Marilyh's Photos - Sep 16 2026 - Poison Ivy in Autumn

 

A few Sumac leaves are turning crimson orange.  There is a wonderful grove of them on Bartlett at the QEW where I can easily take pictures.  Well, there are lots of places in Niagara where one can capture the fiery colours that say Autumn.  I've become aware of another fiery crimson plant over the years -  Poison Ivy.  You don't notice it in the summer in the grassy banks along the roadsides.  But come Autumn and there they are - clear as anything.     The expression to remember is: Leaves of three?  Let them be!  There seem to be lots of leaves of three to me, so what else would we consider? There are more rhyming expressions to help with the identification of poison ivy:  "Longer middle stem; stay away from them." -- the middle leaflet has a long stem while the two side leaflets attach almost directly. "Ragged rope, don't be a dope!" Poison ivy vines on trees have a furry, "raggy" or ragged appearance. "Berries white, run in fright" and "Berries white, danger in sight." "Red leaflets in the spring, it's a dangerous thing." -- new leaflets sometimes are red in the spring. Later, in the summer, the leaflets are green -- while in autumn they can be reddish-orange. "Side leaflets like mittens, will itch like the dickens." This refers to the shape of some poison ivy leaves, where each of the two side leaflets has a notch that makes the leaflet look like a mitten with a "thumb." (Caution:all parts of the plant can cause itching, not just these leaves.) Here's what's coming in the next few weeks in Sumacs. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Sep 15 2026 - Things Dogs Don't Do

 

These are cute dog jokes for kids.  What is the difference between a pet tree and a pet bark.   The pet tree has a quieter bark. Why do dogs cross the road? To get to the barking lot. What do you call a boy dog who is getting old? Grandpaw. When is a black dog not a black dog? When he's a greyhound. Wy did the snowman name his dog Frost? Because Frost bites. What about a dog jokes for adults? My girlfriend's dog died, so to cheer her up I ent out and got her an identical one.   She was mad and asked:  "What am I going to do with two dead dogs? My daughter asked me if I had seen the dog bowl. I said, “No, I didn’t even know he could.” This morning I saw my neighbour talking to her cat. It was obvious the poor woman thought the cat understood her. When I got home I told my dog… we laughed a lot. This one's a toss-up: I asked my dog what’s two minus two. He said nothing. Our evening temperatures are dropping, and it got me thinking about Autumn moon pictures.  Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Sep 14 2026 - Red Flags

 

Red flags.  These are headlines of things to look out for.  Never buy bananas when you see these red flags.  But there aren't any red flags anymore.   Red flags in the early 1600s signalled naval ships and military forces were ready for battle, or to indicate no mercy would be given.  By the lates 1700s they warned of environmental hazards like floods.  Later, railways and roadways used red flags as signals.  Then red flags were a symbol for left-wing politics, socialism and communism in the mid-1800s with the French Revolution.  And then?  It transitioned into an everyday expression.  A warning sign, hidden danger, or unacceptable behaviour. In a banana?  A dull, grayish, or smoky peel on green bananas is a warning sign that they have been in freezing or near-freezing temperatures during transport.  Green bananas won't ripen normally. That's bananas. As red flags entered the social realm, they really took off There are all kinds of "red flag" behaviours - you can go to bored panda or reddit to get a lengthy and emotional discussion of what some red flags are in every day life. As I checked out a few, some of them sounded like pet peeves.  But the supposed difference is that a red flag is a serious warning sign of toxic or abusive behaviour, while a pet peeve is simply a minor, annoying habit that irritates you (toilet set up or down.)  There seems to be a lot of advice happening whichever way one experiences things like toilet sets up or down. I guess the historical roots of red flags continue - serious things like wars and floods.  It is that expression "in love or war".  So when it comes to love, it is like war, with lots of red flag jokes: Forgetting the birthday is a red flag. Eating someone else's cake is a bigger red flag. Blowing out someone else's candles is a giant red flag. Saying you are "29 again" is a classic red flag. Giving yourself the biggest slice is very suspicious. Here's a corner scene at the Watering Can.  You can shovel those red flags into the red box. Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Sep 13 2026 - Celine Adjusts the Keys

