F5303

Winter Flowers

Paperwhite

Collins Cover Announcement

Rural America

Old Green Barn

Winter Flowers - Paperwhite Narcissus

Several times each month, my travels take me through the peaceful beauty of the Pennsylvania countryside near our national treasure of Valley Forge. Sweeping vistas of pastoral farmland are often pleasantly interrupted by wooded hillsides, quaint villages, quiet glens, and historic homesteads. In such a creek-side glen sits the old green barn.

Having grown up in the rural farmland of northwest New Jersey, I am well acquainted with barns and various outbuildings and sheds. My First Day Cover travels have taken me to every state in the union multiple times. Throughout my cachetmaking career, I've traveled the American heartland. Never have I seen a barn like this.

Close to a country lane, the old green structure captivates me as though it is a nostalgic magnet beckoning to me from years gone by. It is unique in its construction, and I'm sure it's the product of a mind that wanted a building that would serve its intended purpose but that would be anything but bland and common in its appearance. With its unusual added roof overhangs, abundant traditional-type windows not found in most barns, a few extra doors that bring visual appeal, and an interesting open protective space that is reminiscent of the old tobacco sheds of the South, the country farmer/architect of long ago has left his weathered but picturesque creation for those who would savor it. To merely drive by and take in its very existence has brought me great pleasure over the years.

When I was first considering how to present this set of winter flowers, somehow the OLD GREEN BARN silently shouted to my thought process. Wanting to include in it my cachet history always lingered waiting for the right moment, and this was it. As I developed my themes for the set, certain elements were adopted. The varied and lovely flowers were inside because of the season. They would be by a window through which an interesting historic structure would be visible. Four different Mid-Atlantic states would be included as a tribute to their importance to our country from Colonial times to our War for Independence and all through the years to the present day. That is how this miniset came into existence. But the creative seed can be summed up in four words. That unique, vintage building in a quiet place near Valley Forge can now be remembered forever. The Old Green Barn. Collins #F5303 .at $15.00.