Blogging with mehar_mah

Burchell's zebra mother and foal in Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa by Richard Du Toit. Happy Mother's Day! On Mother's Day, we're looking at a Burchell's zebra mother and foal. An interesting fact that zebras can walk within 20 minutes of being born, but they still need help from mum. For the first two days after the foal is born, the mother will keep it close by and limit contact with other zebras, so the foal gets to know her by sight, smell and sound. Over the next year, the foal will follow its mother, learning what to eat, where to migrate in the dry and rainy seasons, and how to avoid predators. Those might not be the exact skills your mum taught you, but she surely played a part in your survival and growth - so be sure to wish her a happy Mother's Day today.

Sunrise at Llyn Padarn at Llanberis, Snowdonia National Park by Helen Hotson. The lone tree of Llyn Padarn This serene scene on Llyn Padarn, a glacially formed lake at the foot of Snowdon, is a photographer's favourite with its solitary tree set against a dramatic landscape. Sitting on the western shore of the lake, the 'Lone Tree' is visually striking at any time – be it full of leaves and set against a sunrise in the spring, leafless and mirrored in the still waters of the lake or enveloped in mist in the autumn and winter. The lake itself is a site of Special Scientific Interest which is home to lots of wildlife including the rare Arctic Char. At an impressive 29m (95ft) deep and two miles long, it is one of the larger natural lakes in Wales, sitting on the Llanberis Pass below Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales.

"Mt. Fuji and tea plantation" Shizuoka by  Hiroshi Ichikawa. It is the 88th day counting from the beginning of spring, and it is said to be a turning point from spring to summer.  Tea picking of new tea is also performed at this time.  The tea leaves picked at 88th night are said to be fine, and it is said that drinking tea on this day will make them live longer ... This is Shizuoka, the place for tea.  A tea plantation is spreading at the foot of Mt. Fuji.  The splendid greenery that spreads over the gentle hills and blue Mt. Fuji create a beautiful contrast.  Shizuoka tea is cultivated using a traditional farming method called "Tea grass farming," which is recognized as a World Agricultural Heritage.

"Victoria Falls and Rainbow" Zambia by  Dietmar Temps. A place where rainbows meet! Victoria Falls is a large waterfall located in the middle of the Zambezi River, which flows through the southeastern part of the African continent.  Located on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, it is also a World Heritage Site alongside the Iguazu Falls in South America and is a World Heritage Site.

The centuries couldn't change the beauty of this place. It's always been like this, the roofs of Paris! It is recognizable at a glance, the blue of the roofs of Paris, draped in zinc and slate, enhanced by the eternal red brick chimneys.  We saw them shine on the canvases, these roofs, on the canvas and in the movies.  We remember the Aristocats and the four hundred blows of little Antoine by François Truffaut… To those, the roofs offered a unique and personal escape, a parenthesis, in which they could sing, run, play and dream, floating almost at- above the world, like on a cloud ...

Daffodils in Dora’s Field, Rydal, Lake District by Simon Whaley Landscapes. Dancing daffodils! This sight of daffodils open a window from the past where we can hear the beautiful lyrics, wrote by  our nature loving poet,  William Wordsworth. The “host of golden daffodils, beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze” that he describes are said to have been inspired by those in Glencoyne Bay, Ullswater, on a visit with his sister Dorothy in 1802. Wordsworth spent much of his life in the Lake District, the perfect place for a key figure in the Romantic movement and passionate environmentalist to get close to nature. To mark the anniversary, the Wordsworth Museum has been expanded and modernised and Dove Cottage has been refurbished to help generations of new fans discover Wordsworth.

A Kermode bear cub huddling with its sibling in Canada's Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia by Ian McAllister. Brothers rivalry! They’re very cute but we’re betting these two Kermode bear siblings are a handful (hang in there, mama bear!). Kermode bears are a subspecies of the American black bear, although they're obviously not always black. They have a recessive gene which sometimes results in cream or white fur. While most Kermode bears are black, scientists estimate that between 10 and 20 per cent of the population have ivory coats. Known as ‘spirit bears’, they are special to indigenous people of the British Columbia coastal regions in Canada where they live. Today is Siblings Day in the US, which celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters.