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

Feb 4 2025 - AI Generated Art

 

It is currently quite easy to recognize Artificial Intelligence use in art  Many of the pictures generated are not like real photographs, but like animation characters and scenes.  I went looking to find out the guidance on how to tell the difference between real and generated. Here are some of the obvious differences: AI-generated images usually have overly intense colours, including contrasting colours. Mistakes in representation of the objects/subjects of the image.  One image failed to have 4 legs on a chair.  Where it is an AI-generated photo of people, the hands can be misplaced, and fingers wrong.  For city scapes, buildings can be missing and background geography features are wrong.   Historical photos typically have mistakes such s illegible text, and errors on human body parts seem to be common.  Human facial expressions don't match the tone of the photo.  Technical mistakes are made, and oversimplified shapes and patterns exist. This is the article to read to become better acquainted with evaluating AI images - HERE. What was interesting for me was to check the image with "google lens" - take the image over to google search and and blue box will expand with 'drop image here'.  Real images seem to retrieve articles and websites.   I tried this with my own images on Fine Art American and the google lens took me to my website or identified the subject of the picture - type of plant, Millie is a Cavalier King Charles, and so on. When it is an AI-generated image, google lens doesn't retrieve the Fine Art America version - it goes to stock image sites and shows similar pictures.  But not exactly the same.   Here's a sample of  images that are AI generated.  There are dozens of these bird images.  In the time I've written this, there could be hundreds of them.  By tomorrow, will there be thousands?  I will be suffocated by a flock of oversaturated, cute, round birds like in that Alfred Hitchcock movie. A sense of humour is in order - so here's a joke: Artificial intelligence might kill us all - with dad jokes.

I did enjoy the google lens response on this picture - it identified the blossom as a plum blossom rather than a cherry.  I guess it is hard to tell with all that snow on the blossoms.  But don't worry this picture is from a few years ago and the snow quickly melted leaving the blossoms unscathed.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

April 4 2024 - Salmons Flip to Safety

 

Today's Globe and Mail has the headline of a truck overturn accident last week.  It dumped over 100,000 live salmon onto the ground.  Just over 3/4 of them flipped their way into a nearby stream to survive and escape.  This was at Lookingglass Creek, in Oregon. They were King Salmon raised in a hatchery that were being transported in Oregon to restock rivers  Given Salmon return to their creeks to spawn, there will be additional adults returning there in the future.  Will this really feel like home for them?   Remember the 5 million bees that fell off a truck near Toronto.  That was last year.  The truck was using an open trailer to transport the crates and they slid onto the highway at Guelph Line and Dundas Street.  A few crates were left behind for the bees they were unable to catch.  The hope was they would "naturally" return and could be collected later.   The advice to motorists:  don't roll your windows down.  Most animal stories involve attacks and often human deaths.  That's because they are relatively rare, so  get reported. But they are creepy to me.  We'll stick with the fish and bees today.   Sakura blossom season is at its height in Japan.  Today's picture is Montmorency cherries in Niagara orchards in the summer.

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

Apr 23 2023 - A Regular Guy

 

It turns out that every expression is used up - take the expression "a regular guy."  It is a novel by Mona Simpson.  It is about Tom Owens, actually,  Steve Jobs.  That's her late brother. They were orphans separated by adoption who later found each other.  There was no "regular" childhood for them.  "The Urban Dictionary defines a regular guy as “a guy who is humble, down-to-earth, open and honest, easy to get along with, and generally well-versed about all the usual things people do. Someone who isn’t power-hungry, arrogant, super competitive, insecure, or egotistical. A guy you’d want to have a conversation with about things like sports, fishing, camping, hard work, relationships, home repair, music, cars, movies, power tools, etc. A guy who will never embarrass you or cause problems socially and has nothing to prove.” Given that mythical sort of definition, one wonders about the title of the book. I wouldn't use "guy" around him or about him at all, in fact.  And definitely not "regular." So it isn't surprising that the book is considered a "scathing expose... Mona changed the names and sold the book as fiction, but the world knew better." I guess a deceitful pretense needs an expression that matches.  I say that as this expression seems to be targeted to white North American men.  Romcom movies seem to be about regular guys.  Ask the question:  Ask it for different countries.  Are there regular guys in France?  And the answers are about dating, stereotypes and demographics.   Regular guys in Germany?  It is about height, then dating, and then demographics. Regular guys in China?  It is about why they are the most single in the world, then average height.   Now this is interesting.  The myth vs. the reality.  All good fun.

