Mar 16 2025 - Hercules the Liger

 

How big might our Maine Coon Sophie get?  She seems bigger than when we brought her home at the end off August.   The world's longest domestic cat is a Maine Coon at three feet and 11 inches.  That was in May 2018 and he lives in Italy.  This question seems to be repeatedly asked:  What's the biggest cat I can legally own?    Maine Coon, Siberian and Ragdolls are the biggest domestic cats. If you compare the Maine Coon and the Siberian, Maine Coons are fluffier and that  long, poofy tail.  Siberians weigh more - 26 pounds for example.   And where does a Maine Coon come from genetically?  The answer says Norwegian Forest Cat and some mysterious extinct domestic breed.  And goes on to say:  "so it's likely the Vikings are responsible."  Blame the Vikings! That name - what is the supposed origin?  "As for how Maine Coons got their names, one theory involves Captain Charles Coon, a British sea captain who kept long-haired cats aboard his ship. When he would dock in New England ports, the cats would mate with local cats, and when long-haired kittens started to appear, they were known as “Coon’s cats.” Here's an interesting fact about Maine Coons:  they love water.  This is demonstrated by Sophie who plays with the water in her and Millie's water bowls.  We'll see what happens this summer when she meet the water fountain outside. Domestic cats compared to wild cats? The largest/heaviest cat is Hercules who weighs 922 pounds.  Is he part lion and tiger?  Yes.  He's currently living in a wildlife reserve in South Carolina.  As he eats 30 pounds of meat a day, that girl beside him would disappear in a few days.   here's a cherry blossom picture for our wet Spring day. We celebrate the Victoria Flower Count with Victoria winning this year.   2025 Bloomingest Community: Victoria: 30,328,028,034 2025 Community Runner-Up:  Saanich: 7,962,110,409 2025 Winning School and Bloomingest Classroom: Margaret Jenkins Elementary – Ms. Moll’s Class 2025 Total Blooms Counted: 44,006,225,366 See more HERE.

Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 7 2020 - What's Big is Wide

 

Is there a widest thing on Earth?  I find that we don't account for width - there is the tallest, longest, deepest and largest things around the world and in the universe.  There is a biggest thing in the universe. The biggest thing in the universe is the Hercules-Corona Borealis great Wall, first reported in 2013.  It is so big that light takes about 10 billion years to move across the structure.  In comparison the universe is 13.8 billion years old.  That is big and wide.   On the simple scale of us humans, there are lots of big things to visit nearby.  I found a website that lists all those 'big thing' statues in Canada - there are lots of them. Nearby is the Niagara Falls Flower Clock - it made the list.  There are Snowmen, Apples, Moose, Cows, Muskie, Muskoka Chairs, Saws, etc. all over the province. The big item really is the changing colours of the leaves across the landscape. The escarpment shows off the colours beautifully. The colours are moving past their peak in Algonquin Provincial Park with 100% change and leaf fall of 60%.  The Ontario parks.com site doesn't include any provincial parks in Niagara - perhaps our colours are not as dramatic as others in Ontario.  That certainly would be the case with northern forests. Here's their pretty chart on peak viewing.   I took a picture of the floral clock - so here it is  today - with the large hydro-electric grid in its background.  And then we have two examples of our pretty colour display in Niagara - the informal and extensive pumpkin and chrysanthemum festival.

Read past POTDs at my Blog: https://marilyncornwell.blogspot.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Beenormous

The biggest bee in the world has recently been seen.  The last sighting in the field was 1981.  While there have been numerous attempts to rediscover it, there were no results.  It is known as Wallace's giant bee, Megachile pluto. It has jaws like a stag-beetle.  Here is the picture to show how big it is.  This bee lives in Moluccas, an archipelago within the Banda Sea, Indonesia.  Here is the comparison shown in the article that's on the weather network site.   There are more big bugs - really big bugs.  For example, the largest beetle is Titanus giganteum.  It is 6.6 inches long, so is the size of a human hand.  It can easily snap a pencil in half.  The longest insects on the planet are stick insects.  They can grow as long as 2 feet in Southeast Asia where the longest variety lives.  I consider it lucky that we did not see a Giant weta in New Zealand.  They can weigh more than a sparrow and are among the heaviest insects in the world.  They are about 4 inches long. Their name means "God of the Ugly Things'.  While they are really ugly, another big insect is the beautifully marked black and white Goliath beetle.  They can grow to over 4 inches.   A wing span of 1 foot and a total wing area of 60 square inches is what an Atlas moth's size is.  They have cocoons that are occasionally used as purses in Taiwan.  Grown for their fagara silk, all that has to be done is install a zipper. In comparison to this month, the largest butterfly is Queen Alexandra's birdwing - it has a wingspan of more than 1 foot, and is found in Papua New Guinea.  If you want to see pictures of all of these the MNN (Mother Nature Network) site has them HERE.  One that isn't covered in the article is the longest earthworm.  It is native to the southeaster state of Victoria in Australia, and is 3.3 feet long and 2 inches in diameter.  They can live 5 years, so have been known to grow to 9.8 feet long.  And what about when they stretch?  The 3 foot worm can stretch up to 12 feet. Our picture today is a pretty swallowtail butterfly in the garden.