Science & Nature | USPS Stamp of Approval

The Deer stamped card’s Forever® rate means that its postage will always be equal to the value of the First-Class Mail postcard rate in effect at the time of use, even if the rate increases after purchase. Click the image for details.

The delicate creature prancing across the new Deer stamped card is a bit of a mystery. Because it’s more fanciful than realistic, it’s hard to pin down exactly what type of deer it could be—but if Sherlock Homes were here, he might deduce that it’s a Key deer. Put on your (forgive the pun) deerstalker cap, and follow the trail of clues as we make the case.

Cattails: The rare and endangered Key deer is found only in the Florida Keys, where cattails, like the ones that surround the deer in the artwork, thrive in the state’s many wetlands.

Small size: Sometimes called “toy deer,” Key deer stand only about two feet high at the shoulder. Newborn fawns are tiny, weighing just two to four pounds. If the cattails in the artwork are growing close to the ground, they’d be the right height in comparison to a Key deer.

Tendency to travel: Just like a stamped card, which doesn’t even wait for a stamp to move around the country, Key deer get around. They swim between islands in the Florida Keys when they get the urge to move on.

If you’d like to see the enchanting Key deer in person, you can visit the National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key, about 30 miles north of Key West. This delicate animal is a subspecies of the much larger white-tailed deer, which is found throughout much of the United States.

The new Deer stamped card bounded into mailboxes in March, but did you know that besides being a fun way to send greetings, this card may also be able to tell you which part of the United States you live in?

Here’s the test: When you look at the deer created by artist Cathie Bleck, do you see a white-tailed deer or a mule deer? If you answered “mule deer,” it’s a good bet that you live out West!

The Deer (Forever®) Stamped Card is being issued as a Forever® stamped card. Its postage will always be equal to the value of the First-Class Mail postcard rate in effect at the time of use, even if the rate increases after purchase. Click the image for details.

OK, we admit that our test hasn’t been vetted by actual scientists. But because the graceful deer on the card is more fanciful than realistic, we think it can represent any number of deer species—and perhaps it reminds you of the type of deer you might spot in your home state.

Whether you have yet to see your first “mulie” or have one passing through your backyard at this very moment, here’s an introduction to the second most common deer species in the country.

West of the Mississippi, mule deer are more common than white-tailed deer. They can live in deserts, mountain forests, or on the plains.
Mule deer are named for their long, mule-like ears.
Mule deer have a unique way of running away from predators. They leap high into the air, jumping and landing on all four feet at once. This series of bounds lets them quickly make their way up steep mountain slopes.
Mule deer live an average of ten years in the wild—despite living alongside pack-hunting predators such as wolves and coyotes.

The Deer stamped card is currently available online at usps.com/stamps (search for “deer”).

Today is Earth Day, a day to slow down and appreciate the beauty around us. Established in the U.S. in 1970, Earth Day is now the largest civic event in the world, with families, schools, and communities around the globe coming together to reflect on the environment, the planet, and what we can do to keep them healthy for future generations.

The U.S. Postal Service is proud of its long tradition of celebrating the natural world. From wildlife Forever® stamps to seeded postcards, and everything in between, we’ve got just the right thing to help you make every day Earth Day.

Spicebush Swallowtail

Vintage Seed Packets

Lady Bird Johnson

New Mexico Statehood

Bank Swallow

1. The spicebush swallowtail is one of the most beautiful and intriguing of the swallowtail butterflies. This stamp may be used for square envelopes weighing up to and including one ounce. 2. The ten feature photographs of antique seed packets (printed between 1910 to 1920), cropped to highlight their beautiful floral detail. The stamps are available separately or as part of this . 3. The commemorates the centennial of Mrs. Johnson’s birth and honors her legacy of preserving and beautifying America. The sheet features six stamps, five of which were originally issued in the 1960s. 4. The New Mexico Statehood stamp showcases the peaks of Cerro de Santa Clara and Cerro de Guadalupe in northern New Mexico. 5. Earlier this year, USPS issued a stamped envelope featuring the bank swallow, the smallest swallow in North America.

The Grandest Things

Kelp Forest

Save Vanishing Species

Sunflower

Scenic American Landscapes

1. (116 pages) uses breathtaking images and historic stamps to explore how our national park system began. 2. This features ten 44-cent postal cards. 3. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the Save Vanishing Species™ First-Class Semipostal stamp (which features an Amur tiger cub) benefits conservation funds that are helping create hope for the future. The includes ten cards, ten envelopes, and ten semipostal stamps. 4. The 42-cent is now on sale! (Please note that extra postage is required.) 5. Share the pristine beauty of America’s natural wonders with the stamped cards: and . Each set of 20 cards features ten spectacular landscapes (two cards of each image) based on previously released postage stamps. Postage is pre-printed on the cards.

Lancaster County

Apples

Birds of Prey

Hawaiian Rain Forest

Go Green

1. The Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, stamp captures the beauty of the rural landscape as an Amish buggy travels along a country road, passing one of the region’s iconic farms. 2. The four Apples postcard stamps showcase some of America’s favorite varieties. (Can you name then all?) 3. Birds of prey, also known as raptors, thrive in diverse habitats and live on every continent except Antarctica. The 85-cent Birds of Prey stamps salute five kings of the sky: the northern goshawk, peregrine falcon, golden eagle, osprey, and northern harrier. 4. This set of ten 44-cent depicts 24(!) different species. (Additional postage is required for First-Class mail rate.) 5. The illustrate simple things we each can do every day to save the environment, while the are an exciting and eco-friendly way to keep in touch and share the go green message.

