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These 18 stunning photos prove natural light is the best thing on Earth.

Take a trip to the foggy Netherlands with these incredible Instagrams.

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Earth Day

We don't think about it very often, but natural sunlight is all kinds of awesome.

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.


Famous Dutch nature Instagrammer Vincent Croce knows a thing or two about the amazing benefits of natural light.

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

The dad of two spends a lot of time in the great outdoors with his camera, but he says his best photography tool isn't hardware; it's the natural light that shines almost constantly in the Netherlands. In fact, he prefers to photograph landscapes when most people are still sleeping.

"I love the quietness and peace the forest brings to me," Croce says. "In my opinion, photos are like souvenirs representing precious moments."

Croce's stunning photos remind us of just how lucky we are to live on such a beautiful planet.

Here are some of my favorites:

1. A web so beautiful, even Charlotte would be proud

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

This is what the September sun looks like in the Netherlands, according to Croce.

"I'm always looking for an interesting foreground when taking shots with my wide-angle lens," he says. "These spiderwebs in the middle of the meadow were just about perfect."

2. This complacently mysterious cow

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

"I was at the right place, at the right time," he says. "Foggy weather has the ability to make even a random cow look interesting."

3. An alluring forest scene

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

Croce took this shot of the Haagse Bos Forest during what he calls "the magic hour."

"I love the morning glow that sometimes occurs the morning after rainy weather," he says. "It really adds mood to the forest."

4. A glowing pathway

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

"This is a road that is perfectly aligned for potential sun beams," Croce says. "I occasionally check it out on my commute to my work."

5. This sprawling and frozen ocean scene

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

Utakleiv Beach has been called the most romantic beach in Europe. In the bottom lefthand corner of this photo, Croce says to look for the famous "eye of Utakleiv."

6. A gorgeous fall foliage shot

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

"This is Twickel canal in all its autumn glory," Croce says. "Twickel estate is full of woodland, heather, swamps, and gardens in the eastern part of the Netherlands."

7. An incredible, foggy sun

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

8. This cottage in the woods

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

Croce shot this picture of a historical farm in the Twente, an area located in the eastern part of The Netherlands.

9. An endless mist

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

"This is a typical Dutch scene," Croce says. "You can find lots of perfectly symmetric tree alleys spread across the rural areas of The Netherlands. In my opinion, the bicycle finished it off."

10. This photo is just pure magic

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

This old watermill, in Twickel, looks even more beautiful with fog obscuring the natural light.

11. Again with the incredible foliage

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

"Always consider the leading lines when doing landscape photography," Croce recommends.

This is a classic scene for him: the disappearing road. Again, Croce says the fog is "adding the juice" to the photo.

12. A stunning sunset

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission, taken near the German border.

13. A make-you-wanna-hike moment, captured

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

"Like many landscape photographers, I consider autumn to be my favorite season," Croce says. "This was shot in Lochem, hometown of one of my favorite photographers, Lars van de Goor."

14. Long, muddy, misty paths

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

15. Frozen landscapes

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

These are traditional red cabins, seen in the fishing village of Hamnøy and captured during Croce's recent trip to Lofoten, Norway.

16. A moment without light

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

Croce says this moment, on a glow-y forest road, was inspired by horror movies such as "The Ring."

17. A moment of loneliness

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

Croce captures a Scottish Highland cattle in this photo. These cattle are semi-wild, released to graze the nature reservations in the Netherlands.

18. And finally, a moment of epic sunlight

Image by Vincent Croce, used with permission.

This Earth of ours is pretty awesome. So what are you waiting for?

The best part of Croce's Instagrams is that they're mostly about taking advantage of the tools that are already available right outside your door: natural light and crazy cool landscapes — no special photography equipment required.

Get out there and enjoy the nature around you!

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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Family

Pediatrician shares two simple tips that could save a child's life at a pool party

"The more folks present, the safer the pool is, right? Wrong."

Photo by Ash Dowie on Unsplash

If there's a body of water anywhere, a designated adult needs to have their eyes on it.

