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Do spirits haunt the Gardens of Versailles?
Do spirits haunt the Gardens of Versailles?
That’s not a ghost in our homepage picture; it’s just a statue (at least, we think it is). But it’s easy to imagine ghosts wandering the vast gardens here at the Palace of Versailles, about 12 miles outside of Paris. One ghost in particular has a reputation for showing herself. In 1901, on a sultry August afternoon, two visitors to the Gardens of Versailles claimed to have witnessed the gardens magically transform to their 18-century grandeur. Then, they said, they encountered the ghost of Marie Antoinette, whom they spotted calmly lounging and drawing in her sketchbook. The queen of course had been guillotined a century earlier. The story was later adapted as an opera, which debuted in 1991.Desktop Version
Frost on autumn leaves
Frost on autumn leaves
You can almost hear frost-coated autumn leaves crunching under your shoes as you walk through the woods. Though the calendar says it"s still autumn, scenes like this highlight the colder temperatures as winter arrives in the Northern Hemisphere.Desktop Version
A growing business
A growing business
Today we"re showing off a serene scene at a Christmas tree farm outside Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. If you were to visit a farm like this today, however, it"s unlikely you"d find much peace and quiet. Of the 25 million to 30 million natural Christmas trees sold each year in the US alone, 98 percent of them come from farms. "Tis the season for tree chopping. Oregon, home to the popular noble and Douglas firs, produces the most Christmas trees of all US states, shipping much of the harvest to California. North Carolina, of Fraser fir fame, comes in at No. 2. Canada is the world"s largest exporter of Christmas trees, spreading holiday cheer around the world.Desktop Version
Mooncake time
Mooncake time
In ancient China, moon worship was tied closely to fertility and the harvest. So the full moon that happened closest to the fall equinox became the holiday now called Mid-Autumn Festival, also called Moon Festival by some. Originally a celebration of the harvest and a plea to the gods for rains to ensure a good harvest next year, the festival has become a more secular bit of autumn fun, with children and adults alike eating sweet mooncakes, lighting lanterns, and giving thanks for all they have. Really, they had us at ‘mooncake.’Desktop Version
The most wonderful day of the year. Period.
The most wonderful day of the year. Period.
Er, comma—at least it seems like that"s what we"re seeing. And just like a comma breaks up a sentence, this structure called a breakwater interrupts the Pacific Ocean, punctuating waves with a crash before they can disturb this Bali beach. Whether its resemblance to a comma (or is that an apostrophe?) was intentional or not, it"s a fine visual for today"s syntactical celebration. That"s correct: It"s Grammar Day! (Note to hardline grammarians: We know punctuation—like a comma—isn"t exactly grammar, but we"re loosening the linguistical reins a bit in the generous spirit of Grammar Day. So put that red pen down, smarty-pants.)Desktop Version
Mack Arch Rock
Mack Arch Rock
Much of the Oregon coast is characterized by colossal rock formations, known as sea stacks, jutting dramatically out of the Pacific. The sea stacks you see here run next to a grassy promontory in the southern part of the state that overlooks a mostly inaccessible stretch of coastline.Desktop Version
The wild heart of Tasmania
The wild heart of Tasmania
This boardwalk leads to one of the many lakes that dot Tasmania"s Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park, a crown jewel of the island"s Wilderness World Heritage Area. Covering over 623 square miles in the interior of the island, the park is home to an incredible diversity of flora and fauna. Marsupials like Bennett"s wallabies, quolls, Tasmanian pademelons, wombats, Tasmanian pygmy possums, and the legendary Tasmanian devils, as well as short-beaked echidnas and platypuses, can be found in its ancient forests and lakes.Desktop Version
Happy Boxing Day!
Happy Boxing Day!
That "Boxing Day (UK)" printed on your calendar"s December 26 square has nothing to do with the sport of boxing—although for many modern Brits, Aussies, and other denizens of the Commonwealth, the holiday"s full slate of TV sporting events is the main observance. Folks with enough post-holiday energy might even slide down the hills on the grounds of this historic estate-turned public park, Barnett Demesne, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.Desktop Version
Where can you find a red fox?
Where can you find a red fox?
