Wonderful! Finding beauty in the aftermath of that powerful storm… The stone faced Tiki man’s new ‘do made me smile. So many great photos! The robin perched on an ice-encased branch is another gorgeous shot.
Thank you Michelle. The garden Tiki still sits where I left him last fall so Ruth could look at the bird bath from her bed in the living room. He is so perpetually stern faced. He often makes me smile. A reminder to not take life too seriously.
Wow, incredible photos and I love your way with words John... I
This particular passage, "They fall so fast, it leaves no time to react. I wondered if I should be wearing a helmet, or even how wise it was to be wandering about as the branches were still falling." was on my mind about how dangerous it might be to walking around under all the ice hanging in the trees. I'm glad to know that you made it back okay.
Back to the photos, I particularly loved the macro shots of foliage and buds encased in balls of ice... beautiful work John. Thanks for sharing!
Thank You John. There were reports on the radio that day from the OPP of people being hurt by falling branches and downed power lines. They were advising people to stay inside, but when there is a power failure, everybody wants to go out and see what has happened to their properties. A helmet would probably have been a good idea, but I think the risk was fairly low. The biggest risk comes from live wires on the ground as power can travel a distance from a downed line and not everybody knows to stay back 30 feet or more. The worst property damage came from homes and vehicles being crushed by falling limbs or toppled trees. The outage map this morning shows 81 outages still in the Peterborough region mostly further north of us with 1457 homes and businesses still without power. Restore time has been readjusted to May 15th. Further north and east in the Orillia area, there are still 1944 outages affecting 39,473 homes and businesses. Restore time there is currently set at May 1st. There are, or at least were about 4800 crew members working on restoring power. The remaining outages may require major infrastructure repairs. Winter weather overnight likely isn't helping much, nor is Spring flooding. Just a couple of cm last night here, but the ground is white again and the commute in Toronto this morning was a mess.
It’s wild how quickly nature can remind us who’s really in charge. The scale of the outages and damage you described is sobering, especially for folks further north. I hope the crews stay safe as they work to restore everything, and that the weather starts cooperating soon.
Thanks for taking the time to write such a clear picture of what’s going on there. Stay warm, and keep the helmet idea in your back pocket—you never know when a little security will step in and save the day!
The ice storm was significantly more severe at your place than here just east of Cobourg on Highway 2. Your photos reveal both the severe damage and the exquisite beauty of ice building up on everything the freezing rain touches. Looking at them on my browser, they were larger with more detail. You, the intrepid photographer out in the pouring and freezing rain! Thanks so much.
Thanks Linda. Yes, bad weather often leads to better or at least more interesting photos. The glare of the midday sun can be useful on occasion, but generally photographers prefer the beginning and end of the day, when shadows are long and the light is warmer. There is never a good time to not have a camera handy.
Thank You Kewtie. Quite honestly, losing power for a few days is a walk in the park compared to losing my spouse. Granted, it doesn't help and I'm sure many people who are already experiencing high stress in their lives, and who isn't these days, may find an event like this enough to push them to their breaking point. I heard a mental health expert this morning talk about our 'window of tolerance' and how external events like this may push us beyond that window which can be crushed or even broken by things over which we have no control. It brought tears to my eyes when she said that people have to recognize that when the power is restored there will be many who discover they are still not okay.
Thanks for that .. I watched the numbers of those without power.. head past 300,000 ! Was under no illusions re the extent of damage however .. believe it peaked at 390,000 - simply a staggering challenge for initial ‘triage alone - to stabilize & begin to appraise the work to come !
Thank You Thomas. I pulled those numbers from Ontario Hydro and CBC. They started to go down and then went back up again, so I counted those increases as separate incidents. In the early days of the storm, Ontario Hydro was reporting both current outages and number of customers restored. 250,000 of that may also be an unrelated power outage for 4 hours in the GTA, I'm not sure of the details so we could subtract that amount from the total and call it 750,000. On Friday morning there were still 2158 outages in the Peterborough region, affecting 109,873 customers and with an estimated restoration time of Apr 8, 2025, 9:00 PM. The map still says 2158 outages but the numbers of customers affected has dropped to 71,304, still a pretty large number. Restoration time is now set at April 30 at 6:00 PM. For the people still waiting, I'm afraid they are now yesterday's news.
I called it CATASTROPHIC.. right off - zero hesitation
To MainStream Canadian Media ? A nothing burger ..
With almost 75% of Canadian Mainstream Media owned & controlled by American Financial Hedge Firms intensely focussed currently on ‘Winning OUR Federal Election - On Behalf of pretendo ‘conservative’ Political Party I should not be surprised
Thanks for that truly stark Update .. holy hell ! 🦎🏴☠️🍁
Thanks Thomas. Numbers are always hard to ascertain with so few details on how they are gathered. I was interested to hear this morning CBC repeated the "over a million homes affected" statement during the morning news updates. The latest estimates are 1519 outages with 40,073 customers and restore time changed to April 9 at 11 PM. When you don't have power it is easy to become fixated on these numbers, or even to allow one's mood to be influenced by them. I am very close to cancelling my satellite TV in favour of on demand streaming services simply because I am finding it increasingly more difficult to find any real value in Network media.
