Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!

@bittergrounds

Philately, writing, occasionally quite profane. Canadian who's family fought fascists, not voted for them. I've been called nasty by better people than MAGATS. See stamp content.

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Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· 4d

Haven't seen a Pebbles watch in years.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· 22d

Here's a mediocre photo of took after saving it.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· 27d

Yup. Toronto this evening. From my building, looking south side. Not good

Evening photo of Toronto, with CN tower. Sky is hazy yellow because of the smoke.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· 27d

Looking for something fun to read? Try Stamp of the Day. Over 900 - yes 900 - articles to browse through. Some pretty long, some just a paragraph or two. Depends on how lazy I feel. ... pick a day. bittergrounds.com/this-day-in-... #stamps #writing #history #reading

A screen shot of the month of July's stamps - one subject for each day. SHows 18 stamps and links to explore what each is about.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· Jun 26

I always loved the Canadian special air delivery. Designed by the great Herman Schwartz. We've gone from bikes to airplanes to deliver our mail!

4 stamps - Canada Special Deliver -Expres - one 16 c stamp and three 17c stamps showing 1940s prop airplanes

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· Jun 25

Not a stamp, but a friend's family used to make these in the 30s. Think it would make a kickass stamp. 1939 Hungary. Now I have to find some stamps to rival that sweet special delivery.

SHB 98 Motorett moped from the 1930s. Bicycle adapted with an engine and gas tank adapted.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· Jun 24

Ohhh... a Challenge. How about a Titan!

Titan 350 vintage Austrian motorbike on a yellow stamp

Titan 350 vintage Austrian motorbik stamp on a first day cover with a postmark showing a titan bike and the words TITAN enscribed on the cancel.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· Jun 23

How loooow can it go! Looks like they fell off a cliff lol. #NovaRed

NovaRed mining stock shown on a graph taking a significant plunge shortly after they announced Noem was joining them. It looks like the stock has fallen off a cliff.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· Jun 5

In an increasingly dangerous time, I hope for a rambunctious and safe PRIDE month for everyone I love. #Stamps #Canada #PRIDE

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 27

A stamp was issued about him in 2021.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 24

Looking for something to read? A bit of history, stamps, literature... well a hodge podge of fun. bittergrounds.com <- hundreds of articles to read. #stamps #writing #history

Bitter Grounds stamps, espresso & conversation
http://bittergrounds.com

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 14

Why #Logitech? Why do we need AI added to our bloody mice? For the love of our sanity stop wedging AI into every crevice in an attempt to make it relevant.

Screen shot from Logitech software upgrade showing Logi AI Prompt Builder that access ChatGPT while using the mouse.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 13

Ah spring in Toronto.

Another close up of a crabapple blossom in bright deep pink.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 13

Guess what day it is? It's WORLD COCKTAIL DAY! Yes a day set aside for us to say screw the world, catch me on the balcony with a cocktail as I watch the world go by. And of course, there's a stamp for that! #Stamps #cocktails bittergrounds.com/cryptoreleas...

Cocktails in Paradise
Issued by Vanuatu in 2014
Designed by New Zealand artist Denise Durkin

4 cocktail glasses with relaxing beach scenes inside the glasses

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 12

I prefer the original Italian poster.

Poster for Italian movie The last Shark. Shows a big ass shark leaping up, mouth wide open, and knocking over all sorts of windsurfers.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 12

Canada Post has also produced some excellent stamps like this 2015 souvenir sheet

Wreckage & diagram of HMS Erebus on a souvenir sheet with a single stamp.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 9

Here's what I spend #donations on. Reference #books. My latest acquisition is a small volume abt Stephen Smith & his #rocketmail experiments in #India. From the Diary of Stephen Smith. Just arrived. Shout out to #independentbookstores who carry books like this. #stamps #philately

Inside page showing photo of a rocket taking off

Diagram by Smith showing rocket firings.

Front cover of book From the Diary of Stephen Smith.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 9

Stamp shelves are looking might happy. Might need to expand to the shelves beside my desk soon. #stamps

Bookshelves covering lower half of wall filled with stamp albums, reference books, shoe boxes full of covers and stamps and supplies

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 8

Armin Shimerman as Principal Snyder ... does meet an nasty end.

Photo of Armin Shimerman in the role of Principal Snyder in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 1

From the same newsletter, 1929. A warning about faked cachets on some Canadian airmail covers. The article lists a number of other faked cachets. If you are interested I can post the rest. #airmail #Canada #stamps #history

Text from newspaper clipping
Readers are advised to be careful of
covers offered them bearing first flight
cachet of Rolling Portage-Red Lake or
Gold Pines, flown either way during
1927. The first flight was on May lOth,
1927, and we have seen two covers
which are postmarked June 1927, having
first flight cachet, which are obviously
fakes. Every first flight cover has the
dates of May lOth, 1927 either front
or back and are very easily indentified.