The biggest of all fox species, the red fox lives in many different habitats around the world, including forests, grasslands, deserts, and mountains. This fox is in the Netherlands, but red foxes can be found throughout most of Europe, as well as in temperate Asia, North Africa, and North America. A male fox is called a dog, and the female a vixen. A young fox is a kit, cub, or pup. Foxes live in groups called skulks. The red fox"s tail accounts for about a third of its length, and it can serve as a blanket, as well as a flag the fox raises to communicate with other foxes.Desktop Version
The largest living organism on Earth
The largest living organism on Earth
Today marks the second-ever World Reef Day, an observance created to help focus global attention on the deteriorating health of our planet"s vital reef systems, and also to help marshal efforts to help them recover. Why should we care about the health of ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef, seen in this photo? Because reefs are an easy indicator of how healthy our oceans are. And right now, reefs aren"t doing too well. What can we do? Learn about reefs—not just the dangers that put healthy reefs at risk, but why reefs are such a critical part of Earth"s greater ecosystems.Desktop Version
Life in the slow lane
Life in the slow lane
The first humans to settle in this area of what is now southern Italy took up residence in natural caves along the walls of the ravine formed by the Gravina River. Beginning around 9,000 years ago and continuing into the 20th century, the caves were further carved and expanded by these human occupants into an elaborate settlement. It"s now called the Sassi di Matera, a pair of districts in the city of Matera, Italy.Desktop Version
Hay, what s up?
Hay, what s up?
Whenever summer turns to autumn, the hay harvest is at the front of farmers" minds. To mark the change of season, we"re ambling through a hayfield full of beautifully rolled bales. This particular pastoral patch is in Jutland, the agrarian mainland of Denmark that "juts" into the North Sea. But if you could—hay presto—snap your fingers and teleport to any hayfield at sunset, you"d surely see similar neat rows of dry, amber-tinted grass.Desktop Version
Installation art turns heads
Installation art turns heads
If you ever encounter a giant plastic snail in the city or an army of rainbow-colored meerkats holding sentry outside a historic building, it’s likely an art installation from the Cracking Art collective. The group uses recyclable plastic to craft vivid representations of meerkats, elephants, snails, and other natural creatures for traveling art installations in unexpected locations. The collective’s use of plastic is meant to call attention to the sometimes blurry connection between natural and artificial reality, inviting viewers to reexamine the world around them. The meerkat exhibit on our homepage took place in 2015 at Le Mans Cathedral in Le Mans, France.Desktop Version
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
For Christmas Day, we"re taking in the winter views on Mount Khomyak in Ukraine"s Carpathian Mountains. The bright green moss and the red of the fallen leaves pop against the snowy white, as though the forest were transforming into a magical band of Christmas elves. While much of the Christian world celebrates Christmas on December 25, for those who follow Eastern Orthodox Christian traditions—including many Ukrainians—Christmas is still a couple weeks away. Eastern Orthodox Christmas celebrations are tied to the Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the more universal Gregorian calendar, so Christmas Day in Ukraine will be celebrated on January 7.Desktop Version
Fall comes to Pando
Fall comes to Pando
All is not as it appears to be here at Pando, in Utah"s Fishlake National Forest. At first glance, visitors likely see a massive grove of quaking aspen trees, their leaves dancing in the wind. But Pando is not many trees; instead, it"s a single organism. Like many aspen groves, the 40,000 trees in Pando are genetically identical cloned stems that sprouted from the same root system. First discovered in 1968, Pando made waves in the scientific world. It"s become recognized as one of the heaviest known organisms—weighing 6,000 metric tons—and one of the oldest known living organisms. Scientists estimate its root system is upwards of 80,000 years old, having endured the last ice age and countless forest fires. It got to be so old partly because most of the organism is protected underground. So, while an individual stem can die, the organism as a whole survives.Desktop Version
Midwinter freeze
Midwinter freeze
Abiqua Falls in Oregon is a beautiful example of a basalt column amphitheater. Over 90 percent of all volcanic rock is basalt, but only a small fraction of it forms into the hexagonal columns that you see here. When molten lava hits the atmosphere, rapid cooling causes it to contract into these characteristic columns. It"s just part of what makes Abiqua Falls so spectacular.Desktop Version
Celebrating Mexico in a Cultural Capital
Celebrating Mexico in a Cultural Capital
