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 March 30, 2024

It feels like a good time for a little spring break, doesn't it? This week's Good Stuff will be short and sweet, but we'll be back next week with our usual bounty. Happy Easter weekend to all who celebrate. I myself will be indulging in the traditional Easter delicacy of a handful of fossilized marshmallow Peeps from last year.  

If there's something you'd like to see here, drop us a line. Know someone who could use a little Good Stuff? Send them a copy! We hope you love it as much as we do.

A spring mix

Enjoy a taste of our favorite stories from the week

Parts of the West are about to burst forth with its famous annual superbloom! A superbloom has no exact criteria, wildflower experts told CNN, but is thought of as a particularly vivid display of abundant wildflowers blooming all at once — a sight already starting to take shape. California is the first superbloom state to come to mind, with sights like the purple-and-white patchworks of desert sand verbena and dune evening primrose wildflowers in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park's Coyote Canyon. 

Read the whole story here. 

Image credit: Ivan McClellan

Mark this down as your weekend read: photographer Ivan McClellan has spent nearly a decade documenting Black rodeo riders from Pennsylvania to California, and their stories are nothing short of fascinating. Black Americans have always been a foundation of cowboy and rodeo culture, and McClellan's stunning images bring these scenes of intensity, joy and family tradition to life. 

“Cowboys are people of integrity. They do what they say, and they say what they do. They got a lot of grit,” McLellan told CNN. “These are folks that you should root for, and these are folks that you should care about.”

Read the whole story here.

Image credit: Tracey Lund/World Nature Photography Awards

One can never have enough gorgeous nature photos. A dramatic photo of two gannets fighting for a fish in the waters off Scotland’s Shetland Islands won first prize at the World Nature Photography Awards, and it's just one of many that showcase the wild side of our world. The image by Tracey Lund, from the United Kingdom, was taken from a boat while she was on holiday using a DSLR camera in a waterproof housing that was lowered into the sea.

Read the whole story (and see more winning photos) here.

China’s sprawling security apparatus has a far-from-cuddly reputation, but the country’s most popular new police officer is making waves on social media with his stubby legs, wide grin and wagging tail. Fuzai the corgi puppy, whose name means “Lucky Boy,” is a reserve police dog in Weifang, a city in the eastern province of Shandong. Fans on social media joked that Fuzai’s universal appeal made him a “publicity dog” — and asked whether other dogs would bully him for his short legs. One Douyin user wrote: “Corgis can be plainclothes police, they attract less attention than German Shepherds.”

Read the whole story here. 

Listen up!

This week on the 5 Good Things podcast, we'll take you to school with a new course that teaches students how to be happier. There's also a happily-ever-after for a newly married couple and their unexpected wedding crasher, and even more stories to make your day brighter!

Catch the latest episode here. 

Hear, hear!

See, the grass is full of stars,

Fallen in their brightness;

Hearts they have of shining gold,

Rays of shining whiteness.

Buttercups have honeyed hearts,

Bees they love the clover,

But I love the daisies' dance

All the meadow over.

Blow, O blow, you happy winds,

Singing summer's praises,

Up the field and down the field

A-dancing with the daisies.

- "Daisy Time," by Canadian poet Marjorie Pickthall

Rec of the week

Brought to you by CNN Underscored

Shameless animal video

There's always time for cute animal videos. That time is now.

Serious question: What do you do when a cow repeatedly objects to your wedding vows? (Click here to view)

Made with love by CNN's 5 Things team. 

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