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It s Slovenia s Independence and Unity Day
It s Slovenia s Independence and Unity Day
Today we"re featuring an image of the Slovenian village of Praprotno and its Church of St. Thomas for the country"s Independence and Unity Day. On December 26, 1990, the results of a Slovenian vote on the country"s independence were announced. More than 95 percent of voters answered "Yes" to the question: Should the Republic of Slovenia become an independent and sovereign state?Desktop Version
Happy trails for the 21st century
Happy trails for the 21st century
We celebrate National Park Service Founders Day today with this photo from the John Muir Trail near Mammoth Lakes in California. The 210-mile trail is so long, to hike it all would take you through three national parks: Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia. At 102 years old, the National Park Service continues to do the day-to-day work of preserving our parks ‘for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.’Desktop Version
Desert rose of Qatar
Desert rose of Qatar
International Museum Day brings us to Qatar, a small but wealthy nation on the Arabian Peninsula, surrounded by the waters of the Persian Gulf and bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south. In the capital city of Doha you"ll find its national museum, shown here, which opened in March 2019. This elaborate building was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, who sourced his inspiration from the desert rose crystal. Look closely and amid the futuristic interlocking disks of the new museum you"ll see the early 20th-century Old Amiri Palace, once home of the Emir of Qatar, surrounded by a courtyard of palm trees.Desktop Version
Fall color sweeps across the West
Fall color sweeps across the West
The leaves are changing across the West, and few views are more striking than this one of the fall foliage in the Uncompahgre National Forest in the shadow of Chimney Rock. The spire and its neighbor Courthouse Mountain dominate the landscape here year-round, but the changing colors make this area—and drives along the nearby Million Dollar Highway—even more scenic in the fall.Desktop Version
Glenfinnan Viaduct
Glenfinnan Viaduct
Muggles from around the world flock to this iconic scene at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Highlands of Scotland to marvel at the 21-arched Glenfinnan Viaduct, also known as the "Harry Potter bridge." The curving structure was made famous in the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling"s novels as part of the route taken by the Hogwarts Express, which carries students to and from the wizarding boarding school at the start and end of every term. And today is a reason to celebrate for Potterheads, as we are marking the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter"s big-screen debut.Desktop Version
In the Himalayas for International Mountain Day
In the Himalayas for International Mountain Day
The steep, angular summit of Ama Dablam rises behind Tengboche Monastery, a Tibetan Buddhist site resting at over 12,000 feet. Ama Dablam means "mother"s necklace": Its swooping shape is thought to evoke a mother cradling a child, and a dangling glacier on its southwest face is believed to resemble the religious pendants many Sherpa women wear. Situated in the nearby Khumbu Valley, Tengboche Monastery is a stop on the Sacred Sites Trail Project, a self-guided trek through holy places that dot Nepal"s Sagarmatha National Park.Desktop Version
American robin
American robin
Season"s tweetings! Today is the first day of the 122nd annual Christmas Bird Count, said to be the longest-running citizen science project in the world. Between December 14 and January 5, tens of thousands of volunteer birdwatchers will participate in counts across the US, Canada, and many other countries in the Western Hemisphere. Organized by the National Audubon Society, each local count takes place in a 15-mile-diameter circle, where volunteers follow a specific route to record and often photograph every bird they see.Desktop Version
Fiesta at Siesta
Fiesta at Siesta
Here we are in mid-March already, the time of year when college-age revelers invade the world"s beaches, like this one on Florida"s Siesta Key. Located in Sarasota County off the state"s western shore, the island beach is a fixture on lists of America"s top beaches, a standout even in a state where soft, welcoming sands compose over half the 1,200-mile coastline.Desktop Version
Welcome to the Hoh
Welcome to the Hoh
Don"t let this sunny picture fool you. The Hoh, a temperate rainforest on the western side of Olympic National Park in Washington state, sees between 12 and 14 feet of rain each year, making it one of the wettest places in the continental US. But all that moisture creates a lush, even mystical environment. The forest features a mix of conifers and deciduous trees draped heavily with moss, like the arching big leaf maple in our homepage image. A stroll through the forest will also reveal the massive Sitka spruce and western hemlock trees that may reach more than 300 feet up into the dense canopy. Below, the woods teem with ferns, lichen, and other vegetation. It"s an enchanted forest right out of a fairy tale.Desktop Version
Who s wearing such cute hats?
Who s wearing such cute hats?
