Spanish artist Alumdena Romera is turning a wheat farm into a work of art with the help of the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE). Romera is creating “farming photographs” using two-hectare farm fields as her canvas. The photos are made of wheat pixels that grow into varying shades of green. From above, they come together as full pictures. Una joven artista española hace la fotografía más grande del mundo La fotógrafa descendiente de agricultores Almudena Romero crea la imagen de un ojo, del tamaño de una hectárea, en un campo de trigo https://t.co/JFXUMjU31x— La Voz de Galicia (@lavozdegalicia) February 7, 2026 “Coming from a family of sustainable orange farmers in Valencia, I have always been aware of the importance of how we do things as much as what we do, particularly in the context of the current environmental crisis,” she told Positive News. “With Farming Photographs, I feel I have come full circle, making my photographic practice more sustainable by allowing images to emerge through light and plant growth.” Romera Uses Plants as Her Medium This year, Romera is growing a photo of an eye, and it will be fully “developed” this spring. This isn’t the only way she has used flora and fauna as her medium. She’s also printed photos onto delicate leaves and other plants, sometimes using only light. “I wanted to see what photography could become if it worked with living systems rather than industrial processes,” she noted. “The landscape becomes both the medium and the message.” The best part is that the art piece will come full circle following its big debut. Once it’s fully grown and ready to harvest, it will be milled into flour in what INRAE researcher Claire Manceau calls “a meeting of art and ecology that shows how creativity can reconnect us with the land.” This story’s featured image is by Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

Steak ‘n Shake is continuing its goal of becoming a health-focused fast food restaurant by removing all microwaves from its locations within two months. The chain announced its new move on social media last week, saying, “We expect every unit to be microwave-free by April 15th. Quality restaurants don’t need microwaves. It’s part of our journey to improve food quality and use traditional methods of cooking only.” The company ended with, “Eat real food,” which Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently emphasized while promoting the country’s new food pyramid guidelines. View this post on Instagram Steak ‘n Shake Has Made Multiple Improvements Over the Past Year Steak ‘n Shake has made several improvements over the last year. In 2025, it replaced seed oils with beef tallow for all fried menu items, saying it was both healthier and more flavorful. It also ditched traditional milk for A2 milk and swapped regular Coke-A-Cola for the real sugar variety that is sold in glass bottles. The company has gotten mixed reviews after its announcement, with many wondering why it ever used microwaves at all. But many people are just relieved to see more restaurants moving towards the goal of a healthier country. “I love you so much. best fries ever ,” one person wrote. “Wow. My favorite place by far now,” another added. “Amen to that!” someone cheered. “No more fake food!” This story’s featured image is by Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

Happiness researcher Dr. Arthur Brooks says that one of the most important things people can do as they enter the second half of their life is to focus on internal well-being rather than satisfying all of their wants. Even though this may feel like it runs counter to how many live the first half of their lives, he says it's the best way to find joy in middle age and beyond.Brooks is a professor at Harvard University, author of From Strength to Strength and Build the Life You Want (with Oprah Winfrey), and is a lifelong student of the science of happiness. He says the key to finding it in the second half of life is recognizing when enough is enough and reducing unnecessary desires.“What happy, successful people do in the second half of their lives is they go from adding to subtracting," Brooks says. "Mother Nature tells you that satisfaction comes from having more. More of what? More money, more power, more pleasure, more honor, more everything. More. But that's not the secret. The real formula for happiness is all the things that you have divided by the things that you want.” @evancarmichael The Real Formula of Happiness Speaker: Dr. Arthur Brooks Source: Dr. Arthur Brooks #motivationalquotes #motivation #inspirational #happiness #arthurbrooks For Brooks, finding happiness later in life is an inside job: we analyze our desires and decide which ones we can cast aside. It’s a worthwhile practice, given that as we age, our ability to