The lilies in the community garden at Republican St and 20th Ave E here on Seattle’s Capitol Hill are gorgeous.
[From Wikipedia and Google Search Labs | AI Overview]
Wednesday/ in full bloom 🪷
[From Wikipedia and Google Search Labs | AI Overview]
[From Wikipedia and Google Search Labs | AI Overview]
Tuesday/ a check with a revenue stamp 💷
As part of the ever-expanding scope of my collection of South African stamps, I have started to collect revenue stamps of the South African colonies.
(Before the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910, South Africa consisted of four British colonies: the Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and the Orange Free State.)
*A suzerain is a person, state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy and economic relations of another subordinate party or polity, but allows internal autonomy to that subordinate.
This yellow revenue stamp with green ink from the Cape Colony is affixed to a checque (using the queen’s English— Queen Victoria) that was issued in 1897 by the Harrismith branch of the National Bank of the Orange Free State.
First issued in 1865 by the Cape Colony | Perf. 14 |Rotogravure
One penny (1d) | green on yellow paper| Queen Victoria’s profile in classical style* surrounded by grapevine and vine leaves in the corners, symbolizing the Cape Colony’s viticulture | Crown at the top, denoting British authority
*Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, queen from 1837 until her death in January 1901.
The Cheque
Written by the treasurer (Charles Truter) of the Dutch Reformed Church on Nov. 9, 1897 to Esquire J. Theron. (Esquire here is the title of a young nobleman).
The cheque is from the Harrismith branch of the National Bank of the Orange Free State, written for an amount of 11 Orange Free State pounds*, 8 shillings, 6 pennies.
*Like the South African pound, it was divided into 20 shillings, and a shilling into 12 pennies.
On the far left of the check is the coat of arms of the Orange Free State.
The cheque was printed by William Brown & Co. of Old Broad Street in London.
Security features at the time included the fine print at the bottom of the check, and so-called fugitive printing, that would use ink that would change, fade, or disappear under specific conditions, if it was tampered with.
The revenue stamp was affixed to the cheque on Nov. 15.
The check was stamped ‘Paid’ on Nov. 19. It seems Esquire Theron had the amount of the check paid into his account at the African Banking Corporation Ltd. in the town of Worcester in the Cape Colony.
A hole was punched in the check to also indicate it has been cashed.
VRYHEID (freedom) at the top, and GEDULD EN MOED (patience and courage) on the ribbon.
IMMIGRATIE (immigration) at the bottom, presumably a call to Europeans, or settlers from other South African colonies to emigrate to the Orange Free State colony.
The livestock look like cattle (the OFS coat if arms image on Wikipedia shows sheep).
The lion on the right must mean ‘courage’, right?
The ox wagon signifies the trek that the pioneers made from the Cape Colony to escape British rule, to establish their own independent Orange Free State republic.
Monday/ earlier sunsets 🌇
We are having a run of beautiful and mild sunny days here in Seattle.
The high today was 77°F (25°C).
I walked down to the fountain and texture pool in Cal Anderson Park just before sunset.
Sunset is now at 8.56 pm and there were beautiful soft blues, pinks and oranges on the horizon, looking out towards the Olympic Mountains behind the Space Needle.
Sunday/ let’s play chess ♟
Whether you are pro or anti
Or could not care less
We are here to tell you
We are here to sell you chess
Not a chance of you escaping
From our wiles
We’ve locked the doors
We’ve blocked the aisles
We’ve a franchise worth exploiting
And we will (yes we will!)
When it comes to merchandising
We could kill
When you get up
When you get up in the morning
‘Til your bedtime book
You will have to live your life
With bishop, knight, and rook
Clean your teeth with checkered toothpaste
Wear our vests
Our kings and queens
On bouncing breasts
You could even buy a set
And learn to play
We don’t mind
We’ll sell you something anyway
We’ve done all our market research
And our findings show
That this game of chess
Will be around a month or so
Maybe it’s a bit confusing
For a game
But Rubik’s cubes
Were much the same
In the end the whole world bought one
All were gone
By which time we merchandisers
Had moved on!
By which time
We had moved on!
– The merchandisers, singing a raucous interlude in the introductory song “Merano” of the 1984 double LP “Chess”.
The music was composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with lyrics by Tim Rice and Björn Ulvaeus (the Swedish translation)
Happy International Chess Day.
International Chess Day is annually celebrated on 20 July, the day the International Chess Federation was founded in 1924.
