Tuesday 10 August 2021

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 10 August 2021 - T for tortoises, dolphins and a few drinks

 Hello lovely ladies,

This week has flown by and I'm finding myself on Monday night again. I have two postcards for you today, both with animals on them.

The first one is a tortoise that comes to me from Russia:

It features the greek tortoise (Testudo graeca). Wikipedia writes:
The Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca), also known commonly as the spur-thighed tortoise,[1] is a species of tortoise in the family TestudinidaeTestudo graeca is one of five species of Mediterranean tortoises (genera Testudo and Agrionemys). The other four species are Hermann's tortoise (T. hermanni), the Egyptian tortoise (T. kleinmanni), the marginated tortoise (T. marginata), and the Russian tortoise (A. horsfieldii). The Greek tortoise is a very long-lived animal, achieving a lifespan upwards of 125 years, with some unverified reports up to 200 years.

The postcard was sent to me by Elena, and she has also used a stamp with the same tortoise on it.  I have read that this particular tortoise is prevalent on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. 
Here is a photo from the Internet to give you an idea of size:

The stamp is part of an amazing cover from Russia, depicting a miniature sheet issued in 2017 with 4 different species of turtles: the european pond turtle (Emys orbicularis), the chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis), the caspian turtle (Mauramys caspica) and the greek tortoise (Testudo graeca).

My second postcard features dolphins:
It looks like a vintage travel poster for the town of Akaroa. According to Margaret, who sent this card, Akaroa is two hours drive from Christchurch.




Akaroa is a town on the Banks Peninsula, southeast of Christchurch, New Zealand. Akaroa Beach is on the eastern shore of Akaroa Harbour, where rare Hector’s dolphins swim. The Akaroa Museum includes 3 heritage buildings and chronicles the town’s development, especially its 19th-century British and French colonial history. 

Hector’s dolphins are the smallest and rarest marine dolphins in the world. They have distinct black facial markings, short stocky bodies and a dorsal fin shaped like a Mickey Mouse ear.

There is a subspecies of Hector’s dolphin known as Maui’s dolphin that is critically endangered and estimated to have a population of only 55. They are found only in the shallow coastal waters along western shores of New Zealand’s North Island.

The stamps are really nice. The one on the right with the kiwi, I get. But the ice cream cone...? Is New Zealand known for its ice cream?


The kiwi stamp is a sort of 'forever stamp'.
There are different ones. Here are a few examples:

I love my Postcrossing hobby. Last weekend I wrote and sent ten postcards to different countries in the world (They are randomly chosen by the computer program from a pool of over 500,000 members). Here I am posting said ten postcards:

People tell me that reading my blog always makes them hungry as there is always a lot of food. Today, I'm going to make you thirsty as I am going to show you what we drank. And of course today is the day of the T-Party, hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard, so I have several drinks to bring to the T-Party:
 


Above are two glasses of home made kombucha with raspberries as second fermentation.
Below is a good ol' cup of coffee with some cookies my friend made.

The other day I relaxed with a G&T. My sister had kindly left me her bottle of pink gin, so I used that. 


And last but not least (as we were on an animal theme earlier), look what i found on a flower pot on the patio. He (or she) is about an inch and a half long. I see these beetles every year and i don't know what they are exactly, but I'm happy to have him as a guest, as he doesn't bother me and perhaps eats other, smaller creepy crawlies.

That's all from me folks. 

I'll sign off and say:
Happy T-Day!
Stay safe,
Hugs,
Lisca

19 comments:

  1. It is always interesting to see your post cards Lisca. It must be a nice surprise to see where you get them from and what they are about. How often do you mail out postcards? And I have never seen pink gin before. A good gin and tonic is always refreshing on a hot day. Hope all is well. Happy T day. hugs-Erika

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  2. I enjoyed seeing the stamps from other countries...especially animal stamps. Have never seen pink gin before.

