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.
Source

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.
Source

However, this one is particular is definitely shaking the world of birds with its breathtaking beauty. The mandarin duck – also known as the most adorable bird in the world. A tiny, yet extremely agile bird, the mandarin duck is always a dazzling presence thanks to its spectacular multi-colored features and its one-of-a-kind shape. 

Native to East Asia, the exotic birds can be found from large lakes to tiny ponds. They are also present (in small communities) in the UK and Germany, and some have been spotted even in the USA. While the females have a more common duller grey features, the males plumage is a vibrant mix of colors. 

Their tiny orange face is covered by a brown neck. The chest is purple with pale bronze on the side, while their backs have two orange ‘sails.’ Surprisingly, at some point the west europeans feared the lakes not to get over populated by these absolutely adorable birds. 

Their arrival in Europe goes back a few centuries, when the Mandarins brought some from China, but many of them got away and created their own colonies. 

And since they didn’t have any natural predators, their population started to grow rampantly. As about their diet, mandarin ducks usually feed themselves with water plants and seed, but they also enjoy small fishes or snails. Scroll down to see more of these unique birds! Source

Thankfully, the hilarious moment was caught on tape by director and photographer, Eric J Smith and it now went viral! The marine life enthusiasts were all patiently waiting in their boat with the cameras on, but they nearly missed the spectacular sight as the massive whale decided to trick them. 

The group was offshore Baja California in Mexico, waiting for a lifetime opportunity, but they were all looking the wrong way while the whale popped up its head behind them. The animal lovers got lucky though, as they turned their heads just in time to grab some adorable snaps with the magnificent creature. 

Just like it have known the curios sightseers missed the first opportunity, the humpback whale offered them other glimpse of it. 

This time, the moment was even celebrated by some of the whale watchers. Photographer Eric Smith, who witnessed the whole scene could not believe his eyes what he was seeing. 

“She slowly and silently stuck her head high above the water to look around,” the 49-year-old said. “When everyone turned around, she quickly sank below the surface. 

Cheering and hysterical laughter ensued. “I was in another panga [boat] a few dozen feet away and caught the moment right before everyone realized she was so close. Whale photography involves a lot of luck, but the key is to always be on alert and ready.” 

 Featured Image Credits CATERS
Source

It’s a condition when the iris has two totally different colors in the same area. If your kitty was born with this kind of mesmerizing eyes – there’s no reason to worry about it , since it doesn’t impact your cat’s vision. Here are a few more cats with multi-colored eyes: Source

The short video has gained over 27 million views ever since, and it’s pretty easy to understand why people fell in love with it! As you probably know, little babies could cry for any reason, and sometimes it is difficult, even for their mum to calm them down. 

Days ago, Hanna Burton experienced that feeling, but she also witnessed a scene she’d never thought she will. 

The woman was on the deck of her house in New Lexington, Ohio, gently attempting to comfort her newborn baby, Charlie who was crying. The little baby was laying on a blanket right on the deck with his caring mom on his side patiently trying to calm him down, when all of a sudden an unlikely guest came out of nowhere. 

A wild deer found her way out of the bushes and she came sprinting straight to Hanna and her baby. The woman immediately realized what the deer’s intentions were and she tried to assure her that everything is under control. 

The wild animal just followed her maternal instincts and rushed to help! The little baby was laying on a blanket right beside his caring mommy when all of sudden an unlikely guest came out from nowhere. A wild deer found her way into the bushes and she ran straight towards Hanna with panic in eyes, but he quickly realized what this animal’s intentions were-to help! 

The woman immediately realized what the deer’s intentions were and she tried to assure her that everything is under control. The wild animal just followed her maternal instincts and rushed to help! “Nope! Nope! Nope!,” the woman can be heard saying. “This is my baby. This one’s my baby. Hi, momma!” Then, she tries to explain to Charlie what just happened. 

“She thinks you’re her baby,” she told her little one. The mother caught the adorable experience on camera and shared it online. 

“When you almost have to throw down with a momma deer because your baby starts crying outside,” she captioned the viral footage. 

Take a peek:

@hannaburton

When you almost have to throw down with a momma deer because your baby starts crying outside

♬ original sound - Hanna Burton

While many of the user had their hearts melted upon watching the adorable video, some have criticised Hanna because of how she handled the situation. 

But she later explained everyone and even shared a photo, of how her little Charlie comfortably sleeping on the deck. 

The deer’s surprising reaction was also debated by people, with one person explaining: “Deers are protective, probably thought it was a smaller animal in distress. They’ll do everything to protect rabbits among others. They’re so kind-hearted!”
Source

The dramatic moment, that lasted only a few seconds, was caught on by a CCTV camera! Everyone in the paddock is with its own business, when all of a sudden, a hawk is diving from the sky with only one purpose in its mind – the dinner. 

The die seems already cast for a poor chicken whose feathers are flying all over the place. It is fighting a battle he had already lost, when the odds dramatically turned into its favor. When realizing his chicken pal has been ambushed, a brave rooster rushes to help it out without a second thought. 

A couple of seconds later, another paddock companion – a goat, this time – decides to join forces in the attempt to save the helpless chicken from the bird’s sharp claws. 

The fearless duo eventually manages to fend off the hawk and to save their pal’s life. The owner of the farm, 59-year-old Jaap Beets, who was inside of the house, has no time to react as the entire scene lasted only 17 seconds. 

He later learned of what had happened from the CCTV camera footage. He then declared extremely proud of his animals. 

Yet, he said it wasn’t the first time his chickens are being protected in such a fashion by the other animals. Last time, another goat and a turkey have been guardian angels for a assaulted chicken. “I was so proud of the rooster and the goat jumping in to defend our chicken,” Beets said. “I was also very relieved that the chicken survived. I heard the screaming animals but it was too late to see the attacker so I checked the CCTV. It took only 17 seconds between the appearance and disappearance of the hawk.” Thanks to the joined effort of the two fearless animals, the chicken got a second chance to live. “Thankfully, [it] only had two minor wounds,” the farmer said. “It took her a few days to get back to normal. The other birds rallied around and kept her company.” 

Watch the dramatic moment!

 
Source

With outstretched wings and a striking bird-shaped profile, the image – captured by photographer Hallgrimur P Helgason – wowed stargazers in Kaldarsel. Mr Helgason, 64, said that the bird showed up in the night sky an hour after he got there and started snapping. 

He said: ‘It’s really a thrill shooting the aurora, especially when they are so playful like they were that night. I have to admit that I always get an adrenalin kick when the lights burst out like that – that particular shot was the top one of the night.’ 

He uses a camera and tripod to photograph the lights, and advises snapping in the dark away from city light pollution and never using a flash. 

 He said the Northern Lights were mainly showing in green and yellow colors when he was shooting that night but also sported red and blue, suggesting the aurora was strong. The Northern Lights feature prominently in Norse mythology. One legend suggests that the lights were reflections or glow from the shields and armour of the Valkyrie, female warriors who would choose who may die in battle and who may live to fight another day. 

Dying in battle seemed to occupy Norse mythology quite a bit and the Aurora was also believed to be “Bifrost Bridge”, a glowing and pulsating arch which led those fallen in battle to the warriors final resting place in Valhalla. 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. 

The Inuits who lived on the lower Yukon River believed that the aurora was the dance of animal spirits, especially those of deer, wolf, seals, salmon and beluga. 

In Finland, a mystical fox was thought to have created the aurora, its bushy tail spraying snow and throwing sparks into the sky. Source

  Falkor voyaged to the southern half of the Phoenix Islands Archipelago, to the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) with an interdisciplinary team of scientists. The goal was to explore and document never before seen deep-sea ecosystems of PIPA. 

 One such creature was a stunning, transparent glass octopus floating in the pitch-black water. 

  This was seen 651m deep at a seamount in Winslow reef complex on Tokelau Ridge in Phoenix Islands Archipelago (US EEZ). During the #PhoenixIslandsCoral expedition Dive 433

Source