Mother Nature is bigger than all of us

Most of Ontario, Southern Quebec and the Maritimes experienced Mother Nature at her worst as a major snow storm blew through Sunday and Monday.

Ottawa got 34 cm of snow on Sunday which was the most snow on record for a day in December since 1938 (the year they started keeping weather records in Ottawa).

The only thing to do was to stay inside on Sunday and stay off the roads as they were too dangerous, covered with snow and slippery, with periods of low visibility from heavy and drifting snow.

Most Ottawa neighbourhoods look like they are in the middle of February and not just the middle of December, with snow banks ranging from 4 to 8 feet high. It took me over an hour using a snow blower to clear my driveway and the snowbank left by the snow plow Monday morning.

A day like Sunday makes you realize how inconsequential mankind is. We can't master or overcome weather. All we can do is take shelter where we are, hoping for it to pass.

A male purple finch took refuge from the storm under some branches from the Christmas tree that I had left on the front steps. Unfortunately, he was smothered by the weight of the snow that blew onto the steps and covered the branches. I found him this morning as I was shovelling the steps, a bundle of bright, red feathers, perfectly preserved.