In the schedule which I send out to walkers I have written the following: No matter what the weather is, I will always be at the location. In 15 years, no walks have been cancelled.

I began to question myself about that statement this morning when I awoke to see our backyard yews heavily bent over under the weight of a considerable amount of blowing snow.

Even the birdfeeder was loaded.

At 7, I began to shovel out the car and 45 minutes later was on the DVP. Slow but moving although I could see that the eastbound Gardiner Expressway was blocked by several immobile transport trucks. At one point, I had to stop the car ON the expressway to remove ice from the wipers.

By 8:45, I was at Marie Curtis Park although the entrance remained impassable.

I found a safe spot to park the car and began to walk about and take these photos with a little point-and-shoot camera.

At 10,

I took a selfie which is this morning’s “group” photo:

I then walked about to see if I could find even one bird. Not one!

Here is a bird list from Marie Curtis Park on January 9 2016:

Species list: Canada goose, mallard, American black duck, hooded merganser, mourning dove, glaucous gull, herring gull, ring-billed gull, hairy woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, northern cardinal, American goldfinch, dark-eyed junco. (13 species)

and the group from that day:

And finally the drive home. By this time, the Gardiner Expressway and DVP were closed. Driving, at times, reminded me of certain CNE midway rides which I used to enjoy as a child.

Some family members sent me these photos taken from their condominium homes:

and from a neighbour, this view of the DVP:

MYSTERY BIRD from Saturday:

This species normally eats fruit and insects but this one is wintering with us and must eat what is available: a Baltimore Oriole.

NATURE POETRY

Blizzard

Snow:
years of anger following
hours that float idly down —
the blizzard
drifts its weight
deeper and deeper for three days
or sixty years, eh? Then
the sun! a clutter of
yellow and blue flakes —
Hairy looking trees stand out
in long alleys
over a wild solitude.
The man turns and there —
his solitary track stretched out
upon the world. – William Carlos Williams

Miles Hearn