Sherbrooke Village, Nova Scotia, Canada

Village scene

- - - - - - - - - -

Logs waiting in the millpond at Nova Scotia's only up-and-down sawmill

- - - - - - - - - - -

The Tailor Shop

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

all three are postmarked in 2010 with a Canada flower stamp

Sherbrooke Village depicts a typical Nova Scotian village from 1860 to pre-WW1. With approximately 80 buildings, over 25 of those open to the public, it is the largest Nova Scotia Museum site. Visit the woodturner shop, blacksmith, pottery shop, and printery. During your visit, enjoy a light meal at the What Cheer Tea Room located within the Village. Built on an economy of ship building, lumbering and gold mining, Sherbrooke Village reflects Nova Scotia as it was during its industrial boom in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Bellagio Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

Bellagio's world-famous fountains are gracefully choreographed to flirt and entice the whimsical spirits of its audience.

- - - - - - - - - -

Bellagio's breathtaking Conservatory & Botanical Gardens celebrates the return of spring.

Photographer: Russell MacMasters

- - - - - - - - - -

Bellagio's pools and private cabanas capture the romance of the Old World in the classical setting of a mediterranean villa.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

all three are unused and bought inside the Bellagio in 2010

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Bellagio is a luxury, AAA Five Diamond award winning hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, USA and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. It is owned by MGM Resorts International and was built on the site of the demolished Dunes hotel and casino.

Inspired by the Lake Como resort of Bellagio in Italy, Bellagio is famed for its elegance. One of its most notable features is an 8-acre (3.2 ha) lake between the building and the Strip, which houses the Fountains of Bellagio, a large dancing water fountain synchronized to music.

Inside Bellagio, Dale Chihuly's Fiori di Como, composed of over 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers, covers 2,000 sq ft (190 m2) of the lobby ceiling. It is home to Cirque du Soleil's aquatic production "O".

Bellagio had an original construction cost of US$1.6 billion.

White Pass and Yukon Route Railway, Alaska, Canada

White Pass and Yukon Route Railway

Skagway, Alaska

The White Pass & Yukon Route train descends the narrow gauge track back to Skagway, Alaska.

Postmarked in 2010 with a 28 cent stamp

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The White Pass and Yukon Route is a Canadian and U.S. Class II narrow gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway, Alaska with Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon, Canada. An isolated system, it has no direct connection to any other railroad.

The line was born of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897. The most popular route taken by prospectors to the gold fields in Dawson City was a treacherous route from the nearest port in Skagway or nearby Dyea, Alaska across the mountains to the Canadian border at the summit of the Chilkoot Pass or the White Pass. There, the prospectors would not be allowed across by the Canadian authorities unless they had a full ton of supplies with them, which for most required several trips up and down the passes before entry to Canada could be obtained. There was a need for a better transportation scheme than the pack horses used over the White Pass or people's backs over the Chilkoot Pass. This need generated numerous railroad schemes. In 1897, the Canadian government received 32 proposals for Yukon railroads, most of which were never realized, however construction started on this line in May 1898.

Burma (Myanmar), Paradise Inle Resort

Burma (Myanmar)

Passers-by infront of Paradise Inle Resort

Serene Inle Lake, Southern Shan State, Myanmar

postmarked in 2004 with a 'Union of Myanmar 'Shan Pot Drum' stamp

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The British called the country Burma, presumably after the majority race the Bamar, but the name Myanmar was the official name of the country since at least the time of Marco Polo. Myanmar again became the official name in 1989 although some still use the colonial name Burma.

- - - -

Paradise Inle Resort consists of bungalows built on stilts right on the lake. Made of local wood and bamboo all bungalows have private balconies overlooking the lake which make for a perfectly relaxing setting in which to enjoy your time in this part of the world.

Wood Postcard from Finland

Aito Suomalainen koivukortti

Pure Finnish birch

postmarked in 2010 with a Finland Aurora borealis stamp

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This postcard is amazing! It is made out of a very thin piece of birch wood. The picture looks like it was added with a laser. It bends and everything! On the back you can clearly see the wood grain.

The sender writes that she bought this card at 'Siida' a museum in Northern Finland.

Wildflower Seed Packet Postcards from Oregon

Postcard Series

Wild Flowers of Oregon

Foret-Me-Not and Golden Lupine

These are actual postcards you mail, however, they are also seed packages with wildflower seeds packaged for 2010. On the back there are directions for planting and a place to write the address, a message and put a first class stamp.