achieve many of our desires is compromised by the aging process. “There's two ways for you to get greater satisfaction," Brooks continues. "There's the old, inefficient way of have more, have more, have more. Or there's the efficient, enduring way of wanting less."How to manage your wants, according to BrooksIt's easy to tell people to manage their desires, but how do they come up with a strategy for doing so successfully? He says one way is to audit your desires by putting them to a simple litmus test. “One helpful exercise is to list your major goals and ask: Would this still matter to me if no one else knew I achieved it? If the answer is no, it may not be a goal rooted in meaning,” he writes on LinkedIn. Brooks also believes that we can simplify our lives by redefining what it means to be a success. “In research on midlife satisfaction, those who reoriented their ambition from status to service, especially men, reported higher purpose and deeper relationships over time,” he adds. - YouTube www.youtube.com Another meaningful way we can find greater happiness is by setting some of our wants aside and being grateful for what we have. Because if you aren't grateful for the positives you have in life, they will never stick to your bones or be truly nourishing. “Practice gratitude for what you have," Daniel Levitin, professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at McGill University, writes in Successful Aging. "This is motivating, alters brain chemistry toward more positive emotions, and oils the pleasure circuits of the brain."There’s something graceful about accepting a new challenge in life as we get older: learning to have the internal strength to set aside what we truly don't need and to nurture what we do, such as our relationships, friends, and community. Brooks' perspective is a valuable tool that will keep many from being led astray as they age by chasing things they no longer need. This article originally appeared last year A woman who is happy with her arms spread wide. via Canva/Photos

It started like any ordinary pharmacy errand. A Michigan woman named Sarah was waiting at CVS to pick up a prescription for her “son.” When another woman waiting in line overheard the name of her “son,” she apparently couldn’t help but let out an unsolicited opinion.“You’ll really name your son anything, huh?” the woman said with a sigh.The name in question? Whiskey. At least it wasn't Bubbles. Photo credit: CanvaNow, if you’re picturing a tiny human in a onesie named after your dad’s favorite Friday-night drink, and feeling a little baffled in the process, don’t worry. So was everyone else.Except Whiskey isn’t a little boy. He’s a red golden retriever.Yep. Sarah’s “son” is of the four-legged variety, currently undergoing cancer treatments and racking up a pharmacy bill that could rival a small country’s GDP. She and her husband get his prescriptions filled at their local CVS because (fun fact) many human and animal meds are the same, just at different doses. You just know there's a person named Whiskey out there getting a kick out of this. media4.giphy.com As Sarah explained to Newsweek, this strategy saves them a few bucks, but can certainly lead to some incredible misunderstandings.In her TikTok video, which has now been watched over 3 million times, Sarah retold this CVS name-shaming incident, and viewers collectively lost it. @sarahwithscrubs I should’ve thrown in I was picking up his cancer meds too lol

In the never-ending quest to understand ourselves better, or at least have just one more distraction from whatever it is we should be doing, here comes the animal personality test. And the craziest part is (at least for me), it's kind of accurate.The truth is, these days anyone can create their own personality tests. (And they do… and I've taken them.) Which Sex and the City character are you? Who is your inner Marvel superhero? What color is your heart? (Carrie, Ant Man, and black respectively.)But this particular animal archetype quiz, in actuality, is a model developed in the late 90s by Gary Smalley, an author with a psychology background and a PhD in counseling. Co-created by author John Trent, the two wrote a book called The Two Sides of Love: The Secret to Valuing Differences. The idea is to strike a balance between the tender, "soft" side of love and the "hard," more direct side. After taking the quiz provided in the book (and now online), one can find out if their temperament is the lion, the beaver, the otter, or the golden retriever.Even though it was written as a love-based tool, this personality test is often mentioned in the corporate world as a way to find out how people relate in the workforce. Jasper Rose, a financial recruiting agency, shared the quiz on their website, but notes, "This model should be taken with a pinch of