What a rain day yesterday!  We were back to the Niagara Street cherry tree and then on Stewart Road where this orchard had just been trimmed.  I've added the rainbow to the bleak sky.  Today looks like a blue sky day.  But those fallen branches will be wilted by today.

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

April 21 2023 - SpaceX Explodes

 

Four minutes after leaving ground, the uncrewed SpaceX rocket exploded.  The explosion may have been due to the flight termination system being activated.  There was a previous cautioned that the chances of success were low. The employees at SpaceX cheered even after the rocket disintegrated.   "Unlike Nasa, which attempts to avoid risk, SpaceX has a record of showing a willingness to have test flights explode, with Musk saying the private venture benefits from understanding what goes wrong. SpaceX built its own spaceport, named Starbase, on the Gulf of Mexico in Boca Chica, Texas, to launch its rockets. Several other Starships are already in production for future tests." Musk wants humans to become an "interplanetary species".   This is one of the cherry trees at the Royal Botanical Gardens - the picture is from a few years ago.  What a lot of blossoms! Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Apr 15 2023 - High Park Vancouver

 

Bing's main page picture is of ancient cherry blossom trees and it says Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival but the picture it  shows says High Park.  Our Toronto High Park Cherry Blossoms should be blooming soon - we can go to highparknaturecentre.com HERE to get the current status and it is called Stage 3 right now.   The "blossom florets are deep pink and the buds extending out.  So that means not yet - likely 12 days away. But who knows with such war m weather.  It will be a vehicle-free blooming experience - so you can imagine the grid lock around the park this year.  It is quite contentious that there are plans to reduce vehicular lanes and parking. Here are the blossom stages: Stage One: Green Colour in Buds: Cherry blossoms emerge before the leaves on the tree. The first sign of their impending arrival are fat, round green buds on the branches of the tree. Stage Two: Florets Visible: About 14 days before peak bloom, the buds swell and the florets (small flowers) start to become visible. Stage Three: Extension of Florets: Approximately 12 days before peak bloom, the florets (deep pink at this stage) start to extend out of the buds. Stage Four: Peduncle Elongation: 6-10 days before peak bloom, the peduncles (flower stems) get longer and the individual blossoms can be clearly seen. Blossoms are very vulnerable to frost at this stage. Stage Five: Fluffy White: 4-6 days before peak bloom, the fluffy white Sakura blossoms begin to open. Each flower opens at different times. Stage Six: Peak Bloom: “Peak bloom” starts when at least 70% of the blossoms are open. Once open, flowers last from 4-10 days, depending on weather conditions. Cool, calm weather can extend the bloom period, while warm, unsettled weather can shorten it. Let's head out to our own vast weeping cherry tree on Niagara Street just north of Carlton, across from Laura Secord High School.  We'll do the stage assessment - maybe in bloom.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Facebook Twitter Website Email Share Tweet Forward

May 11 2022 - Smooth Sailing to Summer

 

