Flower Feries

On 26th January I received my 5th flower fairy card. He is Ragged Robin Fairy from the book A Flower Fairy Alphabet, 1934. He came from Portland, Oregon (USA). The sender is the 15th on most postcards sent from USA but she is not a Postcrossing machine. Flower fairies are so lovely and I would like to collect all.

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There are nice stamps on this card. With the first one the U.S. Postal Service celebrates the bobcat (Lynx rufus), a member of the feline family found across the United States. In this bold, graphic depiction, the bobcat's golden eyes and pink nose make a striking contrast with its fur, rendered in shades of brown.

Flower fairies were painted by Cicely Mary Barker (1895-1973). She was an English illustrator. Her first book, Flower Fairies of the Spring, was published in 1923. Similar books (Flower Fairies of the Summer, 1925; Flower Fairies of the Autumn, 1926; The Book of the Flower Fairies, 1927; A Flower Fairy Alphabet, 1934; Flower Fairies of the Trees, 1940; Flower Fairies of the Garden, 1944; Flower Fairies of the Wayside, 1948) were published in the following decades. Flower Fairies of the Winter was published posthumously (1985). Her sister conducted a kindergarten. The children in the kindergarten modelled for the flower fairies. Flower fairies are tiny creatures that live in the tree tops, marshes, forest floor, wayside and gardens. Wherever and whenever a seed sprouts, a flower fairy baby is born. Each flower fairy lives and sleeps in their chosen flower, plant or tree, and as this grows the fairy grows too. Each and every flower fairy is in charge of looking after their flower or plant; keeping it strong and healthy by making sure it has plenty of sunshine and water to drink, sweeping away dead leaves, and polishing flowers and stems. Flower fairies are nature sprites. Each fairy looks and behaves like an extra dimension of the plant it lives within and cares for. The evocative 'song' each flower fairy sings, helps convey the 'spirit' of her flower. The plants were painted from life, and if a specimen was not readily at hand, Kew Gardens staff would provide her the specimens needed. Barker designed and built the flower fairy costumes, and based each on the flowers and leaves of the particular plant to be illustrated.

My first flower fairy was the Winter Jasmine Fairy. He came from the UK in August 2011. I read the blog of nyassa, an English postcrosser and gave her information about a Hungarian postcard. She send me this lovely card as a thank.

This card was sent also with three stamps. The most interesting is the Mini, a British icon of the 1960s. This distinctive two-door car was designed for BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis.

The second flower fairy came from Finland in January 2012. She is the Lavender Fairy. It is lovely!

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One month later I received a new fairy: the Rose-Bay Willow-Herb Fairy. It was also a "thank you card" from Cleootje from the Netherlands.Sheliked my card (HU-44156) so much so she sent me this nice thank you. Nyassa and Cleootje are good examples for postcrossers who send and receives a lot of cards but they are not Postcrossing machines.

This card has a nice Postcrossing stamp on it.

I have one more flower fairy. She is the Snowdrop Fairy. It is a beautiful glittering card from Finland.

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It has a lucky  ice-hockey stamp.

Five card in my mail-box

On Monday I founded five card in my post-box! It is my record! By registering the cards I try to read the post stamps and I register them in chronological order of sending. The first card is from China. I'm sorry because of the sender didn't write me about him. I read his profile, therefore I know he is a 18 years old boy. On the card are all words in Chinese. I don't know where this beautiful cave can be found.

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There are three stamps on the card. Two bird species of China and a lotus (Nelumbo).

From the Netherlands I received an Atelier Nouvelles card. I like this multiple style card. On of my friends learn France and she translated the text. There are delicatessen and accessories of a Butcher’s Shop on the card. Some picture are funny!

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Also the stamp is interesting on this card. It is a long description on it about Maarten van der Weijden (born  1981), a Dutch long distance and marathon swimmer. He won the gold medal in the 10 km open water marathon race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. 

This great Art Nouveau card came from the United Kingdom. The sender bought it in Riga, Latvia. It must be a window of the building in Alberta iela 2a, Riga. I like it!

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A great stamp is on this card. Mrs. Gamp (Sarah or Sairey Gamp) was a nurse in the novel "The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit", written by Charles Dickens and first published as a serial in 1843-1844. She was dissolute and drunk and became a notorious stereotype of the bad secular nurse in the early Victorian era, before the reforms of campaigners like Florence Nightingale. I didn't read this novel but I like the stamp!

The two last card s are from Germany. On the both are figures of the Harry Potter movies. On the first one is one of my favourites, Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Michael Gambon played Dumbledore in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2. This scene is in the movie "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince".

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The stamp was issued on the 50 anniversary of "Élysée Treaty". Treaty of Friendship, was concluded by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer on January 22, 1963. It set the seal on reconciliation between France and Germany. With it, Germany and France established a new foundation for relations that ended centuries of rivalry between them.

The other Harry Potter card is a picture of  Draco Lucius Melfoy (Tom Felton) and his friends, Vincent Crabbe  (Jamie Waylett) and Gregory Goyle (Josh Herdman). 

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On the stamp is medieval centre of Regensburg (Germany), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.