Covers are also being offered with first
flight cachet of Gold Pines, Red Lake,
Woman Lake or Jackson Manion, and
Narrow Lake dated January 25th, 1928

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 1

From Nov 20, 1929 Airpost Journal. BROOKINS FLIES 12 MILES WITH MAIL Time and Distance Records Broken in Flight from Kinlock Field. Bit of interesting #Airmail #history #stamps #philately #aviation

Article Reads:
BROOKINS FLIES 12
MILES WITH MAIL
Time and Distance Records
Broken in Flight from Kinlock Field.
FEAT IS SEEN BY 2 5,000
Trip Will Be Made To-Day Across Field-Aerial Post Box for Public

Oct. 5-Walter Brookins, flying in a Wright biplane, carried 6000 pieces of mail from Kinloch Field to Fairground Park yesterday afternoon. The distance, twelve miles, is the greatest mail has ever been carried in an aeroplane.

Brookins left Kinloch Field at 4:18 p.m. and alighted at Fairground park at 4:32:40 p.m., twenty seconds ahead of his schedule. The time was the best ever made by an aeroplane carrying mail and the flight was the first west of the Alleghany mountains on which mail was carried.

A crowd estimated at 25,000 cheered the av.iator as he landed at the park with the 'two sacks of mail. Aero Club officials rushed up to him, eager to congratulate him, shake his hand and hear what he had to say about the flight.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 1

200 Yr. Anniversary of Janos Batsanyi. First thing I picked up. Now that's a cancel.

Hungarian stamp - diamond shape in red and pink. With spectacular 1963 cancel 200 Yr. Anniversary of Janos Batsanyi

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 1

They've arrived! Now I have to find shelf space for all the new stamp albums

A stack of 5 stamp albums sitting on a chair.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· May 1

#Marianne 2022 poster from the 75th Autumn Philatelic Fair in Paris featuring Yseult Digan’s 2018 Marianne (with Elsa Catelin on engraving duties). I tried to get this, but couldn't find a seller. Still tops of my list #stamps #France #Poster

A black and white engraved poster featuring Yseult YZ's interpretation of the iconic French image Marianne. Engraved by Elsa Catelin.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· Apr 30

And a tablet case too! What a great re-purposing of old mailbags.

Dutch post mail bag repurposed as an ipad case. tan canvas with veritcal red white blue stripes in the middle of hte case.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· Apr 30

Another notebook just made it onto my "i need this" list. Nederlands "postbag notebook is made from original PTT postbags". #nederlands #philately #merch shop.postnl.nl/webshop/cade...

Notebook with cover made of old Dutch mailbags

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· Apr 30

Looking around various post offices & coveting some pretty cool merch. #Malaysia has one of the best notebooks around. I need to get this. #philately #merch shop.pos.com.my/peti-pos-not...

A notebook with a red cover that looks like a post box. Has a loop for a pen.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· Apr 26

Page from Jan 1940 magazine: Flying Aces: Fiction, model building, facts. A comic detailing Canadian air ace Billy Bishop. #aviation #Canada #history #comic

6 panel comic abt Canadian Billy Bishop:
1. Born in Owen Sound, Ont., in 1894, William A. Bishop
entered the Royal Military College in 1912. In 1914 he enlisted
in the 4th Canadian Rifles, and in 1915, he transferred to the
Flying Corps and spent four months in France as an observer.
Injured when his pilot made a poor landing, Bishop returned to
England, then he took pilot training.
2. On March 31, 1917, Bishop was ordered to destroy a par-
ticular German observation balloon five miles behind the enemy
lines. While engaged in that duty he was attacked by an enemy
scout, which he forced down in short order. He then destroyed
the balloon with incendiary bullets. For this job “Billy” Bishop
received his first decoration—the Military Cross.
3 - Не attacked three balloons on April 24, just three weeks
later, sending two down in flames. Next day, Bishop received
his notice of having been awarded the Military Cross And on the 30th
“Billy” engaged in nine fights
4 - Bishop returned to France in May, after being on leave
in England, and on June 2 he carried out a long-cherished plan
of attacking a German airdrome. Passing over an enemy field,
he
saw
seven
machines
preparing to take-off. Bishop dived,
raked the drome with bullets. He destroyed two planes on the
ground and got another in the air.
5 - Air Marshal Bishop advocates wooden military airplanes
& definitely believes that they are superior to metal craft.
For years he has argued that spruce ships are easier to build,
need less expert repair, and have all the desirable qualities of
the metal jobs. & he is now active in putting over a new
R.C.A.F, wooden bomber.
6 - Canada is rightfully proud of her Air Marshal, who was
the fourth greatest Ace produced by the First World War, having
a record of 72 confirmed victories. And at the present Bishop is
still fighting—this time to rebuild the Royal Canadian Air Force
to help England stave off the threat of Germany’s formidable
sky horde.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· Apr 24

Working on Türkiye's 2026 stamps. I always think it'll take an hour, maybe 2, then I start writing and researching and ... well already over 1,600 words & I'm only up to Mar 12. Worth the wait. Here's a teaser: #Al-Jazari - Father of Cybernetics #stamps #Türkiye #elephants

Al-Jazari - Father of Cybernetics souvenir sheet. Stamp shows portrait of al-Jazari, On the sheet is a beautiful drawing of his mechanical elephant water clock. Elephant on the bottom supporting richly decorated waterworks

A cancel showing an elephant, with mechanical driver inside.

Catpaw 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇬🇪 ** Treacherous Canadian!@bittergrounds· Apr 21

Love this set from China released yesterday. The 3rd in their Seal Carving series. Beautifully designed by Yu Xue 于雪 and featuring 4 classic chinese seals. You can learn more over at bittergrounds.com/chinas-2026-... #China #Art #Seals #stamps