Here’s Oscar, offering a hint as to what the best move for white would be. (Oscar sometimes quips ‘Don’t let my moustache distract you’.)
But which white pawn should be sacrificed?
Seems to me it’s the one on c7 that needs to go to c8 and be promoted to queen, checking the black king. Yes, the black rook can capture the new queen, but then falls itself to the white queen, a big win for white.
Saturday/ hello kitty (don’t eat me) 🦁
A reader sent in this set of photos to the South African newspaper Die Burger (The Citizen).
The reader Estelle Jordaan writes:
“A once-in-a-lifetime experience .. we were in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (in the Kalahari Desert region of Botswana and South Africa, bordering Namibia to the west).
On our early morning drive from Nossob (at Marie se Draai) we came across seven young lionesses who came walking up the road from the front. One was very curious and approached our vehicle. The next moment she first stood with her paws on our pickup’s runner board, and then upright against the pickup with a ‘high five’ with one paw against the window (luckily the window was closed!). Then she decided she wanted to explore the side mirror more closely and taste it… the damage to the mirror? A small tooth hole, and a few light scratches– but we rather see it as lasting evidence of the best memory so far.”
[Photos by Estelle Jordaan. Published in Die Burger newspaper online, Thursday Jul. 10, 2025]
Friday/ Nelson Mandela International Day 🕊️
Happy Friday.
It is Nelson Mandela International Day— the annual international day in honor of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year on 18 July, his birthday.
Issued May 10, 1994
Perf. 14½x14 | Des. Liza van der Wal | Litho. | No Watermark
882 A293 45c | Photo image of Mandela
[Source: 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 6A]
Issued Nov 26, 2013
Perf. 14¾x14½ | Des. Marie Vermeulen‑Breedt | Litho. | 12 Booklet panes of Rivionia trial defendants with 1 stamp each | No Watermark
1510 A547 Standard Postage (R2.80) | Photo image of Mandela as defendant at Rivonia Trial
[Source: 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 6A]
P.S. From Wikipedia: The Rivonia Trial was a trial that took place in apartheid-era South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, after a group of anti-apartheid activists were arrested on Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia. The farm had been the secret location for meetings of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the newly-formed armed wing of the African National Congress.
Speaking in the dock of the court on 20 April 1964 during the trial, Mandela said: During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
Thursday/ ocelot & opossum 🐆
Researchers at Cocha Cashu Biological Station in southeastern Peru set up a camera trap to study bird behavior, but they got a surprise guest appearance instead: an ocelot trailing an opossum through the jungle at night.
The ocelot, a wild cat slightly larger than a house cat, and the common opossum, a marsupial, are usually predator and prey. But in this video, they moved in tandem— like two old friends walking home from a bar.
Intrigued, they contacted researchers in other parts of the Amazon who turned up three additional, nearly identical videos from different locations and years.
…
Opossums’ attraction to ocelots remains a mystery, but Dr. Damas-Moreira and her colleagues suspect there’s something that draws both animals. One hypothesis is “chemical camouflage.”
“Opossums have a strong smell, and a close-by ocelot might help hide the opossum’s scent from bigger predators, or the opossum’s odor might mask the ocelot’s presence from prey,” said Ettore Camerlenghi, an evolutionary biologist and ecologist at ETH Zurich and an author of the study.
Opossums are also resistant to the venom of pit vipers, a snake that lives in the Amazon. Ocelots lack that defense, and teaming up could give both animals an edge when hunting, Dr. Camerlenghi said. In North America, a similar alliance exists between coyotes and badgers, who buddy up to hunt squirrels.
Wednesday/ a green flower 🌱
We did have the hottest day so far this year here in Seattle, with a high of 91°F (33°C). I waited until it was almost dark before I ventured out for a walk.
Sunset is now at 9.02 pm.
I found this coneflower (genus: Echinacea) tonight. They usually come in purple and pink varieties. This is likely a hybrid, perhaps the ‘Green Twister’ (Echinacea purpurea) that features a distinctive two-toned appearance with lime green and magenta petals.
Tuesday/ heating up ☀️
We had 88°F (31°C) here in Seattle today.
The National Weather Service issued a Heat Advisory for today and tomorrow for the Seattle area— with potential for temperatures in the mid-90s (35°C) on Wednesday.
These are also called night-shining clouds or polar mesospheric clouds. They are composed of ice crystals and form in the mesosphere, the atmospheric layer above the stratosphere, at extremely cold temperatures.
