Astronomy, Hungary

Well, the weekend getaway plans had failed, so I could do my Sunday duty properly for a change :)
And coming with a double G today, with Mr. Galielo Galilei (though maybe I could sneak in Galaxy here as well...)

On 8th of May 2009, Hungary issued this fantastic mini-sheet for that year's EUROPA theme, Astronomy. I am not into EUROPA stamps, but Astronomy is definitely one of my favourite subjects, so that is one joyous year to think about :D

As for the man himself presented on the stamps here, I don't think any special introduction is needed.

For more G-related posts, check out today's edition of Sunday Stamps. 

Franklin the Turtle, Canada

I should seriously get back to the scheduled posts, cos Sundays end up being days I am away from the laptop and unable to join on time the Sunday Stamps game. (just a note to self for next Sunday at least...)

Well, we have reached the letter F on our journey, and for today I have this adorable cover issued by Canada Post on 11th May 2012, portraying a really cute character called Franklin the Turtle, a little reptile who encourages the children to 'come out of their shells' (I am not familiar with these books or TV series but I'm pretty sure some of you are).
The books were written by Paulette Bourgeois and illustrated by Brenda Clark, based on which later a TV series was produced. 
The main character is of course Franklin the Turtle, while on the stamps you can also see his best friend the Bear, his friends the Beaver and the Snail and (probably) his little sister Hariett.

Now in case just as me you were confused by reading Franklin Benjamin on the stamps and wondering what the hell this guy had anything to do with this character... well, it turns out that Franklin is known as Benjamin to its French-Canadian readers... you really couldn't have made it any more confusing guys :D :D :D But at least, mystery has been solved :))

Well lets go over to Sunday Stamps now and see if there are some other confusing/ambiguous stories of this kind :P

Endangered Species, United Nations (NY)

A Sunday Stamps post done on a Monday... but at least I didn't totally miss it like last time.

I wanted to do something Entertaining today, but then the choice fell on this set of Endangered Species issued by the UN postal department in New York.

Issued on 7th of September 2011, four different endangered birds are represented.

- the Leucopsar rothschildi or more commonly known as the Bali myna, which is is critically endangered and fewer than 100 adults are assumed to currently exist in the wild.
It is restricted to the island of Bali (and its offshore islands) in Indonesia, where it is the island's only endemic vertebrate species.

- The Gymnogyps californianus (California condor ) -  a New World vulture, the largest North American land bird. This condor became extinct in the wild in 1987 (all remaining wild individuals were captured), but the species has since been reintroduced to northern Arizona and southern Utah,  the coastal mountains of central and southern California, and northern Baja California. Although other fossil members are known, it is the only surviving member of the genus Gymnogyps. The species is listed by the IUCN as critically endangered.

- The red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), also called the Manchurian crane or Japanese crane   -  a large East Asian crane among the rarest cranes in the world. In some parts of its range, it is known as a symbol of luck, longevity, and fidelity.

-  The black-fronted piping guan (Pipile jacutinga)  - a bird in the chachalaca, guan and curassow family Cracidae. This species occurs in Atlantic Forests in south-eastern Brazil and adjacent Argentina and Paraguay. It has become quite rare in recent decades due to hunting and habitat destruction.

Often this type of Endangered species stamps focus on one country (the issuing one of course). I like it how here birds from different parts of the world have been covered. I just wonder if Man will ever come to his senses and stop hunting animals for pure pleasure and profit....

Hopefully I will manage to check out all the other posts tonight or tomorrow - all can be seen here. 

Coral Reefs, USA

Well we are already into our third week of the new A-Z round, and it is time for some C's today

And my C today is dedicated to these Coral Reefs issued by the USPS on 26th August 1980.
Four different beautiful Coral Reefs are featured, starting with the Grooved Brain Coral, or the Diploria labyrinthiformi, that can be found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Se. It has a very interesting maze-like appearance.
Next is the Elkhorn Coral, or the Acropora palmata, a prominent Caribbean reef-building coral, whose structure resembles that of elk antler.
The bottom stamps show the Chalice Coral (Echinophyllia aspera), it is a species of large polyp stony corals. It is a colonial coral which is partly encrusting and partly forms laminate plates or tiers. It is native to the western and central Indo-Pacific.
The last stamp is dedicated to the Finger Coral, or Porites compressa, which can be found growing on coral reefs and in shallow lagoons in tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.  

It may not be seen very clearly on the scan, but this cover with Coral Reefs stamps also comes in with a very appropriate cancellation from the Coral Gables Branch in Florida. (all thanks to Bryon and his cool postal experiments :)))

For more cool posts for the letter C, hop over to the Sunday Stamps' blog! 

ps. there is also the very cute dolphin stamp which nicely contributes to the marine life theme on the cover :))