Wild Mushrooms of Taiwan

Thank You George, for this FDC from Taiwan with Wild Mushroom stamps. I also appreciated the stamps used on the envelope to send it to me. I used to keep an aquarium (a few of them actually) and loaches, like the formosania lacustre on the pair of stamps on the left, were some of my favorite fish.

Ochopee, Florida - Smallest US Post Office

The post office at Ochopee in Florida claims to be the smallest in the United States. Ochopee is an unincorporated township in the south-west of Florida. Right on the edge of the Everglades.

This was stamped on the back of the envelope. 

I would guess the post office is big enough for a single postal clerk . Not sure if customers go into the post office or if they stand outside and conduct business over the counter at the doorway. This post office has been open since 1953.

Artigas Base, Uruguay

I sent this down to Artigas in September of 2010. Not directly to the base though. I sent it there through the Uruguayan Antarctic Institute in Montevideo. And I requested that it be sent back to me through Uruguay and not Chile or Argentina (that's why I used the Uruguayan stamps). Philatelic requests for Artigas routed through Montevideo are sent down at the start of the season aboard a supply ship (most likely the Vanguard). And I assume mail coming back to Uruguay would have to wait until the end of the season.  I must have sent it too late to make it down there for the 2010/11 season.

Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux

Merci François,  pour l'enveloppe du premier jour. The Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux or LPO (League for the Protection of Birds) is celebrating its 100th Anniversary. The stamps on this cover feature the Outarde canepetière (Little Bustard) and the Gorgebleue à miroir (Bluethroat). The stamps were cancelled on the first day of issue, 12 May 2012, at Vannes in Brittany. Thanks François!

Germany - 125th Anniversary of the birth of Felix von Luckner

Special envelope commemorating the 125 anniversary of the birth of Felix von Luckner. Luckner commanded the SMS Seeadler; a merchant raider, during the First World War. They slipped through the British blockade flying Norwegian colours. The crew even learned to speak Norwegian incase they were boarded for inspection. In less then a year they captured and sunk 15 vessels before the Seeadler became grounded on a reef in the South Pacific. The envelope was issued as part of the 2005 "sailing ships" stamp issue. Thanks Martin!

Barentsburg, Svalbard

Barentsburg is a Russian mining settlement in the Svalbard archipelago, a short distance away from Longyearbyen. It's a Russian village with a population of 500 and it has a Norwegian post office. Svalbard is Norwegian territory but they allow other nations to have mining settlements there.

There is also a larger 'Barentsburg' cachet on the back of the envelope, similar to the one in blue on the front. The postmark is not very clear though. The image on the postmark is a Svalbard grouse.

El Salvador

Algerian Polar Bears and SOJEX '79

Thank you Laura for sending me these: a "Preserve the Polar Regions" maximum card from Algeria and a Czech SCP cover with a SOJEX 1979 cancel commemorating the 50th anniversary of the "Byrd Antarctic Expedition"

SOJEX was the South Jersey Philatelic Exhibition and I believe 1979 was its final year. As for the Society for Czechoslovak Philately, after 73 years they are alive and well.

Thanks again Laura.