Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan The bougainvillea and jasmine plants are in bloom, but the hydrangea and other plants are dozing, thinking it's way too early to wake up and bloom. Officially, it is spring in Canada but winter is waging a rearguard battle. During the days, the sun prevails and temperatures climb to 5 degrees Celsius or more – a few degrees above freezing. But at night winter comes roaring back, pushing the temperatures down to 5 or more degrees below freezing. Those flowers are blooming, but inside the house. They'll be taken outdoors to bathe in sunshine, fresh air and rejuvenating rains in late June or July. Come October, they'll be back indoors. Tough winters are normal in Canada, although modern facilities make them bearable and, for many, enjoyable. Over the last few years the winters have mellowed – in 2011-12 the average temperature was -1.3C compared to the usual -5.3C. But sometimes winter becomes grumpy, irritated that it isn't getting enough respect. Then it unleashes its fury to let everyone know who's the boss. It's a message auto body shops love. Heavy snow and ice send scores of drivers into the ditches – or on to other vehicles, and 40 or 50 car pileups on highways are not rare. Several die or are injured. One day recently produced 80 collisions in Ottawa alone. That storm even stranded 200 city buses in snow piles and delayed them, annoying commuters who rely on these behemoths to go to work or to shop. The City of Ottawa owns or hires some 600 snow plows to remove snow and throw salt on snow-clad streets across 850 kilometers. It has a $56 million snow removal budget and $10 million in reserve. Ottawa had some 230 centimeters of snow this winter. In all our years in Ottawa, this year's winter was the third worst. One year snow reached up to the roofs. Walls of snow surrounded everything. The Ottawa Citizen newspaper distributed certificates that said, “We survived this winter”. Another year it was so cold for so long that people ventured out only when they had to. When temperatures plunge, oil, gas and electricity heating bills shoot to the skies. This year's winter was unpredictable. Temperatures would suddenly plunge, then shoot up. Lots of snow would fall, fluffy and powdery, ideal for skiing, going sledding or making snowmen. Then it would rain and the snow would be wet and heavy – giving people who are not in ideal shape heart attacks when they try to shovel it. Heavy snow sometimes crashes through the roofs. Our neighbors climb to their roofs and shove the snow down to save their houses. I'm all for safety and adventure. I do enjoy swimming, tennis and skiing. But to me going to the top of the roof is like trying to climb Mount Everest. Hardier souls are welcome to do it. I prefer safety and comfort. So I pay handymen and they remove snow from my roof when needed. Snow also clogs the driveway and the footpath. Unless it's removed neither man nor car would make it to the front door or the garage. Our powerful snow blower rescues us. I push it, or rather it pulls me, as it noisily hurls the snow to the sides and cleans up the path. This year the snow was wet and so the blower did its job, but left snow on the ground that turned to ice. You could slip and fall, breaking your leg. Or your mailman could slip and sue you for a million dollars, which I don't have. So after using the snow blower, I tackled the rest. That cleared the snow and provided me with exercise and fresh air. This year an Ottawa couple even built an igloo, which is normal in the far north of Canada. But this year it was so cold and there was so much snow that people could build and enjoy an igloo before temperatures soared and the whole thing came tumbling down. Animals, too, had a tough time this year. Snow owls migrate from the far north to southern Canada and the US in search of warmth and their normal diet of mice, voles and lemmings. This year more owls went hungry or died in southern Ontario than normal. Birds store nuts and seeds but they aren't enough. Some people build bird houses and put out seeds to feed the goldfinches, chickadees, sparrows, wrens, cardinals, doves and pigeons. Canada geese, ducks and monarch butterflies fly south to escape winter. Chipmunks, ground squirrels, groundhogs and mice sleep through the winter. Bears hibernate too, but they awake easily. The white-tailed deer, hares and rabbits move to less snowy areas to find food. Fish swim to warmer waters and amphibians dig deep for protection. The otter and mink grow extra fat or fur. Muskrats and beavers build shelters for protection. But snow is a blessing too, it provides water for food to grow in the spring. In Canada you enjoy all seasons and thank God for His blessings. — Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan is a retired Canadian journalist, civil servant and refugee judge. He has received the Order of Canada, Order of Ontario and the Queen's Diamond and Golden Jubilee Medals
