Check out this image: A cat on a personalized stamp that I have customized at Zazzle.

Cat1.jpg A cat on a personalized stamp that I have customized at Zazzle. If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/ll201/dorincard/Stamps/?action=view¤t=Cat1.jpg&evt=user_media_share

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Please visit: http://viridianpostcard.blogspot.com/

Maximum card from Transkei - the black-footed cat (Felis nigripes)

Small feline, but quite fierce in self-defense.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felis_nigripes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transkei

Asian Golden Cat (Pardofelis temminckii; syn. Catopuma temminckii) - this is a dorincard that I created with an A4 (page-size) image of a magazine page.

Is this a traditional, FIP-compliant maximum card? No.

Is this made with a commercial, normal size postcard? No.

Do I like this dorincard? Yes.

How about you?

Wild experiment: go to your local store(s) where you buy postcards, and ask, with a straight face, for "a normal postcard with an Asian Golden Cat, in other words Pardofelis temminckii."

The clerk will look at you, wondering what the hell is wrong with you, then you'll get a NO.

So what's a collector to do? Nothing?

YOU do that, if that's what you want.

I prefer to find solutions.

In this case, I found this large, detailed, gorgeous image in a magazine.

I own this copy of the page (a real page), and I can do many things with it.

Of course, I choose to use it as a postcard.

I could even mail it, but I would risk getting it damaged or losing it.

The normal fate (99.99% of the time) of a magazine page is to end up in the trash, don't you think?

Well, think.

:)

Since the image is superb, I could really affix the label with the postmarked stamp onto it.

My good friend Ye Choh San (Malaysia) has sent me that serviced label, at my request.

"The Asian Golden Cat (Pardofelis temminckii syn. Catopuma temminckii), also called the Asiatic Golden Cat and Temminck's Golden Cat, is a medium-sized wild cat of Southeastern Asia."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_golden_cat

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/

Curiousity killed the cat? Not this time. Maxi-card (USA)

I added here the second image, to show you that it's a folded postcard ("greeting card") that I used to create the Curious Cat maximum card. In the same pass, I scanned a foldable postal card with dogs.

Maximum card created for me by my philatelic partner/friend Kirsi (Finland), with her personalized stamp about Lauri, her smart and beautiful black cat

Beautiful maximum card (maybe Kirsi created more of this, or maybe it's the only one in the world -> the beauty of personalization, customization in maximaphily).

The postmark is barely visible above the stamp.

Many black cats have been villified in history. Not Lauri, this beautiful cat who made it to a good...Finnish. :)

I just created this Eurasian Lynx zazzle stamp!

http://www.zazzle.com/eurasian_lynx_lynx_lynx_2_postage-172671608481701030?gl=dorinco&rf=238693463283865848

I have also created another version.
Can you spot the two differences between the two versions? You notice that I have posted the extra-large images of them. "Larger than life". To see the real size of the stamps, click on the links. At zazzle.com, there are two other sizes available for ordering: small and medium.
I prefer the large size, not to strain the eyes. :)

http://www.zazzle.com/eurasian_lynx_lynx_lynx_1_postage-172731745930775571?gl=dorinco&rf=238693463283865848

You are the strongest lynx: Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), the national animal of Romania and of Republic of Macedonia. See maximum cards from Romania

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lynx_lynx2.jpg

I should create a maximum card with this superb image!

In UK there are about 60 species of wild mammals, of which 30 are introduced, non-native to UK.

In Romania, there are about 102 species of wild mammals .

The World Record Trophy for lynx fur belongs to a specimen shot in Romania.

"The smallest species are the Bobcat [Lynx rufus] and the Canada Lynx [Lynx canadensis], with average weights 10 to 13 kilograms (22 to 29 lb), while the largest is the Eurasian Lynx [Lynx lynx], with average weight 18 to 25 kilograms (40 to 55 lb), up to a reported maximum of 40 kilograms (88 lb), but there is considerable variation within species."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynx

Above, you noticed the map of the Retezat National Park (Romania), on the souvenir sheet selvage affixed on the back of a maximum card. On the front of that postcard is the stamp from the souvenir sheet.

"Retezat National Park is a natural reserve area located in the Retezat Mountains in Hunedoara county, Romania.

Containing more than 60 peaks over 2,300 metres (7,500 ft) and over 100 crystal clear deep glacier lakes, the Retezat Mountains are some of the most beautiful in the Carpathians. In 1935 the Government of Romania set aside an area of the Retezat Mountains creating the country's first national park.

Currently the park has 381 km² (147 sq mi). The area shelters one of Europe's last remaining intact old-growth forest and the continent's largest single area of pristine mixed forest. The highest peak of the Retezat Mountains, Peleaga, 2,509 metres (8,232 ft) is located in the park. The park also includes about 80 glacier lakes.

The flora consists of approximately 1190 plant species, of which 130 have the "endangered" or "vulnerable" status. Wolves, brown bear, wild boar, Eurasian Lynx, European Wildcat,chamois, Roe Deer and red deer, as well as small carnivore species such as Eurasian Badger and Eurasian otter populate the park.

The Gemenele scientific reserve is a strictly protected area of the park enclosing an intact primeval forest.

In 1979 the Man and Biosphere Program of UNESCO included the park in the international network of biosphere reserve."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retezat_National_Park

This park shelters 90 species of endemic plants, that grow nowhere else on Earth.

Click to see photos from Retezat, and wait a few seconds - it's a slideshow:

http://retezat.ro/index.php/english.html

Hyper Lynx :) - WWF maximum cards/maxicards from Portugal: Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus)

Take a good look: there are maybe only 100 left in the wild.

"The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), sometimes referred to as the Spanish lynx, is a critically endangered species native to the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe. It is the most endangered cat species in the world.^[2] According to the conservation group SOS Lynx, if this species died out, it would be the first feline extinction since the Smilodon 10,000 years ago.^[3]The species used to be classified as a subspecies of the Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx), but is now considered a separate species. Both species occurred together in central Europe in thePleistocene epoch, being separated by habitat choice.^[4] The Iberian lynx is believed to have evolved from Lynx issiodorensis.^[5]"

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_lynx}

WWF Maximum cards from Kyrgyzstan: snow leopard (Uncia uncia)

Beautiful feline, very elusive.

"Snow leopards are carnivores and actively hunt their prey. However, like all cats, they are opportunistic feeders, eating whatever meat they can find including carrion and domestic livestock. They are capable of killing animals three times their size but will readily take much smaller prey such as hares and birds.^[5]

The diet of the snow leopard varies across its range and with the time of year, and is dependent on prey availability. In the Himalayas it preys mostly on bharals (Himalayan blue sheep) but in other mountain ranges such as the Karakoram, Tian Shan, and Altai, its main prey consists of Siberian ibex and argali, a type of wild sheep, although this has become rarer in some parts of the snow leopard's range.^[4][13] Other large animals eaten include various types of wild goats and sheep (such as markhors and urials), other goat-like ruminants such as Himalayan tahr and gorals, plus deer, boars, and langur monkeys. Smaller prey consists of marmots, woolly hares, pikas, various rodents, and birds such as the snow cock and chukar.^{[4][5][13][14]}

It is not averse to taking domestic livestock, which brings it into direct conflict with humans. Herders will kill snow leopards to prevent them from taking their animals.^[5]

Snow leopards prefer to ambush prey from above and can leap as far as 14 meters (46 ft).^[15]"

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_leopard}

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^{What do you know about Kyrgyzstan? :)}

^{It's OK - welcome to the club.}

^{But we can have fun learning, can't we?}

^{"The 40-rayed yellow sun in the centre of the flag represents 40 warriors of the mythical hero Manas. The lines inside the sun represent the crown or tündük (Kyrgyz түндүк) of a yurt, a symbol replicated in many facets of Kyrgyz architecture. The red portion of the flag represents peace and openness of Kyrgyzstan."}

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstan}