2021-02-11
Almond blossoms surround a red barn in California's Central Valley (© Jeffrey Lewis/Tandem Stills + Motion)
【今日除夕】（© DANNY HU）
Nestled in California's verdant Central Valley, this almond orchard is in full bloom. If we zoomed in closer, we might see billions of honey bees hard at work moving pollen from one blossom to another, doing their vital work to pollinate the trees so they can produce their valuable crop. Almond orchards are a thriving $7.6 billion business here in the valley. California produces around 80 percent of the world's almonds and growing demand means production has more than doubled in the past few years, despite threats from drought and wildfires.
Almond blossoms surround a red barn in California's Central Valley (© Jeffrey Lewis/Tandem Stills + Motion)
【今日除夕】（© DANNY HU）
Nestled in California's verdant Central Valley, this almond orchard is in full bloom. If we zoomed in closer, we might see billions of honey bees hard at work moving pollen from one blossom to another, doing their vital work to pollinate the trees so they can produce their valuable crop. Almond orchards are a thriving $7.6 billion business here in the valley. California produces around 80 percent of the world's almonds and growing demand means production has more than doubled in the past few years, despite threats from drought and wildfires.
2021-02-12
Muskox with newborn in the central Arctic coastal plain of Alaska (© Steven Kazlowski/Danita Delimont)
【新年快乐】 （ © Kilito Chan ）
Today marks the start of Chinese New Year festivities, which continue through February 26. Because the holiday goes by the lunar calendar, the date of Chinese New Year on our solar/Gregorian calendar changes each year. The Chinese New Year also comes with a turn of the zodiac, which is divided into 12 parts, with each part represented by a different animal. The zodiac system assigns a single animal and its attributes to represent each year, and 2021 is the Year of the Ox. The others are Rat, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
Muskox with newborn in the central Arctic coastal plain of Alaska (© Steven Kazlowski/Danita Delimont)
【新年快乐】 （ © Kilito Chan ）
Today marks the start of Chinese New Year festivities, which continue through February 26. Because the holiday goes by the lunar calendar, the date of Chinese New Year on our solar/Gregorian calendar changes each year. The Chinese New Year also comes with a turn of the zodiac, which is divided into 12 parts, with each part represented by a different animal. The zodiac system assigns a single animal and its attributes to represent each year, and 2021 is the Year of the Ox. The others are Rat, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
2021-02-13
Eastern bluebirds in Charlotte, North Carolina (© Elizabeth W. Kearley/Getty Images)
四只东蓝鸲，北卡罗莱纳州夏洛特 (© Elizabeth W. Kearley/Getty Images)
This chunky foursome caught in a North Carolina snowstorm is a group of eastern bluebirds, the most widespread of the three types of bluebird. (The other two are the western and mountain.) The eastern bluebird range covers a wide area—east of the Rocky Mountains from southern Canada down to Central America, then over to the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. You can spot them in grasslands, forest clearings, meadows, and the like.
Eastern bluebirds in Charlotte, North Carolina (© Elizabeth W. Kearley/Getty Images)
四只东蓝鸲，北卡罗莱纳州夏洛特 (© Elizabeth W. Kearley/Getty Images)
This chunky foursome caught in a North Carolina snowstorm is a group of eastern bluebirds, the most widespread of the three types of bluebird. (The other two are the western and mountain.) The eastern bluebird range covers a wide area—east of the Rocky Mountains from southern Canada down to Central America, then over to the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. You can spot them in grasslands, forest clearings, meadows, and the like.