It’s been a rainy couple of weeks in Massachusetts, but at long last, the sunshine has returned! People and wildlife alike are venturing forth to soak up the warm rays for the first time in days. In nature, this behavior is called basking. Both reptiles and amphibians are poikilothermic, which means that they cannot regulate their own body temperatures internally as birds and mammals do. Basking on sunny days helps them to warm up their cold bodies.

Enjoy these five photos of wildlife enjoying the sunshine, then get out and enjoy it yourself! Have a great photo of your own? The 2016 Photo Contest will begin on June 1, 2016.

Northern Water Snake © Elizabeth McGurn

Monarch Butterfly © Chris Lang

Painted Turtles © Angelia Caggiano

Bullfrog © Jennifer Freitas

Twelve-Spotted Skimmer © Helene Grogan

This week has had a soggy start, but with any luck (and a bit of physics) we may get a glimpse of a rainbow! All it takes is three ingredients: sunlight, raindrops, and a viewer, all lined up at an opportune angle. In bright sun, look for a fainter second rainbow arc, with its colors reversed, above the main rainbow—a double rainbow, the result of sunlight making an extra bounce inside the raindrops before heading toward the viewer’s eye.

Can’t wait to see this illusion? Enjoy these 5 lovely rainbow photos from past photo contests. Have a great shot of your own? The 2016 Photo Contest will begin on June 1, 2016.

© S. Martin Friedman

© Greg Stone

© Cheryl Rose

© Shannon Georges

© Burton Balkind