process: Photogravure

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