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  3. Loved your postcards and those turtle stamps are special too. I have never seen pink gin before-perfect for the summer. Enjoy your August hugs Kathy

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  4. 200 years! Wow. But... LOL, looks rather grumpy!
    Oh, boy, only 55 left, how very sad. Fun stamps!
    Hmmmm, now I am thirsty indeed - have a happy T-day with your beetle there :-)

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  5. I always love seeing your lovely postcards. I was surprised the turtle wasn't larger. I thought from the postcard it was huge, but when you showed its real size, I was surprised. How nice the stamp matched it.

    The dolphin poster type postcard was charming. Too bad the one species is highly endangered. I don't think the ice cream has anything to do with kiwis. Our forever stamps are varied, too. It's just a way to get you to buy stamps.

    I appreciate that you didn't tempt me with food, since I am starving right now,. Never had gin and have never seen it, much less pink. You certainly gave us a choice of drinks for T this Tuesday, dear Lisca.

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  6. Wonderful postcards and stamp again, I know how you love our postcrossing hobby! Your drinks look good, but I'll stick to coffee! You have a good neighbour who bakes cookies for you. Great shot of the black beetle, I often see them when I walk through the fields. Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

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  7. Morning Lisca, beautiful postcards and stamps, love the animals on them. We have those beetles here but the are very often dead and upside down, I’m not sure what they are either.
    Pink gin lovely, our DIL in America had rhubarb gin, it was tasty but in the English shop here it’s €37.50, rather expensive I thought.
    Lovely cookies especially with a coffee
    Have a lovely week, Happy T Day
    Jan

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  8. What fun postcards and stamps you received, Lisca. Always a treat to learn interesting things from them! I love that you do this trading all over the world - so cool!

    Love the drinks too. I have never heard of pink gin, but would love to try to some. Coffee and gifted cookies - yum! Started a diet yesterday so that cookie looks really tasty right now! LOL! Hugz and happy T-day!

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  9. I live the stamps I used to collect them as a child and had a few with dolphins, kiwi's, turtles and tortioses on them. Cookie and gin? My sis inlaw would be the first in line! Have Happy T for Tuesday ((Lyn))

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  10. Loving those postcards and postage stamps! I loved reading about the tortoise and dolphins too, super cute 😀. So many lovely drinks to choose from today, I'll take a pink gin please! Happy T Day wishes! Hugs Jo x

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  11. Postcards sounds like a great hobby. It is a great way to correspond with people from various countries without having to write a full letter.
    I like your stamps, especially the turtle ones. I really love vintage travel posters. The one with the dolphins is very pretty.
    Your kombucha looks very refreshing.
    Happy Tea Day,
    Kate

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  12. what's not to love about turtles and dolphins- more great postcards- and postage stamps too! Love the turtle stamps especially. Lots of drinks to choose from- the kombucha looks especially good to me today. Happy T day!

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  13. I don't even know where to start, this is such a lovely post. I love seeing photos of you. Have a very nice day.

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  14. I can't find raspberries (fresh or frozen) in stores lately. I miss them. I favor Gordon's Gin but haven't had the pink. Pretty! Happy T Tuesday!

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  15. The postcards and stamps are always so interesting. Reminds me I need to buy some stamps as USPS has some cool new stamps available. Happy T Day

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  16. As a child we had lots of pets - dogs, cats, rabbits, fish, budgerigars and we even used to pet some of the chickens but I always wanted a tortoise - and was pleased when my Granddaughter got one! They really are the most unusual looking animal - so great to see them featured on stamps! Love the dolphins but.....icecream? ..a mystery!
    Love the drinks selection, coffee and cookie please! Happy T day, Chrisx

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  17. Hi Lisca, happy Tea day! I travelled a lot in New Zealand, it's a wonderful place I thought of living in once upon a time. It is also known for its ice cream, they have New Zealand Natural Ice Cream shops all over Australia too, the one in the stamp looks like hokey pokey, my favourite. Elle xx

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  18. Lisca, I really like the tortoise postcard and stamps. The New Zealand was great, too. Your postcard hobby is really educational and interesting to us. :) Happy T Day!

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  19. Thanks for your visit, have you tried amazon for the Pukka tea? You might be able to get it from them at a good price.

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