THE UNITED STATES Postal Service has just released the tenth in the Nature of America educational series of stamps, featuring “Great Lakes Dunes.” To illustrate the diversity of species associates with Great Lakes dunes, artist John Dawson of Hilo, Hawaii, working under the direction of Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Md., depicted more than 27 different kinds of plants and animals in the colorful acrylic painting. The scene itself is imaginary since a dense grouping of plants and animals was necessary to illustrate as many species as possible of the stamp pane. All of the species depicted could be encountered at or near the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the area featured on the pane. All of the species and their interactions are appropriate and recommended by scientists, the Postal Service said. (©2007 USPS, used with permission; all rights reserved)