Our feathered friends

I seem to have accumulated a vast number of bird postcards recently. Most of these are available for trade. So let me know if you'd like one.

Kereru - - - Kea and chicks

Kakapo (traded) --- Kaka (flown the coop)

Kotuku --- Weka (traded)

Tawaki (traded)

The New Zealand Assortment

The Craig Potton postcard range is most excellent. There again - he is one of our most well renowned photographers! Here you see "rush hour" as a flock of sheep are herded past the Vulcan motel and a maori Wharenui or Meeting House.

This is the wee silvereye, a tiny bird that came here on his own accord from Australia. This one is on kowhai. Kowhai is the Maori word for "yellow". And our most famous bird of all - the kiwi!

Hanmer Springs in Winter and the bridge there in autumn. Beautiful colours!

Slow-worm from Finland

This amazing postcard arrives courtesy of Zigu in Finland. But it's not just a postcard - it's a beautiful work of original art. She is so very talented! The back was cute too - with handdrawn stamp and postmark.

This fellow is a slow-worm, and he is not a worm nor a snake, but in fact a legless lizard. I think he's on the hunt for something tasty to gobble up.

Thank you so much Zigu! It's gorgeous and I love it.

Costa Rica is WILD!

I adore this set I received yesterday as part of an organised trade.

Isn't the eyelash viper beautiful?

United States

The last few days have delivered some treasures from the United States.

The first comes from New Hamphire, featuring a cute red fox and her cub, and was part of an organised personal postcard trade:

The second two come from the lovely Linda, who received an official Postcrossing postcard from me - my handdrawn Tawaki, and was so pleased she sent me something in return:

Which was so sweet of her!

The Kea

The Kea is an alpine parrot - the only alpine parrot in the world. He has real personality. Not only is he extremely intelligent - more-so than many mammals, he is also insatiably curious. Kea are not as common as once was believed - they get that reputation because they like to hang around people. In the High Country, they are often to be found near tearooms or rest areas, where they hope to scavenge food. The "Do Not Feed the Kea" sign is a common sight. And with good reason, because should you leave your car somewhere to go for a walk or go skiing you might well come back to see that the keas have "had a go" at it. Stripping the rubber, breaking off the window wipers... etc. Not a good thing to return to!

Today, from Germany

A beautiful pair of ducks and their swarm of ducklings flew in!

From Belarus

Received today from Belarus, the stamps are AWESOME!

Animals from Sri Lanka

Courtesy of the lovely Ravi:

Lord of the Rings Country

Right, this fellow in the Philippines would like me to send him some "Lord of the Rings" style landscapes. These are not necessarily the exact ones used in the film, but they are the best I could find locally. These are the Craig Potton range. Craig Potton is a highly acclaimed NZ photographer. He has a good eye for dramatic landscapes!




In case you can't read the captions:
From L to R.
Top:
the Southern Alps (aka The Misty Mountains)
Key summit of the Routebourne
Westland Rainforest (Fangorn forest)
Bottom:
Southern Alps across our favourite lake - Lake Matheson
Lake Pukaki
Waterfall in Milford during a storm (not very LOTR, but dramatic!)

Also, a couple of cute natives:

The Kiwi - our iconic National Bird.

Hoiho - penguin love!

It's the Librarian!

Isn't he handsome?

Feathered Friend from Finland

I've received a number of postcards from Finland and the eastern/northern European countries, I guess they are more "old fashioned" with their communication then say, the US and England. Although I've had a few from the States. None from Australia or NZ yet though. Time will tell...

Anyhow, today I received a Western Capercaille from Finland, with a nifty moomin stamp and sticker on the reverse. I scanned them up and superimposed them on the front.

My Handmade Postcards

I have been sending out handmade postcards as personal organised trades, and I thought I would showcase a few of my favourites:

And this one I sent as an Official:

If you wish to own such a postcard yourself, please let me know. I am currently endevouring to get my art into as many countries as I possibly can, and still have rather a few to "Conquer". For more details, visit my webiste page on "conquering the world with art".