Bing Images archive 2021/09

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  2021-09-01It s National Mushroom Month!

  Is it just us or does this porcini mushroom look straight out of a fairy tale? We"re featuring this sweet "shroom today because September is National Mushroom Month, a non-official holiday inaugurated in 1992 as part of a governmental effort to promote mushroom farming in the US. Some of the biggest celebrations this month occur in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, which is recognized as the Mushroom Capital of the World. The town of just 6,000 people cultivates around 500 million pounds of mushrooms each year, about half of the total US crop.

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  2021-09-02A cliffside harbor in Sardinia

  The mining industry in Sardinia, Italy, was booming in the early 20th century, as European nations looked to reconstruct from the damage of World War I. But Sardinians faced myriad logistical issues trying to export the zinc, lead, and other minerals that were in high demand. Miners on the island were using modern techniques to extract more and more ore, but it wasn"t until 1924, when engineer Cesare Vecelli designed and built the mining infrastructure along the cliffs in Porto Flavia, that getting ore off the island matched their ability to extract it.

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  2021-09-03Welcome to the Alien Egg Hatchery

  The otherworldly rock formations in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness inspired some creative names—such as the "Alien Egg Hatchery" seen in this photo. More than 70 million years ago, this desert was a tidal swamp along the shore of the long-evaporated Western Interior Seaway that once bisected North America. A diverse array of sediment and rock was deposited by the waters, and after the seaway retreated, the rocks remained.

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  2021-09-04Humming along

  Did you know that in the US, the first Saturday in September is National Hummingbird Day? You do now! And what a terrific bird to celebrate. Hummingbirds, such as the Anna"s hummingbird in this photo, are crucial to healthy ecosystems. Many flowers have evolved funnel-shaped blooms specifically to attract hummingbirds—large insects like bumblebees can’t always squeeze into these tubular blossoms. But hummingbirds can plunge their long, narrow bills deep into the blooms to find the nectar that accumulates in the base and in the process, they spread pollen from flower to flower.

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  2021-09-05Venice s grand regatta

  Every year, on the first Sunday of September, Venice celebrates the Regata Storica along the city"s most famous canal. The event is the highlight of the Venetian rowing calendar and consists of two parts: a historical boat parade and a series of rowing races. Festivities begin with a regal water pageant comprising a flotilla of colorful boats from the 16th century. Gondoliers are dressed in period costume as they ferry high-ranking Venetian officials up the Grand Canal in a faithful recreation of Venice"s storied maritime past. The regatta commemorates the welcome given in 1489 to Caterina Cornaro, the wife of the King of Cyprus, who renounced her throne in favor of Venice.

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  2021-09-06All in a day s work

  For Labor Day this year, we"re at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota watching park rangers inspect the 60-foot-tall granite faces of Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Over on the left, and just out of camera shot, is George Washington. Beginning in 1927, sculptor Gutzon Borglum led more than 400 workers to carve these presidential visages into the granite face of Mount Rushmore. These tradespeople were not artists—most of them were miners who had come to the Black Hills looking for gold—but they knew how to use dynamite, jackhammers, and chisels, and so they worked for 14 years carving the likenesses into the stone.

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  2021-09-07Whale hello there!

  It"s whale-watching season here off the coast of Massachusetts and these humpback whales and their seagull friends are in a feeding frenzy. Here"s a little tip if you ever find yourself seeking out humpbacks: Look for birds. Where there are swarms of dive-bombing birds, there will be fish, and where there are fish, there may be humpback whales.

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  2021-09-08Enter the magical world of Livraria Lello

  How will you celebrate International Literacy Day today? We"re highlighting this important observance with a photo of a very special bookstore, Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal. With its art nouveau façade, neo-Gothic interior, stained-glass ceiling, swooping catwalks, and the dramatic, curvaceous staircase with crimson steps, the Lello is considered one of the most beautiful—and among the oldest—bookstores in the world. The Lello bookstore opened in 1906 and has been serving up the magic of books ever since.

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  2021-09-09Islands of the Salish Sea

  The San Juan archipelago is made up of over 400 islands and rocks, some only visible during low tide. They"re scattered across the Salish Sea between Washington state and Vancouver Island, British Columbia. No bridges connect the San Juans to the mainland, but four of the largest islands—San Juan, Orcas, Lopez, and Shaw—are accessible via the Washington State Ferries system. Tourists come to the islands to take in the stunning coastal views, catch a glimpse of resident orcas, and partake in many outdoor activities, such as sea kayaking, biking, and hiking.

