You know, when you get off-track with something, it feels a bit more difficult to get back ON track...and the more time goes by, the worse it gets instead being vice-versa...I really can't explain this phenomenon, but it seems to be applicable to other issues in life as well.
The other day I got down to scanning the bunch of stamps/covers I have received in the past months since all I've been doing was piling them up all over my desk and shelves, and one day I realized that I had no idea what I already have and what I don;t...so as you all know it very well, procrastination will make your life just complicated :)
Anyways, let's see what I chose for today as a kick-off for the new beginning (posting for the first time after 3 months, does feel like a new beginning).
I got this beautiful cover as a surprise from Holger and his Barbados trip. It was a really nice and pleasant surprise for my mailbox since this is my first cover ever from Barbados.
Holger used 3 stamps which were issued on February 7th, 2011 in a set of 16...pretty lovely stamps, but I don't think these would ever manage to be contained as a whole set on one cover...even if it is an A4 envelope....
The stamps represent local fruits from Barbados and on this cover you have:
- at the left, the $1 stamp represents the Tamarind (Tamarindus indica))- this plant is indigenous to tropical Africa, where in the 16th century it was introduced to Mexico and South America (I guess that's how it reached Barbados). It reminds me of groundnuts a lot, though I can't tell if they taste the same, never ever tried Tamarind, though its use seems to be really wide.
This tree produces edible, pod-like fruit which are used extensively in cuisines around the world. It is a long-lived, medium-growth, bushy tree, which attains a maximum crown height of 12.1 to 18.3 metres.
The tamarind is best described as sweet and sour in taste, and is high in acid, sugar, B vitamins and, oddly for a fruit, calcium
- the 80c stamp shows Sea Grapes (Coccoloba uvifera)- this plant is native to coastal beaches throughout tropical America and the Caribbean, including southern Florida, the Bahamas, Barbados and Bermuda.
This plant is a sprawling evergreen shrub or small tree that reaches a maximum height of 8 m, but most specimens are little more than 2 m tall. It has large, round, leathery leaves (up to 25 cm in diameter) with a primary vein that has a red color extending from the base, and the entire leaf turns red as it ages. The bark is smooth and yellowish. In late summer it bears green fruit, about 2 cm diameter, in large grape-like clusters. The fruit gradually ripen to a purplish color. Each contains a large pit that constitutes most of the volume of the fruit
- the 40c stamp shows a Mammy Apple - this fruit is large and round weighing up to 7lbs. It has a thick light brown skin and its taste can be compared to that of a mango. Each tree can grow up to 75 feet and can yield 300 to 400 fruits. Powder made from mammey apple seeds can be used either as a dusting agant or in a solution as a spray
the size of stamps is 36x36 mm, while perforations are 13.25 by 13.25.
fino i slasno :)
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