Unused, bought in 2010

Footprints

Footprints

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only on set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it. "LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed you most, you would leave me."

The LORD replied, "My son, My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

The feet in the upper right corner are cut out of the postcard ;-)

postmarked in 2008 with a 27 cent 'Kiwi' stamp

History of the Manned Space Programs, NASA

History of Manned Space Programs

Mercury 1958 - 1963

Gemini 1965 - 1966

Apollo 1968 - 1972

Skylab 1973 - 1974

Shuttle 1981 - Present

Photos courtesy - NASA

This postcard is unused and was bought at Kennedy Space Center in 2010.

Waw an Namus, Libya

Libya

Waw Anamus

postmarked in 2010 with two Libya 100 Stamps, one with a teddy bear and one with a clock

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Waw an Namus is a volcanic field, cone and caldera in the southern region of Libya, in the near-geographic center of the Sahara Desert. The inside of the caldera houses rich foliage and three small salt lakes of variable color which are the reason for the volcano's name.

Its vast size allows it to be easily seen from space. Waw an Namus is an increasingly popular local tourist attraction.

I Love Lucy, Lucy and Harpo Marx

I Love Lucy

unused, bought in 2010

- - - - - - - - - - - -

I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom, starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951 to May 6, 1957 on CBS.

I Love Lucy was the most-watched show in the United States in four of its six seasons, and was the first to end its run at the top of the Nielsen ratings (an accomplishment later matched by The Andy Griffith Show and Seinfeld). I Love Lucy is still syndicated in dozens of languages across the world.

The show in this postcard (called 'Lucy and Harpo Marx') originally aired on May 9th, 1955 (Season 4, Episode 27)

Plot:

The gang meets Harpo Marx and Lucy does the famous 'mirror' routine with him.

Kunst Formen Natur: Ernst Haeckel

Kunst Formen Natur

Ernst Haeckel

postmarked in 2010 with a Taiwan bird stamp

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (February 16, 1834 – August 9, 1919), was an eminent German biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician, professor and artist who discovered, described and named thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and coined many terms in biology, including anthropogeny, ecology, phylum, phylogeny, and the kingdom Protista.

The published artwork of Haeckel includes over 100 detailed, multi-colour illustrations of animals and sea creatures called: Kunstformen der Natur, ("Artforms of Nature").

Yelloweyed Rockfish

You Rock!

You Rock My World!

Photo: Steven Astillero

unused, bought in 2010

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) is a rockfish of the genus Sebastes, and one of the biggest members of the genus. Its name derieves from its coloration. It is also known as the "red snapper. The Yelloweye is one of the world's longest-lived fish species, and is cited to live to a maximum of 114 to 120 years of age. As they grow older, they change in color, from reddish in youngness, to bright orange in adulthood, to pale yellow in old age.

Yelloweye rockfish are prized for their meat, and were declared overfished in 2002, at which time a survey determined that their population, which had been in decline since the 1980s, was just 7-13% of numbers before commercial fishing of the species began. Because of the slow reproductive age of the species, recovery of the species is difficult, and liable to last decades, even with the harshest restrictions. It is currently under consideration for listing under Threatened or Endangered status.

Superior Water-Logged Lumber - Wisconsin

Superior Water-Logged Lumber Co., Inc. is involved in the recovery and processing of high quality northern hardwoods which sank to the bottom of Lake Superior. The logs, lost during the logging era around the turn of the century, produce beautiful, fine grained, environmentally sound lumber.

Superior Water-Logged Lumber Co., Inc.
2200 E. Lake Shore Drive
Ashland, Wisconsin 54806

postmarked in 2010 with a 32 cent stamp

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Superior Water-Logged Lumber Co. is the leading supplier of old growth northern hardwood lumber from logs resting on the bottom of the Great Lakes. These logs sank while being moved across waterways to sawmills in the 1800s and have remained preserved by the icy cold temperatures and low oxygen content of the lakes. Many logs are over 400 years old. Superior Water Logged is the pioneer in recovering this lost resource and is providing furniture and instrument makers with antique quality wood that has not been available for almost a century. Superior Water-Logged Lumber achieves this without cutting down a single tree.