Plants
Russian Olympic Committee's artistic gymnastics women's team, Liliia Akhaimova, Viktoriia Listunova, Angelina Melnikova and Vladislava Urazova listen to music from a Russian composer during the medal ceremony after receiving theirs gold medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
GLIMPSES: Medalists' bouquets hold deeper meaning for Japan

By Stephen Wade Jul. 29, 2021 02:01 AM EDT

Mexico's Caribbean coast hit by heavy seaweed, more expected

Jun. 22, 2021 06:28 PM EDT
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Environmentalists and tourism operators on Mexico’s Caribbean coast are complaining about mounds of foul-smelling sargassum — a seaweed-like...

Andrea Cattabriga, President of the Association for Biodiversity and Conservation, walks amongst his homegrown rare cacti at his greenhouse in San Lazzaro di Savena, Italy, Saturday, June 5, 2021. Cattabriga, a top expect on rare cacti, was called by the Carabinieri Military Police in February 2020 as a consultant to examine thousands of cacti stolen from from the Atacama Desert in Chile, confiscated when police conducted a massive cactus bust at a greenhouse along the Adriatic Coast in Italy. (AP Photo/Trisha Thomas)
Rare poached cacti found in Italy sent home to native Chile

By Trisha Thomas Jun. 18, 2021 07:00 AM EDT

Thousands of Virus-free international fans participate at Unum Albania's open-air music festival in Shengjin on Friday, June 4, 2021. Organizers had sold all 10,000 planned tickets with more requests to follow from people around the world trying to forget the virus restrictions and follow non-stop music for five days at the Rana e Hedhun (Thrown Sand) beach, 75 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of the capital Tirana. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Music fans flock to Albania’s beach festival despite virus

By Florent Bajrami And Llazar Semini Jun. 08, 2021 04:21 AM EDT

Gardeners work in the Japanese-inspired water garden of Claude Monet's house, French impressionist painter who lived from 1883 to 1926, ahead of the re-opening, in Giverny, west of Paris, Monday May 17, 2021. Lucky visitors who'll be allowed back into Claude Monet's house and gardens for the first time in over six months from Wednesday will be treated to a riot of color, with tulips, peonies, forget-me-nots and an array of other flowers all competing for attention. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Monet's gardens reopening, a picture-perfect pandemic tonic

By John Leicester May. 18, 2021 07:19 AM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Ohio

By The Associated Press May. 17, 2021 09:00 AM EDT
(Elyria) Chronicle-Telegram. May 14, 2021. Editorial: A new stage in the pandemic If you still needed a reason to get...

Farm-raised kelp is hauled aboard a barge for harvesting, Thursday April 29, 2021, off the coast of Cumberland, Maine. Maine’s seaweed farmers are in the midst of a spring harvest that is almost certain to break state records (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Maine seaweed growers to break state records this spring

By Patrick Whittle May. 01, 2021 08:17 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2021 file photo, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador applauds during a ceremony at Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City. Mexico announced Saturday, April 24, 2021, that Lopez Obrador will hold talks with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on May 7 to discuss migration, amid an increase in underage migrants at the U.S. southern border. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
Mexican leader to talk with Kamala Harris on migration

Apr. 24, 2021 03:33 PM EDT

Damage from the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire is seen at Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Boulder Creek, Calif., Thursday, April 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Resilient redwood forest a beacon of hope for California

By Martha Mendoza Apr. 23, 2021 05:05 PM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2021 file photo, an Israeli military paramedic prepares a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, to be administered to elderly people at a medical center in Ashdod, southern Israel. On Friday, April 23 The Associated Press reported on social media posts that misrepresented a report from doctors in Israel claiming shingles may be a side effect of the vaccine. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week

By The Associated Press Apr. 23, 2021 12:23 PM EDT

FILE - In this Thursday, March 26, 2021 file photo, a sign asking people to observe social distancing and keep 1.5 meters, or five feet, apart to reduce the spread of the coronavirus was put up in a field of tulips in Lisse, Netherlands. Across the world, authorities are seeking to stave off a new surge of COVID-19 infections to contain a death toll which already exceeds 3 million. Crowds are anathema to health. Yet at the same time, the soothing glories of nature are said to be an ideal balm against the psychological burdens of loneliness, disorientation and fear that the pandemic has wrought. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
Pandemic puts tulips, bluebells, cherry blossoms in hiding

