The nontraditional blue Santa suit motivated most of the entrants in the December cartoon caption contest featuring the 2001 34¢ Christmas stamp shown here in Figure 3.

There were more duplicate entries for the November cartoon caption contest than for any other stamp in recent memory. The 1948 3¢ stamp in Figure 4 features a Brahma rooster as an emblem for the 100th anniversary of the American Poultry Industry.

Time marches on. I have been running the cartoon caption contest in the U.S. Notes column since 1986. Most contests have drawn between 50 and 200 entries, but the last couple of years have seen a gradual decrease in entries. The current contest using the 34¢ Mentoring a Child stamp, shown in Figure 4, brought in just 33 entries from 21 readers.

First let me acknowledge that the September cartoon caption contest stamp, which honored Dwight D. Eisenhower on the Figure 3 stamp, pictures a serious scene – his meeting with paratroopers on the eve of D-Day.

In that same vein, a number of the cartoon caption contest entries for August put on a somewhat strident cloak while speaking as the queen in the 2009 44¢ King and Queen of Hearts Love stamp pair in Figure 2.

The most-used theme for the July cartoon caption contest, in which readers were asked to be King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella on the stamp in Figure 2, was the "don't forget" theme. The illustration on the 5¢ Columbian stamp from 1893 is Columbus entreating the Spanish royals for financial support to fund his travels to India.

The king was invited to get a word in edgewise in the June cartoon caption contest featuring the se-tenant U.S. 44¢ King and Queen of Hearts Love stamps of 2009, shown in Figure 4.

What do you think of when you hear collectors talking about duck stamps? Chances are that Daffy Duck does not come readily to mind, but he was the star of a 33¢ stamp in 1999 that served as the cartoon caption contest subject for May. The stamp is shown in Figure 3.

About 75 percent of the entries for the April cartoon caption contest, using the 1993 29¢ Elvis stamp shown in Figure 3, combined one of his signature lines with something philatelic, or changed one of those familiar utterances to a stamp collecting thought.

So it was not a surprise that about half the entries in the March cartoon caption contest, which featured the Figure 4 stamp from the 2010 44¢ Adopt a Shelter Pet issue, dealt with dogs licking stamps.

With two grandsons playing hockey, I thought the 1980 15¢ Winter Olympics stamp in Figure 3 might make for an interesting cartoon caption contest subject in February. The small number of entries submitted, however, suggests to me that hockey is not high on the list of favored sports among U.S. Notes readers.

There were many wonderful entries for the January cartoon caption contest, which featured one of the cat stamps from the 44¢ Adopt a Shelter Pet stamp issue from 2010. Picking contest winners and even runners-up was tough.

Several U.S. Notes readers picked up on the fact that the snowman in the December cartoon caption contest stamp has a traditional pipe in his mouth. This 37¢ Snowman stamp, shown in Figure 2, is one of four Christmas stamps issued in 2002.

The 44¢ Early TV Memories issue of 2009 is one of my personal favorites, as I grew up with many of the featured programs as daily or weekly fare.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park is featured on the 8¢ National Parks Centennial issue of 1972

A number of philosophers responded to the cartoon caption contest for September that featured the 33¢ 1970s Fashion stamp from the Celebrate the Century series (Scott 3189).

How many readers can identify the first name of Sargent Snorkel, one of the two characters shown on the 44¢ Beetle Bailey stamp?

A luge competitor is featured on the 29¢ stamp shown in Figure 2.

The June cartoon caption contest stamp in Figure 2 features the 29¢ Discus Thrower from the 1991 issue which promoted the upcoming 1992 Summer Olympics, and the stamp design seems to have brought those same dog-and-disk images to mind for several readers.

Thanks to U.S. Notes readers for a large group of highly entertaining entries for the May cartoon caption contest featuring the venerable 24¢ Curtiss Jenny Invert airmail stamp of 1918 (Scott C3a) shown in Figure 3.