💛 be kind

New World. Runner-up, Man and Nature. "For common mergansers in Warsaw, the breeding season has become rather stressful. Ducklings hatch in a park about one kilometer away from the Vistula river. To get to the river, the ducks must cross two canals and go through three underground passages created especially for this purpose. The final obstacle is a six-lane motorway. Every year, a group of volunteers helps the ducks cross this dangerous road by holding up traffic." #

🤍 be resilient

Shaking off the Snow. Runner-up, Mammals. "This picture was taken in Wapusk National Park on the coast of Hudson Bay, Canada, during a heavy snowstorm in November 2022. With a single vigorous movement, the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) shakes off the powdery snow that has accumulated during the storm. A gust of wind picks up the snow and forms a decorative veil around the animal."

🖤 be patient
The Night of the Lynx. Highly Commended, Mammals. "I have been using camera traps and flashes to photograph lynx (Lynx lynx) in southern Sweden for more than six years. After many attempts with classic image composition, I tried to rethink my approach. My aim was to photograph a backlit lynx on a tree trunk at night as a silhouette with a 'golden edge.' A softened main flash, whose light was bundled through a narrow tube The gentle rain that night was a welcome bonus."

❤️ Be careful
Blood of the Earth. Highly Commended, Landscapes. "A huge stream of lava flows from an eruptive fissure into the deserted Valle del Bove in the southeastern crater of Mount Etna, Italy. Sulfurous vapors color the surrounding rocks bright yellow. Positioned at a distance away from the intense heat, I extended my tripod with the camera already mounted, held it up as far as I could above the glowing lava lake, and then took this shot with a remote shutter release."

💛 bee ware

Bee Wolf. Highly Commended, Other Animals. "A female bee wolf (Philanthus triangulum), or digger wasp, returns to its burrow with a honey bee (Apis mellifera) that it has paralyzed and will place in the burrow as a food source for its emerging offspring. Bee wolves lay their eggs in burrows that they dig in sandy soil."

💙 Good morning

Arctic Tern. Highly Commended, Birds. "Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea) patrol along the front of a mighty glacier in search of food. Their hunt is particularly successful after the glacier has calved, dropping large chunks of ice into the sea and stirring up the marine plankton. The image was taken in July 2023 from a Zodiac in front of Monaco Glacier in Liefdefjord, northwestern Svalbard."

Truth.

🔥 jumping candles til I find a path through this sh*show.

CoSo is my current therapist💛

🖤 💗

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🇺🇸
❤️ 🤍💙
Veteran size coffee and thanks to all who are with us, deepest sympathies to families whose vet did not come home, and an open hand to those who carry the external and internal scars of service

I am honored in my work to assist vets. Whatever current crisis they are going through they are infallibly civil. The number of both men and women with 70% or greater disability is staggering.

Deepfelt thank you for your service and sacrifices.

Both hands up

Austrian lake
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Relax...
🖤

Good morning CoSo☕
Must prepare for the river of rain today but first coffee with nauts🖤

#politics Not Canada!
The f you say.

Does no one watch scarey movies? Leave the blade alone!

https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/07/science/vampire-woman-facial-reconstruction-poland/index.html

Is it safe to come out?
Groomers kitty🖤