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What are these creatures?
What are these creatures?
No, this isn"t a still image from a sci-fi space opera. We"re offshore of Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, watching a Glaucus atlanticus, aka "sea swallow" or "blue sea dragon," snack on the poisonous tentacles of a Porpita porpita, aka "blue button." At the tips of the blue button"s tentacles are stinging cells called nematocysts, but the venom doesn"t deter the sea swallow. Instead, once the sea swallow ingests the blue button"s poison, it stores the venom in the tips of its own feather-like fingers called papillae. Would-be predators should think twice before biting the sea swallow. The poison concentrated in its papillae can kill a predator in seconds. If you come across either of these creatures washed ashore, don"t touch! While the stings aren"t deadly to humans, they can cause skin irritation.Desktop Version
Crown Fountain by Jume Plensa at Millennium Park in Chicago
Crown Fountain by Jume Plensa at Millennium Park in Chicago
Welcome to Chicago, the undisputed home of the blues. If you’re a fan of blues music, make your way here to Millennium Park this weekend for the 36th annual Chicago Blues Festival. Blues music is considered one of America’s greatest contributions to world culture and the progenitor of jazz, R&B, and rock & roll.Desktop Version
Celebrating Native American Heritage Month
Celebrating Native American Heritage Month
These dancers from the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma are preforming a ceremonial Gourd Dance at the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial in New Mexico, an annual gathering that also includes art, demonstrations, a rodeo, parades, and other events. We’re featuring the image in honor of Native American Indian Heritage Month, which is observed each November. The commemorative month celebrates the contributions of Native Americans to our national culture. In honor of this event, we invite you to learn more about Native people in your region.Desktop Version
For the love of bikes
For the love of bikes
In honor of World Bicycle Day, we share a bird"s-eye view from Utah of two mountain bikers riding on the Shafer Trail switchbacks of White Rim Road in Canyonlands National Park. In 2018, the UN officially recognized "the uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the Bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries, and that it is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation."Desktop Version
Uredd Rest Area, Norway
Uredd Rest Area, Norway
With sweeping views of fjords, mountains, and the sea, this is possibly one of the most beautiful places in the world to rest when you are on the road. Ureddplassen, also known as Uredd Rest Area, provides a place for respite to travelers on a section of the Helgelandskysten national scenic route in Norway. It also serves as a WWII memorial, sharing its name with a Norwegian submarine which was lost when it hit a German mine in February 1943.Desktop Version
Of moose and Maine
Of moose and Maine
As spring unfolds in Maine, the backwoods teem with life small and large. We"d say this water lily-munching moose belongs in the second category. Moose are the bulkiest members of the deer family, trouncing their relatives in size: Bulls can weigh in at well over 1,500 pounds. And while this hulking hoofer"s velvety antlers are still sprouting, they may soon span more than 6 feet.Desktop Version
It s time for spring
It s time for spring
This 40-foot sundial stands atop the Parnidis Dune, one of the scenic highlights of the Curonian Spit, a UNESCO World Heritage Site shared by Lithuania and Russia. Built in 1995, the sundial was damaged by a hurricane a few years later and rebuilt in 2011. It accurately tells time by creating shadows on the steps, with notches for hours and half hours, as well as months, equinoxes, and solstices.Desktop Version
A march toward a dream
A march toward a dream
For Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we"re going back to August 28, 1963, to the March on Washington. Among those in the front line of demonstrators are baseball great Jackie Robinson and bus-boycott activist Rosa Parks, both towering figures in the civil rights movement. Later this day, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. would deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of a quarter-million protesters packed onto the National Mall. The speech is considered among the best in American history and a defining moment in the fight for civil rights. King was just 34 years old.Desktop Version
A special day for a special cat
A special day for a special cat
With short, limber legs and a long tail, the clouded leopard is perfectly adapted for living in the trees. Flexible ankle joints allow it to descend trunks headfirst, one of only two cat species that can pull this off. A long tail provides stabilizing balance for leaps between trees. Sharp, retractable claws let this jungle climber dangle off branches in all sorts of gravity-defying positions.Desktop Version
Just a couple of yellow-billed hornbills
Just a couple of yellow-billed hornbills
Southern yellow-billed hornbills live in the dry savannas of southern Africa. These two were photographed in South Africa"s Kruger National Park, one of the largest nature preserves on the continent. While hornbills tend to live and hunt alone, they do mate for life, maintaining a monogamous relationship year after year. And with a lifespan of 20 years in captivity, it"s entirely possible that there are some yellow-billed hornbill grandparents out there. Why do we mention that? Because we"re celebrating National Grandparents Day in the US today!Desktop Version
A swim in the sky
A swim in the sky
A lap in the Sky Pool may have you holding your breath, and not just because you"re underwater. With the streets of London looming 10 stories down, the view through the pool"s clear bottom is a bit freaky to all but the fearless. But swimming here is a one-of-a-kind experience, and for some lucky residents of these twin apartment blocks near the US Embassy, a convenient way to pop in on neighbors the next building over.Desktop Version
Glendurgan Garden hedge maze is 186 years old
Glendurgan Garden hedge maze is 186 years old
Created by Alfred Fox in 1833 to entertain his 12 children, the cherry laurel hedge maze at Glendurgan Garden was designed to resemble a serpent curled in grass. In addition to the maze, Glendurgan also includes an amazing collection of exotic plants that Fox obtained on his travels and imported from abroad. Luckily, the temperate climate of Cornwall, in South West England, allowed rare imports, like bamboo, Brazilian giant rhubarb, and tree ferns to thrive in this valley garden. In 1962, the Fox family gifted the gardens to the National Trust, a UK charity that works to preserve places of historic interest or natural beauty.Desktop Version
Sleep tight, little hedgehog
Sleep tight, little hedgehog
Though they may seem exotic to most people in the Americas, wild hedgehogs are quite common in much of the rest of the world. The tiny creatures are usually nocturnal and use their spiky exteriors to protect themselves. Each hedgehog has about 6,000 quills, but the quills aren"t poisonous and don"t easily detach, like those of the also-quilled (but completely unrelated) porcupine.Desktop Version
A theatrical dream
A theatrical dream
The work of surrealist artist Salvador Dalí is the stuff of dreams: melting clocks, burning giraffes, weird objects suspended in midair. Gaze at a Dalí and you may find yourself gripped with a strange sense of familiarity, like your subconscious has visited this strange place before. But what if you could literally step into a huge Dalí piece?Desktop Version
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Think of this special spot as the place where two different Alaskas meet—its vast icy north and its verdant maritime south. Glacier Bay is named for this area"s dominant feature, the rivers of ice that carve the landscape and periodically calve icebergs into the sea. On February 26, 1925, President Calvin Coolidge declared much of the land around the bay a national monument. The protected area was greatly expanded in 1980, when a 3.3-million-acre expanse of glaciers, fjords, rainforest, coastline, and mountain peaks was named a national park and preserve.Desktop Version
A learning garden
A learning garden
Today we’re at Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire, England. The gardens have gone through many changes since 1931, when Beatrix Havergal and Avice Sanders first began turning the grounds of a country house into an educational public garden. (Waterperry grew much-needed produce during World War II.) The gardening school at Waterperry closed in 1971, and now the land is owned and operated by the School of Economic Science, which uses some of the buildings for study projects and retreats. Waterperry is a wonderful example of classic English gardening. Visitors can stroll through the aromatic knot garden seen on our homepage today, or explore other parts of the gardens, including orchards, a nursery, and a museum.Desktop Version
It s World Bee Day
It s World Bee Day
Today we"ve buzzed to Provence, France, to enjoy this scenic view brought to you by bees. These hard-working insects are key pollinators of flowers, like the sunflowers and lavender seen growing here. That’s why beekeepers have strategically placed these hives near the flower crops. Bees are also critical for the pollination of fruits and vegetables—about a third of the food we eat is a result of honeybee pollination. In the US, honeybees, whether tended by beekeepers or living in the wild, pollinate about $20 billion worth of crops every year. That"s a lot of gold—and doesn"t even include their delicious honey. So today on World Bee Day, we invite you to stop and smell the flowers and give a nod to the bees that help color our world.Desktop Version
International Lighthouse Weekend
International Lighthouse Weekend
