#nature+

[herpsandbirds]

Cloven-feathered Dove (Drepanoptila holosericea), family Columbidae, endemic to New Caledonia

photograph by Lev Frid

[mammalianmammals]

Hairless Bat or Naked Bulldog Bat (Cheiromeles torquatus), family Molossidae, found in SE Asia

photographs by Chien C. Lee

[expressions-of-nature]

Fyrish Monument, Scotland by Kier Allen

[atrusovaartist]

I travel to France quite often, but I have a special love for the south and its lavender fields. Whenever I think of France, those endless purple landscapes are the first thing that comes to mind. I’m sure there are lavender fields in other regions too, but it’s the ones in the south that have stayed with me the most.Three years ago, I traveled through southern France, visiting Montpellier and several beautiful towns along the coast. I also visited a monastery, wandered through the lavender fields, and came home with hundreds of photographs that I later shared on my social media.Some time later, those memories inspired this painting. Of course, I didn’t paint the scene exactly as I saw it. I made the colors richer, the sunset brighter, and the atmosphere more expressive. That’s what I love about Impressionism—it isn’t about copying reality perfectly, but about capturing an emotion. Perhaps this wasn’t the exact feeling I had at that moment, but it’s the emotion that remained with me as a beautiful memory of that journey.

[requiem-on-water]

“Black Cloud” for the exhibition “The Accursed Hour” by Carlos Amorales at Fondazione Adolfo Pini | Ph: (1&2) Andrea Rossetti (3) Alessandro Spadoni

[overclassy]

[herpsandbirds]

The Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Texas could lose 715 acres to SpaceX under a federal land exchange proposal.

Congress created this wildlife refuge in 1979 to protect its diverse wildlife, including rare species like ocelots, aplomado falcons, and migratory birds such as piping plovers, red knots, green jays and Altamira orioles. The refuge protects some of the best habitat in the United States for the endangered ocelot and is one of the last remaining expanses of public lands in south Texas. SpaceX’s rocket launch activities have already been impacting nearby habitat and destroying shorebird nests, and wildlife can’t afford this lopsided deal.

The Center for Biological Diversity is suing the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to stop this harmful land giveaway, and we need your support.

Give Now to Save the Wild

Join the fight to protect wildlife and wild places with a gift to the Center for Biological Diversity.