By Cycle Mail

This letter sent by Pedro from Portuga took nine days to arrive. Not bad, if you consider it came by bike...

The stamp belongs to the 2026 series As Bicicletas no Ciclismo (='Bicycles in Cycling'). 

He has recently sent more Portuguese bicycles. The stamps below are from the 2025 series As Bicicletas nas Profissões (='Bicycles in Professions'). Here you have the farmer's and the milkman's bikes:

In a Most Restless State

« [...] by no letters appearing in the course of three or four days more, she was in a most restless, anxious state.»

Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

Women on Postcards | P Is for Priestess

Catedral Procession, by Alison Gardiner

More men than women on this card sent by Laura (the UK). But, don't the women stand out?

[Women on Postcards - 2026]

Sunday Stamps | J Is for Jazz

Billie Holiday

USA, 1994

Bessie Smith

USA, 1994

Erroll Garner / Eubie Blake

USA, 1995

1920's - Jazz Flourishes

USA, 1998

Eleanor Collins

Canada, 2022

These are my J-stamps for Sunday Stamps.

Happy Easter

Postcard sent by Eduard (Russia).

Stamps from Poland and Ukraine.

Paz

Getting as many as possible of these Peace Stamps was my 2023 postal project. I did not expect to receive more of them, but a new one arrived on the back of a postcard sent by Pedro (Portugal). 

Thursday Postcard Hunt | It Is the Time of Roses

'It was the time of roses' (1914)
By David Murray (1849-1933)

'Rose', c. 1957
By Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986)

Postcards sent by Laura (the UK) and Bryon (the USA). Notice the matching stamp on the second one!

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

Thursday Postcard Hunt
April theme: COLOURS OF THE SPRING

• Week 1 - Pink
• Week 2 - Yellow
• Week 3 - Green
• Week 4 - Purple
• Week 5 - Blue

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Women on Postcards | Y Is for Years

I got this postcard for my birthday. I have no clue about the author or the title of the illustration. I like it though. The first thing I thought when I looked at it was that a birthday is like a mirror standing between the years lived and the years to come.

[Women on Postcards - 2026]

Gardening Time

Letter sent by Laura (the UK).

Year of the Fire Horse [III]

Postcard sent by Bryon (the USA), appropriately postmarked in Caballo, New Mexico! (Caballo means 'Horse' in Spanish).

Sunday Stamps | I Is for Insects

Some Insects for Sunday Stamps: I. Some of these are not the first time they have appeared on the blog.

Actias luna (Luna Moth)

USA, 2025

Aeshna canadiensis (Canada Darner)

Canada, 2007

Argynnis paphia (Silver-Washed Fritillary)

Czech Republic, 2023

Carabus nitens (Golden Bog Groundbeetle)

Belarus, 2016

Castiarina klugii (Jewel Beetle)

Australia, 2016

Cupido comyntas (Eastern Tailed Blue)

USA, 2016

Danaus plexippus (Monarch caterpillar)

Hyalophora cecropia (Cecropia moth)

Canada, 2007 & 2009

Deilephila elpenor (Elephant hawk-moth)

United Kingdom, 2020

Petasida ephippigera (Leichhardt's grasshopper)

Australia, 1991

Polyommatus icarus (Common Blue)

Czech Republic, 2020

Stigmodera gratiosa (Jewel Beetle)

Australia, 2016

Food from Other Countries

Indonesian traditional food. Sent by Irene (Indonesia).

Хантейка is a fish dish from the north of Russia. Sent by Anna (Russia).

Bird on Tree

I have received this pictorial postmark several times... But I love how perfectly the bird is perched on the tree in this one!

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Young Animal

Thursday Postcard Hunt
March theme: ANIMALS

• Week 1 - In the Wild
• Week 2 - On the Farm
• Week 3 - Pets
• Week 4 - Young

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

Eduard (Russia) sent it by mail, but this is not a conventional postcard, and I am not even sure Чебурашка is a conventional animal (A bear cub? A hare with large ears? A monkey?). It was created by writer Eduard Uspensky in 1966 (I hope it does not mean he is not young any more!) as one of the main characters in the book Gena the Crocodile and His Friends and its sequels.

There are two versions: on the stamp, as he appeared in the cartoon Crocodile Gena in 1969, created with the direct participation of the film's production designer, Leonid Shvartsman. On the cardboard, as it was reimagined for the 2023 film.

Spring Letters

Letters sent by Laura & Alan (the UK).