This solemn beacon set atop a rocky outcropping is in a country usually associated with sand and sun, making this a side of Spain many do not often see. We"re looking out at the sea on the Costa da Morte, or Coast of Death, a nasty name for an equally nasty (but beautiful!) stretch of Galician coastline in the extreme northwest of Spain. We"re featuring Costa da Morte during International Lighthouse Weekend because mariners are never happier to see a lighthouse than when they"re sailing this coast, known as the Bermuda Triangle of the Eastern Atlantic.Desktop Version
A path lain with petals
A path lain with petals
Pisgah National Forest, in western North Carolina, is primarily a hardwood forest boasting 500,000 acres of mountainous peaks and cascading waterfalls that attract hikers, anglers, mountain bikers, and more. But from mid-May to mid-June, the crowds flock here to hike trails that lead to incredible views: acres of native Catawba rhododendrons in full blossom.Desktop Version
World Jellyfish Day
World Jellyfish Day
Today we"re celebrating World Jellyfish Day—even though these creatures are best described as otherworldly. Despite their alien qualities (not to mention their inability to vocalize), jellyfish have a lot to say to us about the history of life on Earth.Desktop Version
Nesting season for the leatherbacks
Nesting season for the leatherbacks
This time of year is nesting season for leatherback sea turtles in the Atlantic. After mating at sea, these big mamas—leatherbacks are the largest of all turtles—haul themselves up onto beaches in the same region where they were born. The turtles dig out nests in the sand and lay a clutch of about 80 fertilized eggs the size of billiard balls. They"ll repeat this ritual a few more times before returning to their migratory lives in the open ocean. About 65 days later, turtle hatchlings will start to poke up through the sand and make a dash toward the safety of the sea. But the odds are against them: Only 1 percent of the hatchlings will live to reach sexual maturity, at around 16 years old.Desktop Version
Spot on for International Cat Day
Spot on for International Cat Day
One of the smallest of the big cats, the leopard is known for its shy personality, athleticism, and its spots, called rosettes. You can find leopards in many parts of Africa and Asia, but the subspecies pictured here roams the semiarid terrain of Sub-Saharan Africa. Skilled climbers and predominantly solo travelers, leopards can often be found draped along the branch of an acacia or other tall tree. They climb trees to hunt, but also to eat—they don’t like to share food, and they like to eat slowly.Desktop Version
Coming home to roost
Coming home to roost
From North America to Western Europe, northern gannets live all along the North Atlantic coasts. These large birds spend most of their lives at sea, following schools of sardines, herring, and other small fish that they feed on. During breeding and hatching season, northern gannets often return to the same colony locations year after year, where thousands of birds may gather to nest and rear their young. This group is busily collecting nesting material on Great Saltee Island, the larger of the two Saltee Islands, about 3 miles off the coast of southern Ireland. Both Great and Little Saltee are largely unoccupied, well, unless you count all the birds.Desktop Version
Summer winds down in the Hamptons
Summer winds down in the Hamptons
As summer unofficially wraps up, we"re looking at Reedy Island, an islet that sits in Moneyboque Bay, across from Westhampton Beach on Long Island, New York. The Hamptons is a collection of villages and hamlets with plenty of sandy beachfront that have long been a popular upscale summer destination for New Yorkers looking to escape the city. This year, that migration started early, as city dwellers headed east in the spring in search of space to social distance. In summer, the beaches, of course, are the main attraction, but the area is also known for dining and nightlife (complete with celebrity spotting), wineries, and family-owned farms and farm stands. And the end of summer isn"t all bad news, at least for the local economy. As temperatures cool and crowds (usually) thin out, the farms shift gears to apple cider and pumpkins, and by November, the harvesting of Peconic Bay scallops begins.Desktop Version
Venture into a prehistoric gallery of art
Venture into a prehistoric gallery of art
In the fall of 1940, a group of boys exploring the outdoors in the Dordogne area of southwest France came upon the entrance to a cave–and unwittingly discovered a treasure trove of prehistoric art. The walls of the cave now known as ‘Lascaux’ are covered with hundreds of images–giant drawings of bulls, horses, and humans–created some 17,000 years ago, in the Upper Paleolithic Period. The cave was opened to the public in 1948, but after several years, scientists observed that the artwork was being damaged by carbon dioxide, heat, humidity, and other contaminants produced by an average of 1,200 visitors who explored the caves each day. To protect the prehistoric masterpieces, the cave has been closed to the public since 1963. Today, the closest you can get is viewing full-scale replicas at the International Centre for Cave Art in nearby Montignac, where our homepage image was photographed.Desktop Version