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  2021-09-10Celebrating all things Austen

  Bath, in southwestern England, was the first home Jane Austen knew away from her tiny village when she moved here at about age 25. Though the author only lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806 and did little writing here, no doubt this spa city on the River Avon gave her inspiration. After all, Bath was a popular resort at the time for Britain"s upper crust—the posh, mannered society types whom Austen satirized so wittily in novels like "Pride and Prejudice."

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  2021-09-1120 years later

  The glassy lower Manhattan skyline is so pristine it"s hard to fathom the tragic scene it became 20 years ago today. But this twisted beam resting on the Hudson River"s shores is one of many reminders.

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  2021-09-12A grand event

  It"s Grandparents Day in the USA! Did you know Asian elephants live an average of 60 years in the wild? That means this pair of pachyderms in West Bengal, India, could easily be grandparents. Or great-grandparents, or even great-great-grandparents, considering elephants normally start having babies at around age 12.

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  2021-09-13Sand, sun, and sk8ers

  Walk the busy boardwalk of Venice Beach in Los Angeles, and you"ll see more than distant yachts sailing past—like an endless stream of skateboarders whizzing by within inches, always seeming to dodge you and your snow cone at the last second. Wanna bet they"re headed to this world-famous skatepark right on the beach?

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  2021-09-14Behold the mighty Aldeyjarfoss

  In waterfall-dense Iceland, it says something that Aldeyjarfoss is considered one of the most beautiful sights in the country. Fed by Iceland"s largest ice cap, the 65-foot fall is flanked by distinctive hexagon-shaped basalt columns seemingly carved by some Norse god.

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  2021-09-15It s National Hispanic Heritage Month

  National Hispanic Heritage Month takes us to the Texas border town of El Paso, where artist Jesus "CIMI" Alvarado is pictured applying the final touches to the mural he calls "Fronterizos" (Border People). It was commissioned by the El Paso Museum of Art for one of its outside walls. Alvarado began his painting career as a graffiti artist, tagging the walls of the city"s historic Segundo Barrio, and today his work can be found throughout the city. This mural depicts a local musician, Johnny Barragan, with an unnamed woman, and is described as an ode to a hometown hero of El Paso.

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  2021-09-16A cry for independence

  The Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City has hosted art exhibits, music and dance performances, and much more since its opening in 1934. The ornate Art Nouveau building was originally planned to open years earlier in 1910 to mark the 100th anniversary of Mexico"s independence from Spain. Even though it missed that 1910 deadline, the Palacio de Bellas Artes is still considered a symbol of Mexican independence. To get the story of how Mexico broke with Spain, we must travel 200 miles from this spot and back in time to the early 1800s.

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  2021-09-17Eye of the cave

  Many sea caves and rock formations line the alluring Algarve coast in the south of Portugal, and today we"re shedding light on Benagil Cave—one of the region"s most spectacular and famous natural landmarks. Just east of the small fishing village of Benagil, the cave was formed about 20 million years ago from the pounding waves that sweep in from the Atlantic. Rainfall has caused the softer segments of limestone to erode, creating a giant hole in the cave"s roof, which is what we"re looking down through in our photo.

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  2021-09-18Hanging out on a limb

  For International Red Panda Day, we"re hanging out on a tree limb with this cutie in the Chengdu Panda Base of Sichuan, China. If you spot a red panda in the wild, consider yourself lucky. Not only will you have to travel far (they live in the mountain forests of Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, and India), but there are fewer than 10,000 wild red pandas, and they"re rather elusive, hanging out up in trees. They also spend more than half their day asleep, conserving energy for—you guessed it—eating bamboo leaves. They spend a whopping 13 hours a day eating.

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  2021-09-19Arrr! Can you talk like a pirate?

  Ahoy matey! Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day so we present to you a fortress that was really used to defend against pirates. Arrr! This is Le Castella, a magnificent fortification on the Calabrian coast of Italy. For centuries it served as a defense against warring nations and rampaging pirates from the Ottoman Empire.

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  2021-09-20Birds of a feather flocking together

  In the fall and spring, thousands of people come to the marshlands of the Wadden Sea, between Denmark and Germany, to watch huge flocks of starlings take flight at sunset. The birds synchronize their movements in a flocking behavior called murmuration. They swoop, shift, and turn as one, creating incredible shapes in the sky.

