The 100th Anniversary of Leipzig Zoo, DDR

Even though I love animals in general, I cannot deny that the smaller guys have an extra special place in my heart - I dont know if it is cos they seem more helpless than the grown / bigger ones and they seem like they need extra care and protection...though on the other hand my heart has melted countless of times over many examples all over the internet showing big animals...

Either way, on today's subject of small animals, I am participating with this set of four stamps issued on 23 May 1978 in DDR, for the 100th Anniversary of the Zoo in Leipzig (first opened on 09 June 1878), featuring a leopard, a lion, a snow leopard and (siberian) tiger, i.e their mini versions in which none of them look intimidating, do they?

Check out today's Sunday Stamps for more adorable animal buddies. 

 

 

The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Lady Bird Johnson, USA

On 30th November 2012. the USPS issued a set of 6 stamps to commemorate the achievements of Lady Bird Jonhson, who is best remembered for awakening the nation’s environmental conscience. 

With the help and encouragement of philanthropist Mary Lasker, she organized a committee that raised private funds to plant trees and flowering plants in the monumental areas of the nation's capital. Her efforts prompted local businesses and others in Washington, D.C., to begin beautification efforts in less touristy neighborhoods. She also encouraged community involvement in efforts to improve public spaces, schoolyards, and parks.

And while you may wonder how this fits into today's topic of "P" on Sunday Stamps... 5 of the stamps in the set bear the message "Plant for..." so I thought it would be an appropriate choice :)

I do believe that we can make our places of living more beautiful by planting more trees and flowers instead of building more and more buildings in an already concrete jungle.

Check out today's Sunday Stamps to see what others have come up with for the letter P :)

 

Urban Architecture, Macedonia

 Been a while since I've posted some 'domestic' issues, so I shall use today's opportunity on the 'Buildings' theme for that :)

There is really a lot of interesting architecture in the Macedonian cities and villages and while most of the stamps issued feature the rural architecture, there is this 2003 issue dedicated to some urban (or city) architecture

Million of thanks goes to Stefani who helped me to pinpoint this particular building since my google searches were useless. 

It shows one of the houses in the Jankovec village which is in the vicinity of the town of Resen at the Prespa Lake. The village has a number of houses which due to their beauty and age have been placed under state protection and I believe the one featured on this stamp belongs to that group too.

Found it on google maps in the street view so here is a screenshot so that you can see how it looks in real life. I dont know if it has been under some reconstruction at the time this image was taken. It doesnt look the most representative with all that debris but it is what it is :)

 

The second stamp features a building in my hometown Skopje, and if Im not mistaken, this building (and a number of similar ones to it) can be found in one of the most famous streets in the city, which aside from the architecture, was also famous for the line of trees along the street that unfortunately were mercilessly cut down when the city decided to transform the street into a boulevard. The people opposed but of course, their voice is rarely heard since the Government always knows better. It is not the first nor the last of the beauties destroyed and it is really a pity that the focus is always put on building more, and cutting down the trees for that purpose - and then we wonder why summers are like living hell here...

Here is also a glimpse of it in real life :)

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So that would be my contribution for today. For more buildings from around the world, go and visit Sunday Stamps