Toronto Ice Storm 2013 | Pet Photography

Toronto Ice Storm 2013 | Pet Photography

It’s on the lips of everyone you meet today – questions about this weekend’s Ice Storm. “Did you lose power? Have you got back your power? Did you see the trees? How is your car?” It certainly caused havoc, inconvenience and for some who are still waiting for the lights to come back on, at this point, it is far beyond that. To all of the crews who are working feverishly around the clock to get everyone back on the grid and all of those who are still affected and patiently waiting, thank you! (Toronto Hydro is updating their twitter feed regularly as the work progresses. You can follow them here.)

Here at Posh Pets‘ HQ, we lost power for approximately 6 hours yesterday. We consider ourselves one of the fortunate ones. In that time (during daylight hours), our home became uncomfortably cool. We can only imagine what it is like for the people and pets in the homes across the city where they are still without power and have had to go through 2 nights in darkness, no heat and not even the opportunity for a warm cup of tea or a hot meal. We sincerely hope that friends and family have opened their doors and that everyone is safe!

Venturing outside yesterday for about 20 minutes was enough to convince us that we needed to stay inside. Trees were creaking, power lines sparking, branches falling…it was hard to even walk without risking a nasty tumble. However, we did find some beauty amidst the chaos.

The first thing we noticed were the blades of grass poking out from under the snow were each covered in ice. Individually. It made for a very dimpled surface on the grassy areas.

blades of grass with frozen ice

The sheer weight of having every branch, every acorn, every leaf covered in a thick layer of ice was causing trees to split and branches to sheer off. The sound when they fell was incredible!

frozen acorns and evergreen tree

Nothing was exempt. These railings can take their time to melt and lose their icicles, but people’s cars cannot.

icicles hanging off railing toronto

The sight of ice glistening in the daylight does have its own beauty.

tree branch with layers of ice

Even the animals had to learn to cope.  This little guy had only a frozen dinner for supper last night.

squirrel foraging for food on frozen ice and snow

As bad as the weather outside might be, our pets still have to go. This beautiful senior (she’s 13!) and her human were being extra careful on the slippery sidewalks and ‘grass’.

senior cocker spaniel dog on ice

cocker spaniel examining froze bush

Everywhere you looked, the City was enveloped in a layer of ice and fog.

Toronto during ice storm 2013

So, there you have it – a tiny little summary from our part of the world. We hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, things are slowly getting back to normal. Everyone, please stay safe (and snuggle with your furry faces)!

Project 52 – In the Garden (Park) | Toronto Animal Photography

Project 52 – In the Garden (Park) | Toronto Animal Photography

Welcome back to another week of Project 52!  This week’s image was to illustrate the theme, “in the garden”.  At first glance, that might seem quite easy.  And, it is true that there is much room for inspiration in a garden.  However, it is much more difficult if one does not actually have a garden.  But we, at Posh Pets are resourceful and headed off to a park.  Afterall, I reasoned, a park is nothing more than a very large garden that is shared by a lot of people.

So, off we went to High Park in Toronto once again.  What a difference a week makes!  The Sakura Cherry Blossom trees are now fully open and receiving visitors!  And it definitely made a difference that we set off early in the  morning to arrive at the park by 7:30 a.m. and see the sun bathe the trees in the lovely morning light.

Our first greeter was this little guy.  We found him running around, busy doing what squirrels do in the early morning hours.  But then he stopped…and posed for us!  Here is his portrait.

Next up, was a beautiful robin.  We also found him busy hunting around for worms and such.  But he lifted his head to check us out and that was enough time to have his photo taken.

And, finally, this post would not be complete without a glimpse of the real reason we got up early this week – the lovely Sakura Cherry Blossom trees!

 

Please take a look at the next blog in our circle.  This time it is Stephanie Madeline of Chase & Snap Photography.  Cannot wait to see who she met in the garden.