Part 1 - What's the difference between RABBITS and HARES? Also, I show you my creations in traditional maximaphily (compliant with rules of FIP CfM): Year of the Hare (or Rabbit, as a mistake, according to zodiac semantics) maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards from USA

Notice the usefulness of a companion item when the postmark is not fully visible on one item.

Also, notice how I politely twisted the arm of the open-minded postal associate into providing me more than one instance of the pictorial postmark, adding stamps on the back.

Out of many, at least some postmarks came out visible and complete.

Do you realize that I used OLDER stamps, not the "STUP" [euphemism] kumquats stamps from this year???

"The Chinese Year of the Rabbit ( 兔 ) is actually the Chinese Year of the Hare, as China has seven native species of hares and no native species of rabbits. 

The Chinese applied their word for hare to the first rabbits to be taken to China, and the word is now erron[e]ously back-translated into English as rabbit. 

The hare is the fourth animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. 

The Year of the Hare is associated with the earthly branch symbol 卯."

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

Not to be outdone, the Vietnamese zodiac takes the error even further, and translates it into Year of the Cat!

"In the related Vietnamese zodiac, the cat takes the place of the hare.^[1][2"

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

"Differences from rabbits

Main article: Rabbit

Hares do not bear their young below ground in a burrow as do other leporids, but rather in a shallow depression or flattened nest of grass called a form. 

Hares are adapted to the lack of physical protection, relative to that afforded by a burrow, by being born fully furred and with eyes open. 

They are hence able to fend for themselves soon after birth; they are precocial. 

By contrast, the related rabbits and cottontail rabbits are altricial, having young that are born blind and hairless.

All rabbits (except the cottontail rabbits) live underground in burrows or warrens, while hares (and cottontail rabbits) live in simple nests above the ground, and usually do not live in groups. 

Hares are generally larger than rabbits, with longer ears, and have black markings on their fur. 

Hares have not been domesticated, while rabbits are kept as house pets. 

There is a domestic pet known as the "Belgian hare", but this is a rabbit that has been selectively bred to resemble a hare.

The hare's diet is similar to the rabbit's. 

They are both in the order Lagomorpha.

Hares have been thought to have jointed, or kinetic, skulls, unique among mammals."

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

So, boys and girls ladies and gentlemen, what did we learn today?

 Year of the Hare, not Rabbit.

All domestic lagomorphs are rabbits, not hares.

So my awww-dorable maximum cards are celebrating erroneously the Year of the Rabbit, as the nice pictorial postmark from West Nyack, New York 10994 says.

But I still love those two postcards!

Don't you? Doncha, baby?

If you don't, then you're an...insensitive savage, or something. [ :D :D :D ]

I would like this blogpost (because of the images, not because of my text) to become one of the cutest, loveliest blogposts in the blogsphere, in the history of blogging.

==============

Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ (wait until Beth posts the today's Linky tool for the meme, then make your entry, if you want to join).