This is the time of year when the gardener is working very had at risk assessment. The calculation is how soon can the tender plants go into the garden without being harmed by frost or low temperatures.   The Farmer's Almanac says that at Hamilton Royal Botanical Gardens, the last spring frost is May 3rd and first fall frost is Oct 11 with 160 days of growing season.  And then the note that this is a 33% probability.   Compare that with Veseys guide and the first frost date for Hamilton is May 1 - 10 and last frost date is October 11 - 20.  Their entry for St. Catharines is incorrect as it says May 21-30 and it should be the same or warmer than Hamilton.  Their data comes from Environment Canada.   I like that information, as we are at May 11. Most of us want to make an attractive outdoor space.  It could be there are other reasons for getting out there early.  There are garden world records to work towards. You can apply now for the largest garden planter.  This is an invitation from Guinness: This record is for the largest garden planter in terms of volume. This record is to be attempted by a team of unlimited size. This record is to be measured in cubic metres and centimetres, along with the imperial equivalent in cubic feet and inches. For the purposes of this record, a garden planter is defined as a cuboid wooden structure for growing garden plants. The planter must have legs. For those of us who like lots of plants in the garden, Kew Gardens in London has the world record for the largest collection of living plants at a single-site botanic garden.  That was achieved in 2021 with 16,900 species.  Other awards include the largest flower arrangements, the heaviest carrot and most impressive floral carpet.  There's a Guinness Award for a tree in Canada with 10 different types of fruit. And then the world's largest vertical garden. What about the British gardener who had one stem of tomatoes with 1,269 cherry tomatoes on it. That would be very wonderful.   Let's hope we have great weather for our Niagara blossoms with the promise of cherries, peaches and tender fruit in the summer.  Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Facebook Twitter Website Email Share Tweet Forward

June 21 2021 - Hindustan Times Summer Solstice on International Yoga Day

 

It is International Yoga Day.  Is this the reason that the number 1 hit on first day of summer search is the Hindustan Times? Here's their lead paragraph: "Summer Solstice 2021: On the occasion, Union petroleum and steel minister Dharmendra Pradhan said he hopes the rising sun would lead to disease-free earth. Last year, the day witnessed an annular solar eclipse, which was visible in many parts of the world including India." But what does it mean: union petroleum and steel minister?  Wikipedia gives me a different title: He is is an Indian politician who is the Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel in the Government of India.  His role is also referenced as the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural gas. That Union word really captures my attention, so a bit more reading is required. I find that the Union Cabinet is one of the federal government executive bodies.  It is "the supreme decision-making body in India".  So Union is explained, and now I know a tiny bit more about India's government structure. But I am drawn into the terminology that governments use to self-describe.  I guess that is a much longer investigation.  And looking at the news today, what could be right up there in importance -  that is, after it being Summer Solstice and International Yoga Day? And even more important than the Coronavirus update?  It is "Who's getting sued:  June 21, 2021 - a listing of filings with the BC Supreme Court.    Searching is a game of Google "Get Lucky." Surprises pop up every time.  Did the BC Supreme Court pay to have its placement this high in the search queue?  These are curious times. We are entering Cherry Season.  I took pictures on Saturday:  look at the number of cherries on these trees.  I wonder why some trees are more ripe than others?  Or are they two different varieties? How many varieties of sour cherries are there? There are Montmorency and Morello sour cherries. These ripen earlier than the  much darker sweet eating cherries.  But there are yellow sweet cherries, too.  To not know the answer, it is clear that I didn't steal any cherries in the making of these pictures.

Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

April 25 2021 - Oscars Tonight

 

It may be that most people have become fatigued with, and indifferent to Oscar "Night".  Partly because it has been postponed for so long it seems like it missed its best before date. It is live at 6:30pm ET with the pre-show portion.  The Oscars are about winning - who should win and who will win.  A sports event mentality on who will place first because there is only one winner. The rest are losers.  There is a long list of Oscar losers. There are Oscar loser faces - celebrities who couldn't hide their disappointment.   Attempting to attract an audience, this is the promotional buzz this year: "But it won’t look anything like years past. The Academy is reportedly trying to make the Oscars “an intimate, in-person event," which will be preceded by an in-person cocktail party for all the glitzy celebs in attendance (complete with COVID-safe guidelines like an outdoor venue and reduced attendance)." "The Oscars will look more like a movie, Soderbergh has said. The show will be shot in 24 frames-per-second (as opposed to 30), appear more widescreen and the presenters — including Brad Pitt, Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon, Harrison Ford, Rita Moreno and Zendaya — are considered “cast members.” The telecast’s first 90 seconds, Soderbergh has claimed, will “announce our intention immediately.” What do you think?  Oscars stay or Oscars go?  I expect I am like many other people who liked the dress-up event, seeing all those celebrities sitting side by side, and a witty, satiric comedian host.  So many decades of Oscar Shows and Bob Hope remains the favourite.  The Niagara Street Cherry tree looks like an evening gown or a wedding dress in these multiple exposure pictures. Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca