Flowers are an important part of Japanese culture. For every season, there are unique species and varieties that bloom and light up the country, adding a little color to everyone’s life. It’s common to find stunning flower fields in Japan, some of which are government-owned tourist locations and private farmer-owned fields. A lot of them have several species of flowers in different rows, often making a smorgasbord of colors and beauty beyond words.

However, if you visit the Hitachi Seaside Park toward the end of the spring, get ready to catch your breath as you’d be thrown into an unending stretch of lovely blue Nemophila flowers. They are pretty common and can be found almost anywhere in Japan, but you can only find an incredible 4.5 million of these flowers in full bloom at the Hitachi Seaside Park.


The 190-hectare park in Hitachi features many varieties of seasonal flowers, but one of the best times to visit is late April to mid-May during the Nemophila Harmony. Nicknamed the “baby blue eyes” because of their soft blue hue and eye-like appearance, 4.5 million Nemophilia flowers cover the 3.5-hectare Miharashi hills in the park. The flowers dot every spot of the hills, excluding the walkways, and you can get a great panoramic view at the base level since the hills are about 58m above sea level.

On the other hand, you’d be stunned to your heart if you stand at the highest point of the hills, overlooking a wide stretch of gentle blue flowers, highlighted by the blue ocean and the stunningly blue Japan sky. If you ever needed a visual description of picture-perfect, witnessing the Nemophila Harmony could be all you’d ever need to see.


Sadly, you might have to wait a little while longer before taking that trip to Japan. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, as of April 4, 2020, the Hitachi Seaside Park was closed until further notice. The park attracts thousands of visitors daily and could potentially expose lots of people to serious risks.


You can also grow a field of your own flowers if you have a green thumb. Baby blue eyes are flowers from the Nemophila Menziesii, a flowering plant often used as ground cover or a spill-out plant. The plant is mostly cultivated for the lovely flowers, and it’s quite easy to maintain.

The Menzies’ Baby blue is an annual plant and doesn’t usually last through the winter, so it’s best planted in early spring to bloom all through summer. If you’re in the USDA hardiness zones 2-10, the plants would fare well in your garden. When the flower blooms, the petals completely cover the tiny stems, and while the plant is very small in size, it’s mostly never grown indoors.

The plants don’t require fertilizer as they grow but you might want to add a little before you plant the seeds. They require plenty of water during germination, especially during the first six weeks, but cut back when they are in bloom. Avoid cultivating the plants under direct sunlight as a partial shade is the best bet. Pests and disease infestation are not major problems with these plants since they do not live very long.









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A couple that's been feeding a stray cat in the neighborhood is feeling extra special after the cat brought her kitten to their porch for the first time.

"There's a stray cat that hangs out around my neighborhood. We give her food and water and she accompanies us on our daily walks," Courtnay said. "Over the last week, she has been extremely clingy and affectionate. She hardly ever leaves our porch. Today after our walk, she brought us her kitten. I feel so honored."

Courtnay says they started feeding the cat when they first moved to the neighborhood. At the time the cat was sickly and very skinny. She's a lot healthier now that they feed her daily.

There’s a stray cat that hangs out around my neighborhood. We give her food and water and she accompanies us on our daily walks. Over the last week, she has been extremely clingy and affectionate. She hardly ever leaves our porch. Today after our walk, she brought us her kitten. I feel so honored. from r/aww

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Fire rainbows aren’t actually rainbows and they have nothing to do with fire, either. Technically known as circumhorizontal arcs, these optical phenomena occur when the sun is higher than 58° in the sky. The other ingredient forming these arcs are cirrus clouds, which are thin, feathery clouds occurring at higher altitudes. The temperature where these clouds exist is low; therefore, they are made of hexagonal ice crystals. When optimally aligned, these crystals act as a prism and that results in refraction that is reminiscent of a rainbow.

There is a popular misconception that such halos are rare. However, their frequency depends on location in particular latitude. In the United States, it is relatively common to see them several times each summer, while the phenomenon is quite rare in mid-latitude and northern Europe. So, for example, the potential for these “fire rainbows” to form in Los Angeles is 5-10 times higher than in London.