salt. These animal categories describe the natural leaning of your temperament. In other words, they aren’t entirely fixed, as personalities are flexible and change over time, and people are complex." (So something an otter would say.)Without further ado, the personality test can be taken (among many places) through this Michigan State University worksheet here: Gary Smalley and John Trent's personality testPhoto Credit: Michigan State UniversityAs with most personality tests, these questions can be tricky, as many times more than one answer will apply. For example, one question asks that you rank what best describes you from the following: "likes authority, enthusiastic, sensitive feelings, likes instructions." Another: "Takes charge, takes risks, loyal, accurate." It's possible to relate to all four statements equally, making this a flawed test.But if you're in it for a lighthearted look at something that may vaguely describe you, here's a breakdown of the results: THE LION A lion roams. Giphy GIF by Savage Kingdom, Nat Geo These, according to the test, are the natural-born leaders. They are confident, take-charge, strong, and independent. From the Jasper Rose website:"Strengths: visionary, persistent, practical, productive, initiates change and projects, communicates directly, enjoys being challenged, strong-willed, independent, decisive, leader.Weaknesses: Insensitive/cold, sarcastic, self-sufficient, impatient, stubborn, overlooks risks, controlling at times, can be too direct."An educational worksheet on the Community Engaged Learning website (Michigan State University) adds that lions, "are great at initiating communication, but not great at listening." They add their natural desires are "freedom, authority, variety, difficult assignments, opportunity for advancement." THE OTTER An otter is surprised. Giphy GIF by Nashville Tour Stop These are our happy social types. "They are often energetic and enthusiastic, with a tendency to be playful and enjoy humor. Otters are generally creative and enjoy trying new things but may struggle with follow-through. They value relationships and are often empathetic and compassionate towards others.""Strengths: Outgoing, optimistic, personable, communicator, dreamer, responsive, warm, friendly, talkative, enthusiastic, compassionate.Weaknesses: Undisciplined, unproductive, exaggerative, egocentric, unstable, struggle with follow-through, impulsive, needs social approval, easily offended."The Center for Relationship Education adds, "Otters find it easy to be soft on people. It is also easy for them to be soft on problems. Otters need to learn to say ‘No’ and provide the hard-side balance of healthy boundary setting." THE BEAVER Beaver enjoying a snack. Giphy GIF by San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance These are our go-tos for decisive, detail-oriented people who actually enjoy structure and routine. "Beavers tend to be cautious and risk-averse, preferring to follow established procedures rather than taking chances. They are also known for their analytical skills and ability to organize complex information. However, they may struggle with flexibility and creativity, and may sometimes be perceived as overly critical.""Strengths: Analytical, thorough, decision-maker, deliberate, self-disciplined, industrious, organized, aesthetic, sacrificing.Weaknesses: Moody, self-centered, touchy, negative, unsociable, critical, revengeful."The educational handout adds that in terms of relationships, "Beavers are good listeners, communicate details, and are usually diplomatic." THE GOLDEN RETRIEVER Golden Retriever adorably looks up. Giphy GIF by WoofWaggers These are our loyal, dependable friends/lovers. "They also tend to avoid conflict and prioritize maintaining harmony in their relationships. However, they may struggle with making decisions and taking action, and may sometimes come across as passive or indifferent.""Strengths: Calm, supportive, agreeable, easy-going, loyal, dependable, quiet, objective, diplomatic, humorous, values relationships, stable and consistent.Weaknesses: Selfish, stingy, indirect with others, resists change, procrastinator, unmotivated, lacks initiative, indecisive, fearful, worrier, can be co-dependent."The Center for Relationship Education notes, "Goldens’ strong tendency toward the soft-side of love can lead to issues of co-dependence and enabling. Goldens need to learn to balance their natural soft-side with some hard-side qualities." As with most quizzes like these, most of us are a combination of traits not easily put into labeled boxes. If nothing else, it's a creative way to get people thinking about how they interact with one another in a variety of situations. (Which is totally something a golden retriever like me would say.)This article originally appeared last year