It's that time of year when the weather across the country is warm enough for families to enjoy outdoor barbecues, picnics and pool parties. That means it's also the time of year when tragedy will strike a certain percentage of families who get blindsided by how quickly and easily a child can drown in a backyard pool, even when they're surrounded by people who care about them and their safety.

We've all been at a gathering where adults are coming and going, chatting, setting up food, taking trips to the bathroom, all while kids are busy playing in the water. In such scenarios, it's easy to assume that someone else is keeping an eye on the pool.

But as pediatrician Diane Arnaout has shared, the harrowing reality is that the more people there are at a pool party the more likely it is that a child could slip into the pool or become distressed in the water without anyone noticing.

In a Facebook post that has been shared more than 77,000 times, Dr. Arnaout wrote:

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Drew Barrymore speaks during the FLOWER Beauty launch at Westfield Parramatta on April 13, 2019, in Sydney, Australia.

Drew Barrymore, 48, has been in the public consciousness since she starred as Gertie in 1982’s mega-blockbuster, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. So, it makes sense that many people of a certain age feel as if they’ve grown up with her.

Now, she’s an even more significant part of people’s lives as the host of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” which runs every weekday on CBS.

On May 25, the show’s Instagram page posted a touching video of an off-the-cuff moment between Barrymore and a fan during a taping of her show. In the clip, Barrymore realizes that someone in the audience is crying. So, instead of ignoring the fan, she jumps to action to see what is the matter.

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Pop Culture

Musician uses traditional Chinese instrument to create hypnotic cover of 'Hotel California'

There are literally hundreds of covers of this song floating around on the internet, but this one has its own unique flair.

Moyun/Youtube

Moyun peforms "Hotel California" on the guzheng.

The Eagles' hit song, “Hotel California,” has been covered countless times over the years by a variety of artists, including the likes of Nancy Sinatra, the Gypsy Kings and that guy at your local karaoke spot.

And while every rendition gives the song a fresh dynamic, one musician with a penchant for mystery has transformed the rock n’ roll staple into something entirely new.

Using a traditional Chinese string instrument called a guzheng, Moyun plays the song focusing mostly on its two guitar solo arrangements, creating a sound that has all the otherworldly beauty of an ancient folk tale.
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Pop Culture

Man rewatches shows from his childhood and his recaps of the bonkers storylines are priceless

Rob Anderson's hilarious recaps of shows like "Mighty Ducks," "Beethoven," and "7th Heaven" might make you wonder how they got made in the first place.

@hearthrobert/TikTok

These plots makes zero sense.

While there are no doubt some timeless classics from our childhood that remain every bit as amazing as we remember, many are straight-up cringey upon a later viewing. Really, it’s to be expected as societal viewpoints change…sort of a marker of how far we’ve collectively come.

And so, what do we do with these problematic pieces of old-school pop culture? Well, we can certainly update them to better reflect a more modern attitude, but that also comes with a set of potential problems. Or we could simply never watch them again. Certainly an option given all the content out there. But then we might miss an opportunity to better understand what seemed to work for the mainstream then, and why it doesn’t work now.

And then there’s the third option—allow ourselves to be entertained by their cringiness.

That’s certainly the route taken by Rob Anderson. Over on TikTok, Anderson has taken ultra-popular movies and television shows from his childhood and given them hilarious recaps capturing how absurd some of the storylines are.
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Joy

Woman decides that she is the love of her life and marries herself at her retirement home

“I said, you know what, I’ve done everything else. Why not?”

77-year-old woman decides she's the love of her life and marries herself.

We joke about marrying ourselves or a platonic friend if some arbitrary amount of time has passed without a proposal from an imaginary suitor. And sure, some people do wind up marrying a friend in more of a business arrangement, but it's not very common that someone follows through with marrying themselves.

Dorothy "Dottie" Fideli, decided that she was going to break the mold. The 77-year-old sat down and thought about all of the things she had done in life and who was with her the entire time cheering her on. It was an easy answer: herself. She was her biggest cheerleader, the person who always showed up and the love of her life, so Fideli made the plan to marry herself.

On a beautiful May day, friends and family gathered in the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Community, where Fideli is a resident, to witness the ceremony.

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