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  2021-09-21An old celebration for a new season

  This photo takes us to Hong Kong"s Victoria Park, where a group of engineers constructed a giant lantern sculpture called "Rising Moon." It"s made of more than 7,000 recycled plastic water bottles with LED lights inside, to honor one of China"s most important holidays, the Mid-Autumn Festival. While it"s only been an "official" public holiday in China since 2008, mention of the Mid-Autumn Festival first appeared in written historical texts as far back as 3,000 years ago. Families celebrate the holiday by lighting paper lanterns and sharing a meal, traditionally at a round table. This reunion is said to bring good luck and happiness.

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  2021-09-22What s cuter than nuzzling rhinos?

  Today is World Rhino Day, and to celebrate we"re in South Africa, the home of the majority of the planet"s white rhinos. In the wild, these majestic animals are grazers, with wide, square upper lips perfect for feeding on the grasses of African savannahs. The two-horned white rhino is one of five living rhino species, along with the black, greater one-horned, Sumatran, and Javan rhinos. White rhinos, like the mother and offspring you see nuzzling here, have seen their numbers dwindle due to poaching and shrinking natural habitats.

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  2021-09-23Last stop before leaving the solar system

  Official telescopic confirmation of Neptune"s presence in our solar system came on September 23, 1846, and it was a big deal partly because Neptune is the only planet in our solar system not visible with the naked eye. Credit for this discovery inspired a dust-up in the international astronomy community, as scientists from both Britain and France claimed they had been the first to predict the existence and position of the eighth and most-distant planet in our solar system before it was seen through a telescope. Eventually peace was brokered, and credit is now shared between the two factions.

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  2021-09-24The crossroads of empires

  Today, we"re 11,000 feet above sea level in the city of Cusco, in the Peruvian Andes. Cusco is considered the historical capital of Peru, a designation that"s even enshrined in the country"s constitution. The city served as a capital for the Incan Empire in the three centuries before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.

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  2021-09-25Autumn comes to the Porcupines

  Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, in Michigan"s Upper Peninsula, is considered one of the few remaining large wilderness areas in the Midwest. Visitors can follow the park"s Escarpment Trail, seen here, up to striking viewpoints of popular attractions in the park, like Lake of the Clouds and the Upper Carp River Valley. And in autumn, when this photo was taken, hikers are treated to a kaleidoscope of foliage as the hardwood forest canopy alights with fall color.

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  2021-09-26World Rivers Day

  Today we"re recognizing World Rivers Day, a celebration of our planet"s waterways. The event branched off in 2005 from its source, BC Rivers Day, which has been observed by British Columbians in Canada since 1980. The annual event is now celebrated on the fourth Sunday of September by millions of people in more than 100 countries. It is a day that raises public awareness about rivers around the world and encourages their conservation.

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  2021-09-27Sharp-dressed bug

  Sometimes to be left alone, you just have to act prickly—like a thorn bug. Looking like a plant"s painful parts, this sneaky insect wards off predators simply by being itself. Thorn bugs are found in the countries of Central America, such as Honduras, where this photo was taken, as well as Mexico, and parts of Florida…but only if you can spot them.

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  2021-09-28The snows of Fuji

  This shot of Mount Fuji"s symmetrical cone was taken in September 2020, showcasing the first snow of the season. The dusting proved short-lived, melting off in just a couple of days. And snow wouldn"t come again until the end of December—raising new concerns about decades of rising temperatures on Fuji"s slopes.

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  2021-09-29The largest American bison around

  Emerging from a stand of trees in the Northwest Territories of Canada comes a wood bison, the larger of the two subspecies of the American bison. (The plains bison is the other type). The wood bison once numbered in the tens of thousands, roaming the chilly boreal forests and open meadows in northwestern Canada and parts of Alaska. But by the early 1900s, these majestic animals, as with their cousins to the south, were driven almost to extinction by hunting, disease, and habitat loss.

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  2021-09-30Global commerce in motion

  The COVID-19 pandemic has been rough sailing for everyone, and especially so for seafarers on shipping vessels. As if moving more than 80% of the world"s goods wasn"t a big mission already, the pandemic created urgent needs for certain goods to be shipped to all corners of the globe. At the same time, it forced travel restrictions that made shipping more complicated. Hundreds of thousands of sailors and other shipping personnel have found themselves stuck on ships much longer than planned as virus precautions impede crew changes.