What a storm and in spite of the challenges of being without power you have captured some truly amazing pictures! Thanks for sharing and glad you have your power back!
As you imply, it is an ill wind that blows no good. The artist sees life a little differently than most folks and disasters, big or small are ripe with opportunity for them. I enjoyed looking at all these images but as you know, I am partial to the macro side of life, and the second in your group of macro shots is a fave for me.
Thanks Bob. Ya, I took those closeups with the cheap macro lens I bought last summer. A TTArtisan 40mm 2.8 on sale for about $110. It's fairly heavy, but quite compact. These were shot at about 1:1. The second shot you mention looks a bit like a brain casing to me. I tried to use extension tubes in the past, but had no luck with them.
Hello John, I’m reading your essay and enjoying your photos from Cherry Hill, NJ USA.
Thanks to Pamela Leavey for sharing your thoughts and work so that others like me may find it!
Glad your power is back on- we have not had the severe weather here - but many years ago when I lived and worked in Ottawa I experienced storms similar to the march lion you’ve so thoroughly and thoughtfully shared.
Thanks Boho. Nice to meet you and thanks for subscribing. I grew up in Montreal where the winters tended to be a little worse than they are here. The biggest storm of my life came on the eve of my 15th birthday in 1971. The snow was piled to the rooftops. You can read about it here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Canadian_blizzard_of_March_1971
Wow, John, these photos are all so stunning and powerful and wonderous. Thank you so much for sharing them and your ice storm experience. I remember having one here the 2nd winter I was back in Massachusetts from Los Angeles. We went about 4 - 5 days without power. Beautiful photos. I love your work!
What a delightful comment Pam. Thank you very much. I'm glad you like them. Four days was enough. It just gets on my nerves after a while. The woodstove really helped.
I agree with that Perry. We are fortunate here to not have many of the disasters that befall much of North America like hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. Having lived my youth in Montreal like you, snow and cold don't scare me much. But ice? Ice is one of our biggest challenges. That and the occasional drought. As I get older, my response to ice is to just stay home. It helps that I've worked at home for the last twenty years.
Wonderful! Finding beauty in the aftermath of that powerful storm… The stone faced Tiki man’s new ‘do made me smile. So many great photos! The robin perched on an ice-encased branch is another gorgeous shot.
Thank you Michelle. The garden Tiki still sits where I left him last fall so Ruth could look at the bird bath from her bed in the living room. He is so perpetually stern faced. He often makes me smile. A reminder to not take life too seriously.
Beautiful photos yet, scary in equal measure. Awesome, John!
Thanks so much Jerry.
Wow, incredible photos and I love your way with words John... I
This particular passage, "They fall so fast, it leaves no time to react. I wondered if I should be wearing a helmet, or even how wise it was to be wandering about as the branches were still falling." was on my mind about how dangerous it might be to walking around under all the ice hanging in the trees. I'm glad to know that you made it back okay.
Back to the photos, I particularly loved the macro shots of foliage and buds encased in balls of ice... beautiful work John. Thanks for sharing!
Thank You John. There were reports on the radio that day from the OPP of people being hurt by falling branches and downed power lines. They were advising people to stay inside, but when there is a power failure, everybody wants to go out and see what has happened to their properties. A helmet would probably have been a good idea, but I think the risk was fairly low. The biggest risk comes from live wires on the ground as power can travel a distance from a downed line and not everybody knows to stay back 30 feet or more. The worst property damage came from homes and vehicles being crushed by falling limbs or toppled trees. The outage map this morning shows 81 outages still in the Peterborough region mostly further north of us with 1457 homes and businesses still without power. Restore time has been readjusted to May 15th. Further north and east in the Orillia area, there are still 1944 outages affecting 39,473 homes and businesses. Restore time there is currently set at May 1st. There are, or at least were about 4800 crew members working on restoring power. The remaining outages may require major infrastructure repairs. Winter weather overnight likely isn't helping much, nor is Spring flooding. Just a couple of cm last night here, but the ground is white again and the commute in Toronto this morning was a mess.
It’s wild how quickly nature can remind us who’s really in charge. The scale of the outages and damage you described is sobering, especially for folks further north. I hope the crews stay safe as they work to restore everything, and that the weather starts cooperating soon.
Thanks for taking the time to write such a clear picture of what’s going on there. Stay warm, and keep the helmet idea in your back pocket—you never know when a little security will step in and save the day!
Love the rambling and the photos! Thanks for sharing, John.
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment Simon.
The ice storm was significantly more severe at your place than here just east of Cobourg on Highway 2. Your photos reveal both the severe damage and the exquisite beauty of ice building up on everything the freezing rain touches. Looking at them on my browser, they were larger with more detail. You, the intrepid photographer out in the pouring and freezing rain! Thanks so much.
Thanks Linda. Yes, bad weather often leads to better or at least more interesting photos. The glare of the midday sun can be useful on occasion, but generally photographers prefer the beginning and end of the day, when shadows are long and the light is warmer. There is never a good time to not have a camera handy.
