A Valentine’s Day Roundup

There’s always plenty of serious nature news to report — always. But sometimes it’s good to forget the upsetting stuff for a while and just revel in Nature’s magnificence: her beauty and power, mysteries and surprises, thrills and delights. And what better time to fall in love with her again than Valentine’s Day?

Here, in the spirit of the holiday, GNN presents a Valentine sampler of fun, fascinating, feel-good stories with a little something to suit different tastes. The news is sorted by natural realm: Land, Sea and Sky. Enjoy!

LAND

• Clydesdale Foal Featured in Super Bowl Commercial — See Video (ABC News, 2/1/13). See more video here and here.

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• American Kennel Club Announces “Most Popular Breed” Rankings — See Photos (HLN TV, 2/1/13). See videos here and here.

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• Jack Russell and Coonhound Will Compete at Westminster for First Time — See Photos & Video (CBS News, 1/28/13). See more video here. Read more and see more photos here.

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• Jesse, the Jack Russell, Is Back with More Amazing Tricks — See Video (YouTube, August 3, 2012). Learn more about Jesse here and here. See more videos here. Thanks to Amanda Yollin for this item.

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• Photographer Snaps Creatures in Camo Hiding in Plain Sight — See Photos (Daily Mail Online, 12/27/12). Thanks to Louise Maley for this item.

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SEA

• Hawaiian Surfer Rides Monster Wave Off Portugal — See Photos & Video (The Independent, 1/30/13). Read more here and here. See more video here.

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• Storms Whip Waves into Froth, Foam Buries Beaches, Streets in Australia — See Video (ITN News, 1/29/13). See more video here, here and here. See more photos here. See video of Superstorm Sandy-spawned sea foam on New Jersey shore here.

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• Wild Dolphins Encourage Exhausted Seal Pup to Swim — See Video (Huffington Post, 2/2/13). Learn where this clip came from and see more nature videos here.

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• Scientists Tag Great White, Track Her Amazing Travels — See Video (AP, Fox News, 1/31/13). See video here. Follow dozens of Great Whites on Ocearch’s  Global Shark Tracker here.

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• Teen First to Spot Surprising, Slimy-Fish-Slurping Seal Behavior — See Video (The Atlantic, 2/1/13). Read more here. See more video here. Learn more about Neptune Canada and see other seacam videos here.

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SKY

• New Solar Eruptions Could Cause Auroras, Satellite Problems on Earth — See Video (The Space Reporter, 2/1/13). Read more and see more photos and videos here and here. See close-up video of the ring-shaped eruption here. Read about an eruption called a Dragon Tail here. See color-enhanced video of the Dragon Tail here and here.

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• Duck! Asteroid Will Give Earth Really Close Shave on Feb 15 (Space Ref, 1/29/13). Learn more here and here. See video here.

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• Not New, Just Beautiful: This Fire Rainbow is Real — See Photo (Snopes.com, 6/3/06). See photos of a more recent, astonishing fire rainbow here and here.  See a photo of a different kind of rare and beautiful rainbow here. Thanks to Janel Bladow for this item.

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More soon!