By Raf Casert Apr. 20, 2021 08:26 AM EDT

Prince Charles, centre, walks in the procession to St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, Saturday April 17, 2021, during the funeral of Britain's Prince Philip. Prince Philip died April 9 at the age of 99 after 73 years of marriage to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. (Steve Parsons/Pool via AP)
The Latest: Crowds line streets to pay respects to Philip

By The Associated Press Apr. 17, 2021 06:19 AM EDT

People walk by the sculpture "I Want to Fly to the Universe" by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama at the New York Botanical Garden, Thursday, April 8, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York. The expansive exhibit has opened, and ticket sales have been brisk in a pandemic-weary city hungry for more outdoor cultural events. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Artist gives nature a `cosmic' twist in big NY garden show

By Katherine Roth Apr. 13, 2021 10:54 AM EDT

A couple wearing face masks take pictures at the world-famous Keukenhof garden in Lisse, Netherlands, Friday, April 9, 2021. Finally, after month after bleak month of lockdown, there are springtime shoots of hope emerging for a relaxation of coronavirus restrictions at a Dutch flower garden and other public venues. Keukenhof nestled in the pancake flat bulb fields between Amsterdam and The Hague opened its gates Friday to a lucky 5,000 people who were allowed in only if they could show proof on a smartphone app that they had just tested negative for COVID-19. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Visitors tiptoe through the tulips in Dutch virus test

By Mike Corder Apr. 09, 2021 10:50 AM EDT

Shakespeare & Company to resume live, in-person performances

Apr. 01, 2021 12:23 PM EDT
BOSTON (AP) — The renowned Shakespeare & Company theater group in Massachusetts plans to resume live, in-person performances this summer with a production...

Editorial Roundup: Kentucky

By The Associated Press Mar. 31, 2021 08:28 AM EDT
Recent editorials from Kentucky newspapers: ___ March 31 The Bowling Green Daily News on preserving...

An orchid purchased at Trader Joe's grocery store that has rebloomed is pictured on March 4, 2021, in Atlanta. Once the flowers on an orchid die, though it's tempting to toss the plant, that orchid can bloom again. (AP Photo/Ali Kaufman)
The ubiquitous orchid: A pandemic project with surprises

By Beth Harpaz Mar. 23, 2021 08:47 AM EDT

In this March 5, 2020, file photo, Beverly Thurber, of Lilac Ridge Farm, in Brattleboro, Vt., checks the density of the sap that is being boiled for maple syrup. The coronavirus pandemic forced some states to cancel their annual maple season celebrations in 2020, but some New England producers with safety precautions in place are welcoming back the public in 2021. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)
Maple celebrations return in some states, with precautions

By Lisa Rathke Mar. 20, 2021 08:13 AM EDT

Liz Pace poses with a photo of her grandfather Worthen Jackson, a caretaker of the Capitol Reef Orchards over 50 years ago, on Thursday, March 4, 2021, at Capitol Reef National Park, in Fruita, Utah. Pace, came to Capitol Reef National Park orchards to discuss a proposed orchard rehabilitation plan. (K. Sophie Will/The Spectrum via AP)
Capitol Reef wants to revive orchards as visitors increase

K. Sophie Will Mar. 13, 2021 08:00 AM EST

Vintage pieces of Pyrex sets, including "Cinderella" bowls and refrigerator dishes in the Pink Gooseberry pattern, manufactured in the 1950s and 1960s, appear in a kitchen cupboard. Vintage kitchenware is back in style. Some collectors buy vintage dishware to try to resell it at a profit, while others are in it for nostalgia. (Lauren McCullough via AP)
Pyrex and Pink Daisies: Midcentury cookware is fab again

By Tracee M. Herbaugh Mar. 02, 2021 08:13 AM EST