Storm Hits Ontario, Hard but Selectively

storm

Parts of Ontario were hit hard by a violent storm yesterday. Depending on where you live or happened to be at the time, you may or may not have experienced incredible damage. Most of the damage was to trees, some completely uprooted while others literally split in half. I was one of the (un)lucky ones to have the storm visit both of my properties. The first map shows you the extensive power outages in the Ottawa area. The second one shows you those affected in Ontario:

Cottage Property Damage

We were working outdoors at our cottage when the storm hit. If this sounds familiar, it’s because the tornado that destroyed neighbourhoods in Ontario back in September 2018, came close to our cottage property too. I thought I had posted about that story, but apparently not. I’m sure many of you heard the details though and have stories of your own. In short, two sons and a friend just finished installing a new roof on our cottage and were heading home when one son called to tell us of all the trees down and power outages on their way home to Ottawa. We had no damage to our property.

Yesterday’s (? tornado, the verdict is still out) storm hit closer this time. Hubby and I were working on outdoor renovations when the skies got dark and the wind picked up. That was the only warning we had. Others have said they heard warnings on TV and on their phones. As mentioned, we were outside with neither technological device handy. Just like last time.

This picture was taken by my daughter-in-law who was visiting her sister in Carleton Place. They were hit there about 20 minutes after we were hit in Ompah. The storm was cutting a swath from southwest to northeast Ontario, at least according to my contacts. From the map above it appears to have hit further north and west as well.

We quickly stashed our tools in the garage and headed indoors to watch the approaching storm from (relative) safety. I watched in disbelief as the first tree split and crashed thirty feet in front of me, then a second snapped like a twig landing on our paddle boat that was leaning against the tree. That’s when we ran for cover in our basement. These fallen trees were tall, healthy, mature evergreens (pine), part of the skyline I love so much on our property. They now lie across our lawn, between our cottage and the lake…this could take weeks to clean up….so much for renovations……again.

Many of our neighbours were not so lucky. Right next door, three massive evergreens were uprooted, two falling on their roof and one hitting the (old, unused) antennae on our roof. If not for the antennae it would have hit our roof. The good news is since these trees were uprooted, they fell slowly, so there is no damage to the roof.

Many of our other trees remain intact and unharmed, thankfully. Walking around after the storm subsided we could see an incredible number of downed trees and wind-blown furniture. What I found amazing was the sporadicness (?word) of the storm. We have a row of plastic, kid-sized lawn chairs on our deck, a few feet from the downed trees. The deck was littered with leaves but the chairs were unscathed, not even moved an inch!

Kanata (Ottawa) area Damage

Shortly after the message from my DIL in Carleton Place, I received pictures and messages from a neighbour in Kanata. I could follow the sporadic yet destructive path of the storm from my contacts. It was eery how some trees were demolished while others missed completely. Some areas (just) received heavy winds with patio furniture rearranged, but undamaged.

The trees on our street (Katimavik area of Kanata) were hit hard, at least those on the south side of the street. We live on the (north) lucky side, let with just a few small branches littering our lawn.

Upon return home, we walked around our neighbourhood gawking at all the damage. This is a video posted today.

Ontario Hydro and Hydro One

Both hydro companies are working overtime this weekend, trying to restore downed power lines and outages across the region. Reports of downed lines, towers and power outages are rampant on social media and news stations. These pictures are from Ontario Hydro:

Tree Removal

Tree removal services are also in great demand this weekend. Davey tree services were on our street shortly after the storm, working well after dark, then back again this morning.

Update

As time goes on, we have several updates. Environment Canada now calling the storm a derecho! Huh, a new word in my vocabulary. Here’s another one… atterradora is Spanish for scary! I’ve never heard of a derecho, but I’ve survived one! My Mexico-residing brother tells me derecho is Spanish for “straight-ahead” ………..interesting!

I hope you were one of the lucky ones that could watch the storm on the news, from a safe distance.

Finding Them Homes Fundraiser

This post is in support of a wonderful fundraiser my niece Jillian is currently involved with. The text was copied and pasted from the Finding Them Homes (FTH) Facebook pages. Please check them out yourselves.

Day-timers/planners

What’s CUTE and FUNCTIONAL? Proudly Presenting the 2021 FINDING THEM HOMES Daytimer! With month and week views it’s the perfect way to keep you organized and with sooooo many cute smooshy faces!

Contactless Pickup Locations

Shipping

Shipping is also available within Ontario! Due to Covid we are asking for orders to be paid for by e-transfer. Please send a direct message to Trista Lawless to arrange shipping (costs on the poster, above) or pick up at the location most convenient to you. As always, thank you all for your support.❤️

Support Team

Do you know how many awesome people and businesses support the work that Finding Them Homes does? Well, to be honest, we’ve never tried to count them because there are SO many! And without them, hundreds of dogs wouldn’t be rescued from hunger and cold (3,203 to the end of September 2020 including 329 in 2020).

Support comes in many forms. Among them are the beautiful FTH calendars and daytimers (aka day planners). Our talented designers use photos of adopted dogs, made by our equally talented photographers, to design these useful keepsakes. FTH is able to use all the proceeds from the sale of calendars and daytimers to pay for transporting rescued dogs to Barrie, find foster homes for them, get them the vet care they need, and finally, find them a forever home. And that’s because we have business partners that cover the cost of producing and printing the calendars and daytimers by way of sponsorship.

You can also support the work FTH does by patronizing our business partners when they offer a product or service you need. Each month during 2020 we will feature one or more of our partners.

October’s Featured Partner

For October, we are featuring KM Repairs. “By providing good, old-fashioned customer service over the years, many hundreds of area residents have come to depend on owner Ken Matheson, and to rely on the technical expertise of his friendly staff, to keep their family vehicles in peak running condition. You too can entrust all of your vehicle’s service and repair needs to the team of automotive professionals at K.M. Repairs. Call (705) 458-2266 today and find out what good customer service is all about!” You can also check out their website.

How Can You Help?

You can support the dogs and puppies at FTH by:

  • purchasing day-timers or participating in any or all of their other fundraising events.
  • hiring the services of FTH’s business partners if you are local to the areas indicated above.
  • making the commitment to adopt a dog or puppy! These are the sweet faces currently available for adoption. FTH contact information is on the Facebook page.

Imperial Moth and Caterpillar

imperial moth

Recently I told you about our experience with gypsy moths. After that batch of destructive caterpillars made their presence known on our cottage lot, we discovered another caterpillar, this one quite striking. It was huge, over three inches in length and one-half an inch in diameter. It was bright green in colour, with white spots and bristles. Google claims this caterpillar belongs to the Imperial Moth, and Wikipedia claims it is not found much further north than the New England states. That explains why we have never seen one before.

I guess this handsome guy wandered a little too far north.

I have been teaching my grandchildren the wonders of nature. I have no doubt my three-year-old grandson would love this colourful caterpillar; my granddaughters not so much. It has been much more difficult to convince the girls that (some) bugs are beautiful and beneficial.

We will have to keep our eyes out for the Imperial Moth that this caterpillar will morph into next spring. It should be easy to spot as they can reach up to an impressive five and a half inches in size. Yikes! Mother Nature has provided them with clever camouflage though; they like a yellow and brown poplar leaf.

imperial moth