Wow! 😳 What a crazy adventure, with a dash of cold beauty on top! Glad you came through it okay and with some beautiful images.
Thank You Kewtie. Quite honestly, losing power for a few days is a walk in the park compared to losing my spouse. Granted, it doesn't help and I'm sure many people who are already experiencing high stress in their lives, and who isn't these days, may find an event like this enough to push them to their breaking point. I heard a mental health expert this morning talk about our 'window of tolerance' and how external events like this may push us beyond that window which can be crushed or even broken by things over which we have no control. It brought tears to my eyes when she said that people have to recognize that when the power is restored there will be many who discover they are still not okay.
🥺💜
Thanks for that .. I watched the numbers of those without power.. head past 300,000 ! Was under no illusions re the extent of damage however .. believe it peaked at 390,000 - simply a staggering challenge for initial ‘triage alone - to stabilize & begin to appraise the work to come !
Fabulous images .. ! 🦎🏴☠️🍁
Thank You Thomas. I pulled those numbers from Ontario Hydro and CBC. They started to go down and then went back up again, so I counted those increases as separate incidents. In the early days of the storm, Ontario Hydro was reporting both current outages and number of customers restored. 250,000 of that may also be an unrelated power outage for 4 hours in the GTA, I'm not sure of the details so we could subtract that amount from the total and call it 750,000. On Friday morning there were still 2158 outages in the Peterborough region, affecting 109,873 customers and with an estimated restoration time of Apr 8, 2025, 9:00 PM. The map still says 2158 outages but the numbers of customers affected has dropped to 71,304, still a pretty large number. Restoration time is now set at April 30 at 6:00 PM. For the people still waiting, I'm afraid they are now yesterday's news.
I called it CATASTROPHIC.. right off - zero hesitation
To MainStream Canadian Media ? A nothing burger ..
With almost 75% of Canadian Mainstream Media owned & controlled by American Financial Hedge Firms intensely focussed currently on ‘Winning OUR Federal Election - On Behalf of pretendo ‘conservative’ Political Party I should not be surprised
Thanks for that truly stark Update .. holy hell ! 🦎🏴☠️🍁
Thanks Thomas. Numbers are always hard to ascertain with so few details on how they are gathered. I was interested to hear this morning CBC repeated the "over a million homes affected" statement during the morning news updates. The latest estimates are 1519 outages with 40,073 customers and restore time changed to April 9 at 11 PM. When you don't have power it is easy to become fixated on these numbers, or even to allow one's mood to be influenced by them. I am very close to cancelling my satellite TV in favour of on demand streaming services simply because I am finding it increasingly more difficult to find any real value in Network media.
What a storm and in spite of the challenges of being without power you have captured some truly amazing pictures! Thanks for sharing and glad you have your power back!
Me too - time for spring now . . .
Thanks Andy. I didn't even look at what I had shot until Friday. Okay, I'm done with winter now.
As you imply, it is an ill wind that blows no good. The artist sees life a little differently than most folks and disasters, big or small are ripe with opportunity for them. I enjoyed looking at all these images but as you know, I am partial to the macro side of life, and the second in your group of macro shots is a fave for me.
Keep up the good work John!
Thanks Bob. Ya, I took those closeups with the cheap macro lens I bought last summer. A TTArtisan 40mm 2.8 on sale for about $110. It's fairly heavy, but quite compact. These were shot at about 1:1. The second shot you mention looks a bit like a brain casing to me. I tried to use extension tubes in the past, but had no luck with them.
Hello John, I’m reading your essay and enjoying your photos from Cherry Hill, NJ USA.
Thanks to Pamela Leavey for sharing your thoughts and work so that others like me may find it!
Glad your power is back on- we have not had the severe weather here - but many years ago when I lived and worked in Ottawa I experienced storms similar to the march lion you’ve so thoroughly and thoughtfully shared.
I’m subscribing to your Substack now 💙🇺🇸💙
-Devereaux
Thanks John
Thanks Boho. Nice to meet you and thanks for subscribing. I grew up in Montreal where the winters tended to be a little worse than they are here. The biggest storm of my life came on the eve of my 15th birthday in 1971. The snow was piled to the rooftops. You can read about it here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Canadian_blizzard_of_March_1971
Wow, John, these photos are all so stunning and powerful and wonderous. Thank you so much for sharing them and your ice storm experience. I remember having one here the 2nd winter I was back in Massachusetts from Los Angeles. We went about 4 - 5 days without power. Beautiful photos. I love your work!
What a delightful comment Pam. Thank you very much. I'm glad you like them. Four days was enough. It just gets on my nerves after a while. The woodstove really helped.
Power outages always wear on the nerves. You are lucky you have a wood stove. I always think it would be nice to have one when the power goes out.
Fingers crossed. Maybe you will.
I would rather have rain or snow or cold temps than ice. We were spared the worst here in Toronto.
I agree with that Perry. We are fortunate here to not have many of the disasters that befall much of North America like hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. Having lived my youth in Montreal like you, snow and cold don't scare me much. But ice? Ice is one of our biggest challenges. That and the occasional drought. As I get older, my response to ice is to just stay home. It helps that I've worked at home for the last twenty years.