WOA OLDEST TREES BRISTLECONE PINE NON-AUTOGRAPHED MAXIMUM CARD (I CREATED ONLY A HANDFUL)

- Condition: WONDERS OF AMERICA BRISTLECONE PINES UNCIRCULATED MAXIMUM CARD (19X13cm, 7.5x5.25inches) WITH FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK

- Year: 2006
- Catalog value: (I CREATED ONLY A HANDFUL)

The bottom one is the only copy I have in that configuration.

"The bristlecone pines are a small group of pine trees (Family Pinaceae, genus Pinus, subsection Balfourianae) that are thought to reach an age far greater than that of any other single living organism known, up to nearly 5,000 years.
There are three closely related species of bristlecone pine:

• Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine Pinus aristata in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona
• Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Pinus longaeva in Utah, Nevada and eastern California
• Foxtail Pine Pinus balfouriana in California

Bristlecone pines grow in isolated groves at and just below the tree line. Because of cold temperatures, dry soils, high winds, and short growing seasons, the trees grow very slowly. The wood is very dense and resinous, and thus resistant to invasion by insects, fungi, and other potential pests. As the tree ages, much of its vascular cambium layer may die. In very old specimens, often only a narrow strip of living tissue connects the roots to a handful of live branches.".

"The oldest single living organisms known are bristlecone pines, though some plants such as
creosote bush or aspen form clonal colonies that may be many times older. Recently, Swedish researchers discovered a self-cloning spruce in Dalarna that has been dated to just under 10,000 years old[1] [2]. The existing growth in clonal colonies sprang as shoots from older growth so there is an unbroken chain of life that sometimes dates back several tens of thousands of years. However, the original ancient growth in these colonies is long dead. The oldest bristlecone pines are single plants that have been alive for a little less than 5,000 years. These very old trees are of great importance in dendrochronology or tree-ring dating.

The oldest (acknowledged) living organism known is a bristlecone pine tree nicknamed "Methuselah" (after Methuselah, the longest-lived person in the Bible). Methuselah is located in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains of eastern California, however its precise location is undisclosed by the U.S. Forest Service to protect the tree from vandalism.^[1] The age of Methuselah was measured by core samples in 1957 to be 4,789 years old.

In the Snake Range of eastern Nevada Donald R. Currey, a student of the University of North Carolina, was taking core samples of bristlecones in 1964. He discovered that "Prometheus" in a cirque below Wheeler Peak was over 4,000 years old. His coring tool broke, so the U.S. Forest service granted permission to cut down "Prometheus". 4,844 rings were counted on a cross-section of the tree, making "Prometheus" at least 4,844 years old, the oldest non-clonal living thing known to man.^[2]"

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

WOA LONGEST REEF NON-AUTOGRAPHED MAXIMUM CARD (I CREATED ONLY A HANDFUL)

WONDERS OF AMERICA "OFF THE FLORIDA KEYS" MAXIMUM CARD (19X13cm, 7.5x5.25 inches) WITH FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PICTORIAL POSTMARK.


I also show here (bottom image) another version of the LONGEST REEF maximum card, with a Gray Angelfish non-USPS postcard - I received only 1 like this.

December the 1st - National Day of Romania! :)

http://www.zazzle.com/romania_flag_2_customized_romanian_spelling_postage-172533934811247818?rf=238693463283865848




http://www.zazzle.com/romania_flag_1_customized_postage-172464502838062408?rf=238693463283865848



http://www.zazzle.com/romania_flag_2_customized_coat_of_arms_postage-172830508747888699?rf=238693463283865848








http://www.zazzle.com/usa_romania_flag_customized_postage-172307917364418153?rf=238693463283865848





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romania
"Romania (pronounced /roʊˈmeɪniə/ ( listen); archaic: Rumania, Roumania; Romanian:România [romɨˈni.a]  ( listen)) is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea^[3]. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the south.

The territory's recorded history includes periods of rule by Dacians, the Roman Empire, theBulgarian empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. As a nation-state, the country was formed by the merging of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859 and it gained recognition of its independence in 1878. Later, in 1918, they were joined by Transylvania,Bukovina and Bessarabia. At the end of World War II, parts of its territories (roughly the present day Republic of Moldova) were occupied by the USSR and Romania became a member of the Warsaw Pact.

With the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, Romania started a series of political and economic reforms. After a decade of post-revolution economic problems, Romania made economic reforms such as low flat tax rates in 2005 and joined the European Union on January 1, 2007. While Romania's income level remains one of the lowest in the European Union, reforms have increased the growth speed. Romania is now an upper-middle income country economy.

Romania has the 9th largest territory and the 7th largest population (with 21.5 million people)^[4] among the European Union member states. Its capital and largest city isBucharest (Romanian: Bucureşti [bukuˈreʃtʲ]  ( listen)), the 6th largest city in the EU with 1.9 million people. In 2007, Sibiu, a city in Transylvania, was chosen as a European Capital of Culture.^[5] Romania also joined NATO on March 29, 2004, and is also a member of the Latin Union, of the Francophonie, of the OSCE and of the United Nations, as well as an associate member of the CPLP. Romania is a semi-presidential unitary state."

Let's not forget about Moldova :)  
- the Eastern half of Moldova = currently the independent (still Russia-dependent) Republic of Moldova.
http://www.zazzle.com/republic_of_moldova_flag_1_customized_postage-172093497503303300?rf=238693463283865848


Best wishes to all the (rather) good people of the world!
As for those (rather) bad, there are other wishes available!
:)