I Just Sent You An Ask With "?" Instead Of ":)" Sorry

reblog to give prev a little sticker and tell them you’re proud of them

Keep the flame going for those we have lost to suicide. 

rowing sunrise photos <3

training starts at 5am in the dark, these photos are from when we were walking from the boat shed to school

reblog if you're gay, not gay, slightly gay, or if you just want to launch donald trump into a dying star

theyre so cuteeeee and bioluminescent too 😍🫶

Feeling the Friday flow—mushroom coral edition.

The mushroom soft coral (Heteropolypus ritteri) is one of the most common animals we see in the depths off the central coast of California. They are abundant on the jagged walls of Monterey Canyon and the rocky slopes of local seamounts. Fast currents running along the bottom can carry an abundance of plankton and other tiny bits of food. Heteropolypus extends delicate tentacles into the currents to snag a feast. When their tentacles are extended, they resemble a beautiful flower. When the tentacles are pulled in, they look more like their namesake—mushrooms.

A resident of rocky environments, the mushroom soft coral offers safe haven for small animals seeking protection. A snailfish may hide near the umbrellas of stinging tentacles. A shrimp might hang on to weather the storm of strong currents. A mother catshark may secure her egg cases to the coral’s sturdy trunk.

Unlike their close cousins in shallower waters, the mushroom soft coral spawns year round. Their larvae are large and have robust energy reserves to ensure their survival as the currents running along the seafloor carry them to new environments. But some of the larvae stay close to home—we sometimes see clusters of smaller corals alongside a big parent. Growth studies suggest this coral can live at least 25 years, perhaps even longer.

Some of our observations have sparked intriguing questions. For example, we have learned that when disturbed, the mushroom soft coral glows with a steady blue light, but we still do not know why Heteropolypus produces brilliant bioluminescence or how this light show affects their neighbors.

The abundance of mushroom soft corals and their diverse relationships with other bottom-dwelling animals tell us they are an important part of the seafloor community. But the intimate interactions among deep-sea animals only become apparent when we conduct regular surveys. We cannot protect what we do not understand. Our research is helping improve our baseline understanding of the largest environment on Earth, even if our encounters sometimes yield more questions than answers.

ur welcome also ur cat is adorableeee!!! <3

i see you followed me(i only posted two pictures of my cat a few years ago) ty!!

i love your art style!

thank you so much <3

u are a rly cool person!!! i hope ur doing well and have a good day/night :)

i see you followed me(i only posted two pictures of my cat a few years ago) ty!!

i love your art style!

thank you so much <3

u are a rly cool person!!! i hope ur doing well and have a good day/night :)

rowing regatta update nobody asked for 😍

i had my VIII race and it went pretty well and we came 3rd!! we lowkey crashed into the pontoon at the start line tho…

it was only a 1km race but i still felt rly tired after bc i just recovered after having the flu…

then as soon as i got back in from my VIII race i had to get to my quad race and i was meant to be 3 seat but the girl in stroke reeeeallyyy didn’t want to be stroke seat so we swapped

we did so well in that race!!!! we came 2nd and we all rowed in time and with really good technique and no crabs!! and my coach told me she might put me in stroke seat more often.

alsooooo there was this really pretty girl in stroke seat for our biggest rival school…. we actually made eye contact and we congratulated each other after our races

after that my friends and i bought food and smoothies from the food stalls and helped with boats and derigging

while i’m writing this we are on the bus back to the boatshed. it’s like an hour long.

1 more regatta until head of the river!!!

REGATTA DAY TODAYYYY 🔥🔥🔥🚣‍♀️

i watched half an episode of arcane on the bus ride here!!

i’ve just been working on rigging boats and moving oars

i have to be with my crew for my VIII race in 23 minutes and then straight after that i have to get to my quad race

also i’m stroke seat for my quad race!!!

i’ll update with my results in a few hours <3

i’ve lived in a small australian city all my life but my family is from holland and england, so i have a weirdly english accent compared to my friends and sometimes i randomly sound really english???

my sister told me i sound like Zelda from totk when i sound english

i've started talking rlly british lately for some reason, to the point where my (english) dad is commenting on it...

(it’s these damn marauders i swear)