More info: Instagram | Official website

Photographer Cessna Kutz captured a magnificent fire rainbow over Lake Sammamish

Image credits: Cessna Kutz
“Witnessed a pretty cool phenomenon out on lake Sammamish today,” Cessna writes on her Instagram upon sharing the mesmerizing shot. “A horizontal rainbow! To me, it was a little reminder to hold onto hope and love instead of fear and panic in these unknown times. Stay safe out there, friends.”

It’s an optical phenomenon that occurs when the sun is higher than 58° above the horizon

Image credits: Cessna Kutz
After the photographer shared the photos, they almost instantly went viral. “I honestly had no idea these photos would make the news,” Cessna shared with one news outlet. “I was just wanting to share a beautiful moment I got to witness. I’m super passionate about photography so I’m grateful that God has used my photos to touch people, not only throughout the nation but throughout the world. It’s boosted my photography business as well as make an impact on people so it feels pretty amazing.”

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Ever witnessed snails sharing a searing kiss before? You’d be surprised at how romantic the scene actually looks, especially when they are stretching towards each other on cherry stalks in the middle of a tranquil river.

Macro photography gives reality whole new dimension. This area of photography has become so popular over the years that most of the recent creative awards in photography have been going to macro images. Macro photography basically involves capturing tiny, miniature objects or organisms and enlarging them beyond their 1:1 ratio. Essentially, you’re taking objects that would have been otherwise too tiny to be noticed and making them larger them life. Art has never been so stunning.


Ukrainian nature photographer Vyacheslav Mishchenko, 48, has been capturing macro worlds for a long as he can remember. His latest series would certainly “slow” your mind. Subjectively speaking, snails aren’t the most attractive creatures in nature. In fact, most of us wouldn’t pay them any attention, but Mishchenko created a world of pure magic where we can see things through the eyes of a snail. He photographs many tiny organisms, but snails are a particular favorite.

In 2014, Mishchenko won 1st place in Nature Category in the 2014 International Photography Awards (IPA) Competition with his snail series titled: “A Magical World Of Snails”.


According to Mishchenko, capturing minutiae worlds has been an age-long hobby.

“As a child, my father taught me to hunt mushrooms near my home and we would always come across all manner of bugs and creatures,” he told Daily Mail. “As I got older and my interest in photography grew, I decided I wanted to catch these magical scenes on camera. My father worked as a freelance photographer for the local newspapers. I observed his art and learned it.”


It’s unclear if Mishchenko’s ‘models’ are aware of their photoshoots, but they don’t seem to mind so much. He explains that he does not remove them from their natural habitats as they are best photographed in their elements. For this series, he used a Fujifilm Finepix S200EXR, his first digital camera.

He captured several snails living the dreamy life while kissing, reaching out to droplets of water falling from a strawberry, taking shade under a flower’s petals, nosing around bubbles on a river, chilling on mushrooms and reaching out to flowers.


“I photograph all insects but snails have touched my heart particularly. I think that snails are simply extraordinary not only in their shape and form but also in their beauty and behavior. They are magic creatures for me,” Mishchenko told Bored Panda. “I shoot all insects in their natural habitat. All the stories that you see in my photos exist in nature. It’s a question of luck to be in the right place at the right time. My goal is to show the beauty of the world around us.”

Mishchenko is an all-round creative who’s other interests include woodworking and appointing. He explains that these passions halted his journey as a photographer earlier in life.

“My family used to spend a lot of weekends camping in a beautiful forest. Thus photography and nature naturally entered my life,” he said. “I took my first macro shot when I was 10 years old. After getting married and having children, photography went by the wayside. Most of the time I spent on painting. With the advent of digital photography, I have renewed my passion for photography. I would advise a beginner photographer to be patient, to develop artistic taste, to be romantic and finally to love nature.”

See more of Mishchenko’s work on his Facebook Page: Vyacheslav Mishchenko @snails.space


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