The midday sun is reflected from the surface of the ridges along the western coast of the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen.

Seagulls are sitting on an iceberg in the fjord near Ilulissat .

The ship cuts through the melting ice in the Ilulissat fjord .

Arctic Tern lands on a fence at Ny-Alesund

American submarine “resting” by swimming 0.9 m in the Arctic Ocean

Ilulissat ice fjord in Greenland

Icebergs are separated from Icelandic glacier Vatnayekyudl before you sail into the sea .

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Regarded by most as the most important ensemble of contemporary folk art in Finland, the sculpture park of Veijo Rönkkönen is a lot to take in, the first time you visit. Finding yourself surrounded by hundreds of creepy statues, grinning at you with their real human teeth, is enough to spook you into turning back as soon as you set foot in the park.

Veijo Rönkkönen, a former paper mill worker, completed his first sculpture in 1961, and now his yard, and the path leading to it, are filled with over 450 statues, 200 of which are self portraits of the artist in Yoga positions he has mastered so far. The statues have loudspeakers hidden inside them, and the sound effects add to the eeriness of this place.

Although he has had the chance to exhibit and even sell his artworks, in auctions, Veijo Rönkkönen has never agreed to showcase his art. Every time he was asked to showcase his work, the near-hermit always replied he needed to discuss it with the statues first. Sadly, they never agreed to travel.

The sculpture park of Veijo Rönkkönen is free to visit, if you dare, but the artist insists every visitor sign his logbook, before they leave.

Invented by Peter van der Werken, the owner of a flower company close to Den Bosch, Holland, rainbow roses look like they’ve been seriously modified in programs like Adobe Photoshop. But, they are actually the result of careful flower engineering. Dye is inserted into the stem of the rose as it’s growing, and the petals simply absorb it. Sounds easy enough, but it’s a very difficult process.

Sadly, you can’t buy rainbow rose bushes, only cut, or dried flowers. And even those come at a price meant to keep most of us away. Five cut rainbow roses sell for $55 and two dozens cost up to $325. But it you’re going to spend a small fortune on a flower, why not buy a freeze-dried rainbow rose that will last for years.

Rainbow Roses are special, but I for one like the common kind better. I guess I’m old fashioned.

During Colombia’s wet season, the water flows fast and deep, obscuring the bottom of the river and denying the mosses and algae that call the river home the sun that they need. And during the dry season there is not enough water to support the dazzling array of life in the river. But during a brief span between the wet and dry seasons, when the water level is just right, the many varieties of algae and moss bloom in a dazzling display of colors.