The stone figures lining the steps in today"s photo are among 500 rakan statues on the small island of Miyajima in Japan. The colorful knitted caps they"re wearing are offerings from people visiting the island, a tradition followed in other areas of Japan as well. Some believe this gift-giving is based on a children"s folk story of an elderly hatmaker who was unable to make it to market on a snowy day, so he placed his collection of hats on rakan statues to keep their bare heads dry. Later, the statues showed their appreciation by delivering gifts to the hatmaker and his wife so they could celebrate the new year properly. The statues in this photo were individually carved sometime between the 1780s to the 1820s, and no two are alike. They line the path at the base of Mount Misen that leads to the Daisho-in Temple, one of the many temples and shrines on the island.Desktop Version
Yarn bombing in the village of Gurnard, England
Yarn bombing in the village of Gurnard, England
Yarn bombing–also called guerilla knitting, yarnstorming, or kniffiti–brings a warm and fuzzy bent to modern street art. Artists use knitted materials to cover outdoor fixtures such as lamp posts, park benches, and manhole covers–often anonymously. This knitted ‘fungus’ is on a tree in Gurnard, a village on the Isle of Wight.Desktop Version
Green fields of grain
Green fields of grain
We"re looking down on the lush fields of the Sidemen Valley, sitting in the shadow of Bali"s tallest mountain, Mount Agung. In May, this Indonesian province marks the end of the harvest season of a key staple—rice. Towns and villages are decorated with colorful flags, and farmers erect shrines to Dewi Sri, the rice goddess. Small handmade straw dolls depicting the goddess are left here and there in further tribute. Before "social distancing" entered the global vocabulary, people came together to share traditional food and indulge in fun and games, like water buffalo races through the streets. This year, to be sure, the celebrations will be more subdued, more private, though the gratitude for a bountiful harvest, we suspect, will be just as deeply felt.Desktop Version
Wyoming celebrates its statehood
Wyoming celebrates its statehood
On this day in 1890 Wyoming became the 44th state in the US, which is good news for wilderness fanatics. Wyoming is home to iconic outdoor spaces such as the Tetons, Devils Tower, the Black Hills, and Yellowstone. Shown here is Bridger Wilderness, part of Bridger-Teton National Forest, named for the famous frontiersman Jim Bridger. Bridger was a trapper, explorer, and wilderness guide who is often called the ‘Daniel Boone’ of the Rockies. He’s credited with discovering Wyoming’s Bridger Pass as well as being the first European American to see the Great Salt Lake. And it’s not just the state’s spectacular landscape that sets it apart—Wyoming Territory granted women the right to vote in 1869, earlier than anywhere else in the country. And in 1924, the people of Wyoming elected the nation’s first female governor. Here’s to you, Equality State!Desktop Version
Tiny fliers head south
Tiny fliers head south
The ruby-throated hummingbird in today"s homepage image is snacking on some yellow bells in the Texas Hill Country, preparing for its long journey south for the winter. This time of year, the hummingbirds leave the northern latitudes of the eastern US and Canada, migrating to the warmer climes of Mexico and Central America. Along their route, many will cross the Gulf of Mexico in a single 500-mile flight, which can take 18-22 hours of nonstop flying at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. Tiny but fierce, the ruby-throated hummingbird weighs less than a nickel. It beats its wings about 53 times a second on average, but during courtship the wingbeat rate increases to 200 times per second, the fastest of any bird.Desktop Version
In the Supertree Grove
In the Supertree Grove
Every August 9, the streets of Singapore fill with revelers celebrating the anniversary of the city-state"s independence from Malaysia in 1965. Like patriotic events in other nations, Singapore"s National Day features parades, speeches from political leaders, and fireworks. This year also marks the 200th anniversary of the first British colonial outpost in what would become modern-day Singapore.Desktop Version
It’s Endangered Species Day
It’s Endangered Species Day
We chose this photo of a peregrine falcon—a female, walking across the rail of a balcony in Chicago—to inspire hope on Endangered Species Day. Not every animal listed as endangered is doomed to extinction. Peregrine populations were decimated by the use of pesticides, such as DDT, in the mid-20th century. The chemicals accumulated in the birds’ bodies, causing weak eggshells and high mortality rates for chicks. But by the 1980s humans had learned the cause, reduced and eliminated the various chemicals, and helped the birds rebound with gusto.Desktop Version
Sutherland Falls in Fiordland National Park
Sutherland Falls in Fiordland National Park
Sutherland Falls spills over the side of Lake Quill in the jagged, glacier-carved landscape of Fiordland National Park on New Zealand’s South Island. For years, it was believed to be the tallest waterfall in the world, thanks in part to a rough estimate by Scottish explorer Donald Sutherland, the first European to see the falls. Later, more scientific surveys proved this estimate to be significantly inflated, but Sutherland Falls is still 1,900 feet tall, which is plenty high in our book.Desktop Version