Louisiana Statehood

Cherry Blossom Centennial

Purple Martin

Glacier National Park

Global International

1. The Louisiana Statehood stamp features a photograph of Flat Lake, which is located in the Atchafalaya Basin, the largest contiguous river swamp in the U.S. Its bayous are home to alligators, crawfish, snakes, turtles, nutria, owls, and eagles. 2. The panoramic Cherry Blossom Centennial stamps commemorates Tokyo’s gift of cherry blossom trees to the city of Washington D.C. as a sign of growing friendship between Japan and the U.S. The matching set of includes eight cards (four different designs) and envelopes, and eight stamps. 3. The Purple Martin Forever® stamped envelope comes in either a pack of 5 or a box of 500 envelopes. A favorite backyard bird, the purple martin is the largest swallow in North America. 4. The international rate Glacier National Park stamp showcases what many describe as one of the most stunning national parks in the U.S. 5. The offers a single price for any one-ounce First-Class Mail International letter to any country in the world.

Deer

Tufted Puffin

Garden of Love

Arizona Statehood

La Florida

1. On the Deer stamped card, a fanciful graphic of a golden deer, surrounded by gold and green cattails and grasses, captures the graceful look of an animal that is found in many countries around the world. 2. With the 86-cent Tufted Puffins stamp, USPS celebrates the tufted puffin. The birds have adapted to an unusually broad range of ocean habitats, raising their young anywhere from southern California to arctic Alaska. 3. Each of the ten features a different, boldly-colored flora or fauna element emerging from a curling vine outline, and set against a teal blue background. 4. The Arizona Statehood stamp features the colorful and much admired sandstone rock formations of Sedona, Arizona. 5. USPS commemorated the 500th anniversary of the naming of Florida with the release earlier this year of the La Florida (Forever®) stamps, which celebrate the state’s floral abundance. A beautiful matching , envelopes, and stamps is also available.

Did we miss your favorite nature-inspired stamp? Tell us about it in the comments.

Each envelope in this set of 10 also includes a seal bearing a graphic silhouette of a bank swallow perched atop a branch. Click the image for details.

Warm weather has finally arrived in much of the country, and the higher temperatures are bringing a bonus: bank swallows! Even though it’s traditional to look for the first robin of springtime, in many places, swallows have been seen as the harbingers of the new season. In fact, an old proverb states, “One swallow does not a summer make.” But in some countries, the saying is a bit different—it’s actually worded, “One swallow doesn’t make a springtime.”

Whether you spot them in spring or summer, these acrobatic avians star on the new Bank Swallow stamped envelope, which was released in March. If you’d like to know more about these fascinating birds, try taking our bank swallow quiz. And just to add a twist, we’ll supply the answers. See if you can match each of the answers to the correct question. Ready?

Answers

1. A foreclosure
2. Four to five feet
3. Riverbank
4. As many as 89

Questions

A. About how many other species of swallows can be found around the world?
B. What is a flock of bank swallows called?
C. What does the Latin name of the bank swallow, Riparia riparia, translate as?
(Hint: This is also one place that bank swallows like to nest).
D. How long a burrow can a bank swallow dig?

The Bank Swallow Forever® stamped envelope is currently available at usps.com/stamps. Just search for “Bank Swallow.”

Answer key: 1=B, 2=D, 3=C, 4=A

Artist Cathie Bleck created the striking illustration featured on the 2013 Deer (Forever®) stamped card. We recently caught up with Bleck, who filled us in about her artistic process.

How did you first get involved with the Postal Service?

My first project was in 2007. I created the Pineapple stamped card working with art director Ethel Kessler.

Did you like working on the Deer stamped card? And what made it interesting to you?

It was not a favored subject at first for the U.S. Postal Service as there was concern that people perceive deer to be pests. I have always loved the elegant prance of deer, however, and their posturing. When they are native to where you live, they become like an old friend peering through the woods. They are probably one of the most native animals to our country and resilient—coming back from low populations and then resurging. Beauty is a very powerful thing, however, so I persisted and the prance won over. How majestic the deer is, and how often we encounter her stance that lifts the spirit.

What was your inspiration for the art? (Did you look at lots of photographs of deer?)

I rarely look at photos, usually I look inside my personal sketchbooks filled with flora and fauna and animals that I adore. I also love to look at other artists’ portrayals on the subject, especially the sculptor Paul Manship.

From start to finish, was it a fairly quick project?

I like to tell people each piece takes me 30 years of knowledge as a working artist in order to master the perfect line.

Do you enjoy illustrating wildlife?

It is my favorite subject, and developing a mythology around wild animals is even more intriguing to me.

The Deer Forever® stamped card was issued March 8, and it is available now online and in Post Offices around the country.

USPS Stamp of Approval

Category Archives: Science & Nature

New Stamped Card May Show Key Deer

Four Things You Didn’t Know About Mule Deer

Happy Earth Day!

Quiz Yourself on the Bank Swallow

Q + A With Deer Stamped Card Artist Cathie Bleck