 

Celine Dion had a love-fest in Paris all week with the lead-up to her 30,000 attendee concert last night.  She sang with fans outside her hotel each day.   Paris City Hall organized an enormous public karaoke event for those who couldn't get tickets to the show.  All kinds of singalongs happened - even special tribute cruises along the Seine with sing-alongs and costume competitions.  Isn't it interesting that the article includes the discussion on songs that were adjusted to marginally lower keys.  There had been complaints that she "doesn't sound the same" - was it her tone or just singing in a lower key?  So much debate.   Nine million people registered for priority access to her May 2027 "Parisian residency."  I guess there will be more than a few million who will suffer from lifetime FOMO.  How do you preserve a "legendary voice?"  It is reported that she practices absolute silence, not speaking a single word for days at a time.  She climate controls her house with special humidifiers for her vocal chords -  and also for her 10,000 pair shoe collection.  They have their own climate-controlled warehouse near Las Vegas.   "Her collection is so vast that she stores the items in a climate-controlled warehouse near Las Vegas equipped with a computerized catalog system. She famously admitted in interviews that every single pair of shoes holds a distinct emotional memory or moment from her life, making it impossible for her to give any of them away. Her warehouse features motorized clothing racks similar to those found in dry cleaners, allowing her to easily scroll through thousands of options. Her passion for shoes is just one aspect of her broader transformation into a major fashion powerhouse." I would show you pictures of her warehouse, but it is hard to know if any of these pictures apply to her.  I asked AI how much space they would take and it says 3,000 cubic feet or one and a half standard 40 foot shipping containers.  But I think that is for boxed shoes.  We can calculate this for shoes on display  - a standard pair of shoes takes up about 8 to 10 inches of width so there would be around 420 standard multi-tier shelving units needed. And I guess the space must allow for her to visit her shoes and relive those wonerful emotional moments.  Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com

Marilyn's Photos - Sep 12 2026 - Planetesimal

 

We know the word infinitesimal - extremely small.  So the word planetesimal is a tiny body that helps form a planet. That was in the science news.  They are Trans-Neptunian Objects - obviously around Neptune.   So what about those words that end in esimal?  They all relate to fractions, numbering systems and sizes.   Infinitesimal – Extremely small or close to zero. Planetesimal  – A tiny body that helps form a planet. Vigesimal – Based on the number twenty. Vicesimal – Twentieth or based on twenty. Centesimal – Divided into hundredths. Millesimal – Divided into thousandths. Sexagesimal – Based on the number sixty. Septuagesimal  – Seventieth or based on seventy. Quadragesimal– Relating to the number forty or Lent. Hexavigesimal – Based on twenty-six. Take the last one - hexavigesimal - that looks a bit familiar - it is a base-26 numeral system so uses 26 distinct symbols - that is, the English alphabet (or digits combined with the letters).  And then what do we get?  "A to Z serial numbering - Manufacturing and tracking codes that sequentially assign letter combinations (like AA001 through ZZ999) operate on hexavigesimal logic for the alphabetic portion."   Take Septuagesimal - that's most commonly used in the church calendar - the ninth Sunday before Easter.   And of course, Sexagesimal is a time and clock moment.  So I wondered if there are jokes for this stuff.  Hexavigesimal being a base-26 numbering system using the English alphabet would give forth these jokes: What do you get when you ask a programmer to count past Z using a base-26 system? An existential crisis and a demand for more fingers.   I went looking for some  virtual gallery and virtual home display software.  This is where you load up your pictures and they are displayed on a wall in a gallery or home setting.  You can load up your own wall/furniture setting as well.  This one is clearly labelled - canvy.com.  It is easy to use and fun to do. There are others that have more professional gallery spaces, with 3D views an videos that can be created.  This is a booming business for galleries and artists.  They allowed me to try it out with their logo displayed.  Go to download something and the pricing options pop up. I was trying out some of the Sun and Moon Series pictures so I could choose which ones to print for the living room.   Remember the lone tree in the desert?  I saw a photo of sand blowing against a lone tree, and so put some watercolour backgrounds together with a black silhouette tree that I drew.  Here they are.  Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.com