For Cinco de Mayo, we’re in San Miguel de Allende, a colonial-era city that’s ramping up for a special year. Located in eastern Guanajuato, it was named the American Cultural Capital in 2019 in celebration of its cultural heritage. This honor is given by an NGO called the International Bureau of Cultural Capitals, and it goes to just one city in either North, Central, or South America each year. The recognition comes with tourism marketing about the city in dozens of countries around the world, so others will learn about San Miguel de Allende’s many cultural charms and special events.Desktop Version
It s Census Day—make it count
It s Census Day—make it count
It"s Census Day, and we"re marking the once-in-a-decade head count with this populous pic of nesting king penguins in Antarctica. You"re probably wondering: Shouldn"t this crowd of penguins be social distancing right now? A smart observation, but the new coronavirus actually hasn"t been observed in Antarctica at all (it"s the only continent with no cases), nor have birds been shown to spread it. So, we"re giving these avian gatherers a pass, but we encourage you to stay safe at home. With care and patience, we"ll get back to enjoying each other"s company just like these feathered friends.Desktop Version
It’s NASA’s 60th birthday
It’s NASA’s 60th birthday
For some Monday inspiration, we’re looking to the sky. In honor of NASA’s 60th anniversary, these are the contrails from a 2007 liftoff of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which transported astronauts to space and back for 30 years before being retired here, at Kennedy Space Center, where visitors can view it in person.Desktop Version
Come out of your shell for World Turtle Day
Come out of your shell for World Turtle Day
Make way for the green sea turtle, which you’ll find—if you’re lucky—swimming in tropical and subtropical coastal waters around the world. You’ll notice that despite its name, the green sea turtle’s shell is not green at all. The name comes from the color of its fat, which takes on a greenish hue after the adult turtle starts eating seagrass and algae. Unfortunately, like many other sea turtle species, the green sea turtle is endangered and its population shrinking due to hunting, boat-propeller accidents, plastic pollution, and loss of nesting grounds.Desktop Version
Pasadena Chalk Festival supports local arts education
Pasadena Chalk Festival supports local arts education
Since 1993, the Pasadena-based nonprofit Light Bringer Project has supported arts education in the Los Angeles area by helping produce the annual Pasadena Chalk Festival. Hundreds of artists spend the weekend creating unique chalk artworks on the sidewalks of historic downtown Pasadena for this free event. Funds are raised through donations from festival attendees and proceeds from sales of artwork and a silent auction.Desktop Version
Staircase of turquoise pools
Staircase of turquoise pools
While it"s snowy and cold in much of the Northern Hemisphere this time of year, December and January are popular months to visit Guatemala, where the skies are clear, but everything is still green and lush from autumn rains. Nestled in the Guatemalan jungle, Semuc Champey is a hotspot for adventurous tourists. Its name means "where the river hides under the stones" in Q"eqchi", a Mayan language spoken by local communities.Desktop Version
The Millennium at 20
The Millennium at 20
The view you"re seeing was first made possible exactly 20 years ago, but a photo from the same spot on June 10, 2000, might"ve come out a tad blurry. That"s because when the London Millennium Bridge opened to flocks of pedestrians on that date, it wobbled so much it was closed after just two days. But the bridge reopened with improvements in 2002, and today it"s stable in terms of not only lateral g-force but also photo-op popularity.Desktop Version
A tree of many memories
A tree of many memories
As autumn takes hold in China, a blanket of fan-shaped golden leaves—like this one at Xuanwu Lake Park in Nanjing—becomes a familiar sight. And it"s been that way for longer than anyone can remember, thanks to a native tree with a lineage going back eons, the ginkgo.Desktop Version
A step toward freedom
A step toward freedom
This inscription marks the spot on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, where civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. stood while delivering his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. It was August 28, 1963, and King was addressing a quarter-million people spread across the National Mall during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. King referred to written notes for most of the speech, but as he neared the end of his prepared remarks, he heard gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who was standing nearby, shout out, "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" King responded by partly improvising the rest of his message in a soaring, sermon-like delivery, punctuating his ideas repeatedly with that single phrase, "I have a dream." King"s dream for racial justice, so eloquently shared that day, would resonate through the crowd and across the nation, bringing passionate new energy to the civil rights movement. It still resonates today.Desktop Version