Every year in the fall, this beautiful tree sheds, and leaves behind a beautiful ocean of yellow leaves. The Ginkgo tree, also known as the maidenhair, is sometimes referred to as a “living fossil” because, despite all the drastic climate changes, it has remained unchanged for more than 200 million years. 

It is a living link to the times when the dinosaurs ruled the earth. This specimen has more than 1,400 years of life.
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When amateur photographer Risto Mattila went for a Sunday stroll along Marjaniemi beach on Finland's Hailuoto Island recently, that was exactly what he found. Lucky for us, he took some snaps, which quickly spread through social media. 

"I was with my wife at Marjaniemi beach. The weather was sunny, about -1 Celsius (30 Fahrenheit) and it was quite a windy day," Mattila told the BBC. "There we found this amazing phenomenon. There was snow and ice eggs along the beach near the water line." 

A stretch of roughly 30 metres (about 100 feet) of sand was littered with frozen spheres that ranged from golf ball-sized to the circumference of a football.

 

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A post shared by Risto Mattila (@rismatti)

The bizarre sight might look like carnage after a serious snowball fight, but it actually has more in common with your garden variety hailstones, because the formation of these 'ice eggs' requires a near-perfect set of meteorological conditions - not too warm, not too cold, not too windy, not too still. 

First of all, you need relatively calm water. It also has to be just cold enough for ice to form, given the opportunity. That opportunity requires something small for that close-to-freezing water to cling to, such as small ice crystals or grit floating in the water. Hail forms when water condenses and freezes onto particles blown up inside storm clouds, for example. As they fall and rise, the stones collect layers of ice, until finally they grow too heavy and drop. 

In the case of these ice eggs, it's not the chaotic blast of rising air currents that lead to the slow build-up of ice, but the gentle churn of water, blown by a suitably stiff breeze that helps layers of ice form on the floating ball as it rolls through the freezing currents. 

Take a look at these grittier ice rocks being washed up on the shore of Lake Michigan in the US a few years ago to get an idea of how they develop:

  Given enough time, the frozen rocks can grow to become virtual boulders. In 2016, similar giant snowballs washed up on a beach in Siberia, some measuring a meter (about 3 feet) across. 

It's not the kind of thing most of us would see while out on a winter walk on our favorite beach or river bank, but Mattila wasn't the only one to appreciate this unusual phenomenon, with local resident Ritva Rundgren capturing this footage below.

ICE BALLS cover Beach in Finland!!!! 😮😮

Permission: Ritva Rundgren
Hailuoto, Finland - Bothnian Sea@WeatherBug - Download the weather app today! pic.twitter.com/F9fe1K8tcd

— Live Storm Chasers (@LiveStormChaser) November 7, 2019

Meanwhile, another odd assortment of icicle-laden 'eggs' has washed up on the banks of the Wulik River in Alaska.

Interesting formation of ice on the banks of the Wulik River near Kivalina. We suspect a combination of strong waves and super cold water created these ice balls. pic.twitter.com/oIM19Jle2N

— NWS APRFC (@NWSAPRFC) November 6, 2019

Thanks to so many people out there with easy access to cameras, and easy ways to share their discoveries around the world, we all get to experience the awesome moments nature serves up.
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The lovely scene was caught on camera by Laura Keene, a 57-year-old amateur photographer, on Barrier Islands in Alaska. Though the incredible snap show the one-year-old cubs appearing to wave to the camera, the story behind it explains what really happened. 

As it turned out, the bears – a female and her two cubs – were actually spotted another polar bear family far behind. So the youngsters stood up on their hind legs to better notice what was happening. “It was such a surreal moment for me as a photographer when I saw that wave movement, Laura who works as a clinical pharmacist, said. 

“Though intellectually I knew it was simply the cub moving to keep his balance as he stood upright, I pressed the shutter desperately hoping that I could capture that scene in focus as our boat rocked and pulled away.” 

The two polar bear families got alerted by a massive male they’ve been spotted sleeping in the area. So the mother became extremely vigilant as the males are extremely aggressive with the cubs. “That day, our bear guide Ketil Reitan scanned the islands and noticed two families of bears, each with a mum and two cubs,” Laura explained. 

“From a distance he could see unusual behaviour, the mother bears were occasionally standing. “He navigated the boat to the area and when we arrived he saw the reason – there was a huge male polar bear sleeping nearby.”
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Reniala is a malagasy name of baobab, “reny” means mother and “ala” means forest so baobab is called Reniala or mother of the forest due to its height and shape bigger than other trees surrounding her in the forest. This reserve is held by an association called Reniala that gives the name of the area like their association. 

Not only the association’name makes the reserve called Reniala but the place is known as home of many species of baobabs within just 60 ha . From Tulear to the reserve, you’ll cross some Mahafaly(one of Malagasy ethnics) typical villages where you’ll see houses that are quite similar to each other build with dry bulrush.( a tall reed-like water plant with tall leaves) Arrived at the reserve you’ll have opportunities to learn more about the Baobab and other endemic vegetal species in the dry area of the South. 