[Still image from a video clip posted by Skunkbayweather @Skunkbayweather on X]
Monday/ stamps from Venda 🐘
The stamps of last of the four South African homelands that issued stamps, made it into my album: those of Venda. (A sample below).
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s parents were of the Venda ethnicity. The Venda people reside primarily in the Limpopo province of South Africa, near the border with Zimbabwe. They have a rich and distinctive culture, including a unique language called Tshivenda or LuVenda (I see it is simply called ‘Venda’ on Google Translate).
On 27 April 1994, independent Venda ceased to exist as it was reintegrated into South Africa to became part of modern-day Limpopo Province.
Venda’s stamps were still valid for postage, though— the 16c stamp below on the last page has a 1997 cancellation.
Sunday/ at the Electrify Expo⚡
Three amigos ran out to Marymoor Park by Redmond this morning— the site for the Electrify Expo Seattle 2025.
[Source: Google Search Labs | AI Overview]
*Or maybe it is the Red Multi-Coat: a premium version of the standard Red, offering a more vibrant and lustrous appearance.
That’s a metallic green wrap on the truck (all Cybertrucks are offered with a raw, stainless steel exterior).
A young rider demonstrates gravity-defying freestyle stunts that he can do with his electrified moto-cross bike. (There is a steep up-ramp on the other side that gets him into the air).
Saturday/ a double bagel 🍩🍩
Poor Amanda Anisimova (age 23, 🇺🇸) suffered a ‘double bagel’ defeat against Iga Świątek (24, 🇵🇱) in today’s Wimbledon Women’s Singles final.
Anisimova struggled with her serve, and made way too many unforced errors. She skipped practice on Friday because of fatigue and felt pain in her right shoulder while warming up before the match.
From BBC.com/ sport:
The rarity of a 6-0 6-0 score line in a final underlines Swiatek’s dominance.
This is the first 6-0 6-0 win in a Grand Slam final since Steffi Graff (19, 🇩🇪) beat Natasha Zvereva (17) in just 34 minutes at the 1988 French Open.
It is the first time it has been done in a Wimbledon final in the Open era, which is when tennis became professional (1968).
In 1911, Dorothea Lambert Chambers (32, 🇬🇧) beat Dora Boothby (29, 🇬🇧) by the same score line— but that was in the challenge match era, where the defending champion played just once.
Friday/ like a rocket 🚀
Happy Friday.
The stock markets in the US closed the week out with the world’s first four trillion dollar company: Nvidia (NVDA), listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
Here’s Tripp Mickle reporting for the New York Times from San Francisco:
Nvidia spent three decades building a business worth $1 trillion. It spent two years turning itself into a $4 trillion company.
On Thursday, the world’s leading provider of computer chips for artificial intelligence became the first public company worth $4 trillion, after its stock ended the day trading just above $164 a share. It achieved the milestone before an array of better-known tech heavyweights, including Apple and Microsoft.
Nvidia’s rise is among the fastest in Wall Street history, and a testament to investors’ belief that artificial intelligence will deliver an economic transformation that rivals the Industrial Revolution’s.
Apple and Microsoft, the market’s two largest companies in recent years, have led the way toward the $3 trillion mark. But Nvidia’s rise is unprecedented. In two years, it went from being valued at $1 trillion to becoming the first company with a market capitalization of $4 trillion.
… Early this year, its shares fell 17 percent and it lost $600 billion in market value on a single day after the Chinese company DeepSeek claimed it could train a cutting-edge A.I. system with a tiny fraction of the Nvidia chips U.S. companies were using. Investors’ fears proved to be overblown, and Nvidia recovered. But the breakthrough showed the volatility that comes with being an A.I. bellwether.
[Graphic by Karl Russell and Blacki Migliozzi/ NYT]
Thursday/ Paul McCartney on stamps ✉️
Funny— that these two stamps were on the envelope from Great Britain containing my Ebay stamps, yesterday.
Paul McCartney (83) announced yesterday that his “Got Back” concert tour later this year in the USA is a go.
(He’s not coming to Seattle).
Issued May 28, 2021
Perf. 14 | Engraving: International Security Printers Ltd. | 2 stamps from a miniature sheet containing 4 stamps
4376 ENK 1st Class Mail | Black & white photo image | McCartney in the studio, 1970
4377 ENK 1st Class Mail | Black & white photo image | McCartney recording ‘RAM’ album, 1971
[Source: stampworld.com]
P.S. McCartney was 27 in 1970. That was also the year that The Beatles broke up.