Swimming into the season
Swimming into the season
This aquatic candy cane is called a banded pipefish. You won"t find it at the North Pole or on your Christmas tree, but in the tropical seas of the Indo-Pacific region, from Australia and Japan to the Philippines and South Africa. It"s in the same family as the seahorse, and like its cousin, the pipefish has plates of bony armor covering its body. This gives it protection, but a rigid body (like a candy cane!), so it swims by rapidly fanning its fins. Also like the seahorse, it"s the male pipefish—not the female—who carries the eggs. After an elaborate courtship dance, the female deposits her eggs in the male"s brood pouch, where they develop until the male gives birth. We"re not making this stuff up, but we can"t vouch for the theory that the red-and-white banded pipefish has a minty taste.Desktop Version
Floating temples in the Land of Smiles
Floating temples in the Land of Smiles
Greetings from northern Thailand, near the city of Lampang, where the mountain peaks have been majestically transformed with the addition of these golden and white "floating" stupas and pagodas. Their construction was a monumental effort, with materials hauled up in pieces by around 50 workers under the direction of a Lampang monk over the course of two years. The resulting temple complex of Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat Phrachomklao Rachanusorn is off the beaten path and requires a half-mile stair climb in what can be punishing heat.Desktop Version
Traveling warblers
Traveling warblers
The Cape May warbler was named for Cape May, New Jersey, where it was first observed by ornithologist Alexander Wilson in 1811. After that, these birds weren"t seen again in the area for more than a century.Desktop Version
National Park Week: Olympic National Park, Washington
National Park Week: Olympic National Park, Washington
The final day of National Park Week brings us to Ruby Beach, a coastal destination named for its sparkly sand, at Washington’s Olympic National Park. Here on the Olympic Peninsula you’ll find rugged beaches, glacier-topped mountains, and temperate rainforests that receive upwards of 12 feet of rainfall per year. All that rain feeds the mosses, lichens, and ferns that lend the forests a unique, jungle-like quality. Thanks for exploring national parks with us for the past week–it’s been fun!Desktop Version
Dressed for winter fun
Dressed for winter fun
Native to North America, mountain goats spend much of the year scaling peaks from south-central Alaska down to the northern Rockies. They tend to live at high altitudes, often above 13,000 feet, where their sure-footed climbing ability allows them to clamber up extraordinarily steep, rocky slopes. In the winter, they"ll migrate down to slightly lower elevations to seek shelter in subalpine forests with south-facing rocky ledges, where the sun and relentless winds keep ice to a minimum. Here, they forage for lichen, mosses, grasses, and other greens. Their woolly, two-layered coats keep them toasty as temperatures dip, which is probably why even in the chill of western Montana this young mountain goat—or kid—appears to be having a ball. Enjoying winter is all about how you dress.Desktop Version
How Quảng Ngãi got its grove back
How Quảng Ngãi got its grove back
Could these humble rows of trees prevent a natural disaster? The Vietnamese government hopes so. Mangrove forests like Bàu Cá Cái in coastal Vietnam"s Quảng Ngãi province are an important shield against destructive typhoons that rock the coast each year. Unfortunately, mangrove trees have been depleted over the years by population growth, climate change, and increased use of waters for fish farming. Plantings at Bàu Cá Cái—outlined by bamboo frames to create the neat patterns seen here—have been part of a major initiative to regenerate nearly 10,000 acres of mangrove forest around the country.Desktop Version
The moai you know
The moai you know
Roam around tiny, remote Easter Island and you"ll find almost 900 of the stern stone faces called moai. They seem ancient as the pyramids, even a little alien, but they were actually sculpted between 500 and 800 years ago from compacted volcanic ash that"s as terrestrial as it comes. You"re seeing six of the 15 moai that stand on Ahu Tongariki, the largest ahu (stone platform) on the island. These statues were toppled in the 18th or 19th century along with other moai island-wide for reasons not fully known to scholars, though earthquakes or possible tribal infighting are postulated. The statues were later buried by a tidal wave and lay in ruins until the 1990s, when they were excavated and placed back on the ahu.Desktop Version
Ahh-tumn
Ahh-tumn
To celebrate the autumnal equinox, we’re in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The park includes part of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley, and in fall, the forests of Shenandoah offer a kaleidoscope of red, gold, orange, and brown as the leaves turn and begin to drop. Skyline Drive, a highway winding across the mountains, will be crowded for the next few weeks as visitors make the trek to take in the view as the seasons change.Desktop Version