Notice that Baobabs tree grows 1 millimeter per month so imagine how old are those big trees in front of us. If you are lucky enough you might taste its delicious fruit that falls in every December. Then learn about those four different species of trees that local use to build their boats and also the “Music tree” or the yellow flamboyant that is served to fabricate musical instrument like maracas, djember or mandolin. But the highlights of the day is to be in front of the biggest baobab of Ifaty Mangily area inside the reserve that looks like a coffee pot. 

This biggest baobab has over 1200 years with her 7 meters of height and 12 meters of circumference. It belongs to the species of “Adansonia robrostipa” called also “Baobab FONY”. This baobab bears leaves from November to April and flowering between February and April although sometimes as late as June. 

The flowers are large, showy and sweet-smelling, and open just before or soon after dusk, producing copious amounts of nectar but remaining reproductively receptive for just one night. Reniala reserve presents an exceptional faunistic richness that live inside the deciduous forest. 

During your visit you’ll meet many endemic birds including Uratelornis and Monias, lemurs, reptiles, lizards that has the head of dinosaur and caiman’tail, and also turtles. On your way back, you’ll meet the herders with their livestock of goats that cross the road through the sunset of the South that will be a real unforgettable painting tables on your mind.
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Yes, yes we have all seen the ridges and kettle holes but this is quite something you would not expect. There is about a kilometer long walk from the nearest point where you can leave your car. We walk through some wet areas so rubber boots or something waterproof for you feet is recommended. 

After crossing a clumsy looking bridge made out some branches the path finally takes some higher ground and your feet will be safe or dry at least. We are arriving into a regular looking forest with absolutely no hints of anything special. After a while of walking it hits us by a surprise even though we had already seen the pictures beforehand. 

And there it is, a massive rock standing on its own pedestal. It is not even that common to come across to a rock this size not to talk about it balancing on another rock. 

It seems that you’ll be able to flip it over anytime, but not even 10 000 years have done it. Another interesting thing is that the rock beneath the other one is almost perfectly smoothened out. It looks like something you would expect to see by the sea or somewhere in the middle of great rapids, but here in the middle of the forest it just looks like it doesnt belong in here. 

I’m pretty confident this is something quite unique even in larger scale. It is something you won’t come across in any other place in Finland and I doubt to find something like this anywhere. 

This such a peculiar rock, and that’s exactly what it’s called here in Finland: Kummakivi.
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Such innocents lives. Nature is amazing and beautiful. (A BBC filming team) Following a polar bear mother and her two tiny cubs, in their epic journey from the the Svalbard islands to the North Pole, the team witnessed an unexpectedly comical moment Soon as they reached the endless glacier, the hungry mother started to chase seals – polar bears main food source – hoping her two cubs will also develop their [hunting] skills. 

But the mother bear’s expectations are soon [ruined] as one of the cubs epically [fails] on her first lesson. Inspired by the fearless mother, the cub seems more determined than ever to catch her own dinner, but only to fell on her back with fear, when a baby seal found its way through the ice just in front of the bear. And clearly, the little one didn’t expect to this…! Typical boy! 

Playing around and then… Thank you bbc for the cute footage. 

Glad there’s a video cutest thing ever! Baby bears are so cute but so are baby seals. Beautiful how all kinds of babies can get along. The innocence of childhood…no matter what species. Maybe in years to come when bear is hunting he might remember seal and give him a day off lol. 

This is one of the cutest things ever seen…! Absolutely precious! 

 Watch the lovely moment here:

 
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With such a demand and lack of space, foresters came up with an ingenious way to grow more wood using less land. This involves the heavy pruning of a mother cedar tree, which encourages tall, thin saplings to shoot upwards. 

Think of it as a bonsai on a large scale. This technique, which is called daisugi, enables foresters to harvest wood much more quickly. The shoots can either be planted (to help quickly populate a forest) or harvested. Similar techniques can be found dating back to ancient Rome, which was called pollarding, and across Europe—particularly in Britain—where it's called coppicing. 

The result is slender cedar that is both flexible and dense, making it the perfect choice for traditional wood roofs and beams. Daisugi cedar can be harvested every 20 years and with the base tree lasting hundreds of years, there's a lot of wood to be harvested from just one tree. Source While 20 years may seem like a long time, this is actually accelerated compared to traditional Kitayama cedar. 

In order to keep the trees knot-free, workers climb the long trunks every three to four years and carefully prune any developing branches. 

After about 30 years, a single tree is finally cut down. This type of cedar, which is slightly thicker than the daisugi cedar, has several different uses. Traditionally, the smooth, aesthetically pleasing pieces of wood were used as the main pillars in an alcove called the tokonoma. 

Also first appearing in the 15th century during the Muromachi period, these alcoves were used to display artistic items like ikebana or scrolls. 

They also feature prominently in Kyoto's tea houses and it's said that it was Kyoto's preeminent tea master, Sen-no-rikyu, who demanded perfection in the Kitayama cedar during the 16th century. Though the use of Kitayama cedar in these traditional alcoves is declining as Japanese architecture develops, this highly prized wood is still used for everything from chopsticks to furniture.
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Only when she uploaded the images to the computer, she recognised the familiar shape that appeared right before her eyes: – I thought "oh my God, it resembles a fox or a wolf or something." I didn't know when I photographed what I got. It was amazing, she says. 

Northern lights are common in the arctic region of the northern hemisphere and are caused by the solar wind colliding with the atmosphere. Recent years northern lights have been getting more common, caused by increased solar activity. 

Ms Karlssons picture of the celestial animal has since become a viral success. It has been shared thousands of times on Facebook, but has also raised suspicion. 

Several people have been in contact with the photographer herself, to question the authenticity of the picture. – They think it is fake, but I can assure all sceptics that it's genuine, Ms Karlsson says to SVT Saami indigenous people believe these lights are their ancestors visiting them. The Salteaus Indians of eastern Canada and the Kwakiutl and Tlingit of Southeastern Alaska interpreted the northern lights as the dancing of human spirits. 

They rode on horseback, leading fallen soldiers to their final resting place at Valhalla. In Finland, a mystical fox was thought to have created the aurora, its bushy tail spraying snow and throwing sparks into the sky. 

 Check out other some amazing wolf like photos taken by lucky photographers at the right moment.
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“It took a few minutes for me to realise what a once in a lifetime moment that was.”

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One such episode occurred over the Costa Brava, in Northeastern Spain, when a flock of birds began to gather into a shape-shifting cloud, known as a murmuration. 

This phenomenon is a true spectacle, with hundreds, sometimes thousands or more birds moving and twisting in what appears to be a coordinated, single organism that can quickly morph into some startling shapes. Image credits: Daniel Biber/lensculture
Wildlife photography professional Daniel Biber from Hilzingen, Germany was there when the starlings began to swirl and twist, most likely the result of a predator such as a falcon or a hawk being in the vicinity. 

It was almost supernatural that in response to the predator, the cloud of starlings ended up twisting and turning themselves into a giant, single bird, as if to say to their tormentor, “we are bigger than you.” It was a case of patience pays off for Mr. Biber, who had tried and failed to capture the starlings in full flow before. 

“’I’ve tried to photograph the starlings but it never worked out as well as I hoped for,” he said. 

“’I eventually drove to the spot every day for four days in a row in order to capture them. I picked a spot where I thought they would turn up and picked a matching foreground and backdrop in order to put them in a scene.” “It took less than 10 seconds for the birds to create that formation. I realised that I had captured a unique snapshot, technically, sharp and in high quality. 

It usually happens that birds of prey turn up and the starlings then create bizarre forms. It can be quite erratic and completely random” "A number of people were watching this display but they were observing it from other spots and might not have seen what I captured” The photos have earned Mr. Biber a prize in an international photography competition, but he didn’t realize that he had captured such unique shots until later on. 

“Only when I checked the pictures on the computer later, I realized what formation the starlings had created,” he told the Daily Mail. 

“I was so concentrated on taking pictures at the time that I hadn’t realized that the starling murmuration had created a giant bird in the sky.”
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Not only do they symbolize the innocence and beauty of bringing new life into the world, but they also represent growth and development of the child since several photos are taken throughout the years and compared later on, writes moneysavingbasics. One of the greatest things about newborn photo shoots is that no two are ever identical. 

Interestingly, when Tiffany Gill Rogers’s one-month-old baby, Connor, was getting his professional shots taken by talented photographer Megan Rion, a wild deer photobombed the scene at the perfect moment!

But, before the wild animal arrived at the outdoor scene of sweet, little Connor, Megan had absolutely no idea that the fall photoshoot would contain any furry guests. 

In fact, it was never even an expectation. Instead, she had strategically arranged pumpkins and colorful leaves around Connor, who was lying on a festive hay bale. The scene was picture-perfect, literally! Megan worked her magic to produce phenomenal, autumn-inspired photographs of the one-month-old. 

From the props used and with Connor on the hay bale, the photographer definitely knew what she was doing to produce breathtaking photos. Then, that’s when a shy, hesitant deer interrupted the photoshoot, particularly appearing interested in Baby Connor resting on the hay bale. 

Before you know it, Megan got the perfect shot with the sweet deer behind the sleeping child, perfectly centered and slightly leaning downward as if the animal is intentionally posing for the camera. My eyes couldn’t believe it! 

Anyone would think that the photo of Connor and the deer was photoshopped, but there’s also an unprofessional photo of the scene to prove that the deer really was present at the time of the photoshoot. 

Your jaw will drop when you see the gorgeous capture of the newborn and the innocent deer. It’s definitely unlike most infant’s photoshoots. 

Click on the video below to see exactly how it all went down, you’ll be surprised!

  Do you think that the deer showing up was just a coincidence or was essentially destined to be a part of Connor’s beautiful photos? I’m thinking the latter is true!
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In any case, moments are precious because of this. So, let’s consider one such precious, once-in-a-lifetime moment: the time this one owl decided to come chill on this one wildlife photographer’s photo lens. 

Yep, this exact thing happened to photographer Scott Dere, but thanks to the quick and tactful reflexes of photographer Beaumon Day, we now have a photo of it!