From a Facebook page called ‘This Day in Music’: On 10th April 1970, 27 year-old Paul McCartney issued a press statement, announcing that The Beatles had split, (one week before the release of his solo album). McCartney said, “I have no future plans to record or appear with The Beatles again, or to write any music with John”. John Lennon, who had kept his much-earlier decision to leave The Beatles quiet for the sake of the others, was furious. When a reporter called Lennon to comment upon McCartney’s resignation, Lennon said, “Paul hasn’t left. I sacked him.”
Wednesday/ new citizens 🇺🇸
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell posted this picture on X today, of new US citizens and Seattle officials who attended the 40th annual Independence Day (July 4) Naturalization Ceremony held at Seattle Center.
Over 500 new US citizens were sworn in.
The officials in the picture are:
–David G. Estudillo (fourth from the left), Chief US District Judge for the Western District of Washington: Judge Estudillo presided over the ceremony and administered the oath of allegiance to the new citizens.
–Maria Cantwell, US Senator for Washington State (to his right): Senator Cantwell gave the congratulatory address to the new citizens.
–Miss Washington is Hermona Girmay, who was crowned in July 2024. She is also a University of Washington School of Public Health alumna and is using her platform as Miss Washington to champion health equity.
–Bruce Harrell, Mayor of Seattle: Bruce Harrell delivered welcome remarks at the ceremony.
Alma Franulović Plancich, the ceremony’s long-time coordinator, was recognized for her 40 years of dedication to the event.
“While the other Washington challenges basic principles, we forge a different path. It was an honor to celebrate Independence Day at the Naturalization Ceremony, welcoming 501 new U.S. citizens and honoring Alma Franulovic Plancich for her decades of leadership”.
Tuesday/ a successful cruise season in Cape Town 🛳️
South African newspaper Die Burger (‘The Citizen’) reports that Cape Town has had a very successful 2024/25 cruise season. A total of 83 cruise ships visited the cruise terminal at the V&A Waterfront , of which 11 were there for the first time.
The cruise terminal saw an increase of 16% in terms of passengers and crew numbers over last year. (The 2023/24 season generated US$ 67.4 million for the regional economy and supported 2,000 jobs. The numbers for 2024/25 are still being compiled).
[Picture from Facebook/Wesgro]
The Crown Princess is currently on a 60-day world cruise that began on May 31, 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand. She is scheduled to arrive in Dover, England, on July 30, 2025.
The ship’s itinerary was adjusted last week due to stormy weather conditions around Cape Town and Walvis Bay.
As a result, her arrival in Walvis Bay, Namibia, was delayed until July 1, and she subsequently bypassed Mindelo, Cape Verde (Cabo Verde).
[Picture from Facebook/ Wesgro]
Monday/ hydrangea time 🟣
My hydrangea is blooming.
[From Wikipedia]
Sunday/ shot of the day 🎾
Day 7 at Wimbledon is done.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz (22, 🇪🇸) is still on track, with a great win today over Andrey Rublev (27): 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Alcaraz will play Cameron Norrie in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Norrie (29, 🇬🇧) is British, and was born in Johannesburg, South Africa.
[‘Shot of the day’ by The Athletic from the New York Times]
Saturday/ stamps from Bophuthatswana 🐆
My set of Bophuthatswana stamps are in the stamp album.
Below are the first two pages of stamps, including the colorful set of first definitives that feature stylized African animals as totems for Bophuthatswana clans.
Bophuthatswana was a homeland in South Africa that gained nominal independence in 1977.
Its citizens suffered a number of political crises during its existence (see below).
By 1994 the homelands experiment was over, and Bophuthatswana was reincorporated into South Africa along with all the other homelands.
• Self-government 1 June 1972
• Nominal Independence 6 December 1977
• Coup d’état 10 February 1988
• Coup attempt 1990
• 1994 Bophuthatswana crisis
• Dissolution 27 April 1994
Also see a previous post for Ciskei.
However, like the other Bantustans of Ciskei, Transkei and Venda, its independence was not recognized by any country other than South Africa.
[Source: Wikipedia]
Friday/ Independence Day
Issued Apr. 20, 1987
Perf. 10 on 1, 2, or 3 sides |Booklet panes of 10 |Quantity Issued: 76,303,125 |Design: Corita Kent |Photogravure |Engraving: Bureau of Engraving and Printing |No Watermark
U.S. #2267 |22c First-class rate |Yellow, deep blue, light blue, white and pink |Fireworks and ‘Congratulations!’
Postmark from Buffalo, NY, July 2024.
[Source: mysticstamp.com]