This morning around 6:30, two blue jays were jumping around in the backyard tree. The morning was not like any other, it was a chilling -20°C. I was taking a leak when I glimpsed at the birds through the frosty window. Although sluggishly sleepy, I tried to grab my camera out of its bag, hooked up the 250 mm lens in hopes of taking that perfect shot. But as soon as I readied my camera, they were gone and I missed the shot. I've seen squirrels, cardinals, doves, and small birds in winter, but it was the first time in my life that I've seen blue jays in such a biting cold.

[![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Cyanocitta-cristata-004.jpg)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Cyanocitta-cristata-004.jpg)
<sub>(click to enlarge, source wikimedia)</sub>

I can't help but marvel at Nature's creation. Here I was, for a fleeting moment, witnessing two living creatures in the freezing air, demonstrating their power of survival and resilience. All they have are feathers and bare claws, yet somehow they can fly and survive in an arctic wave. I wonder how long we would survive at -20°C if we stuck feathers on our fragile human skin; minutes at best? Of course, our prehistoric *homo erectus* ancestor had thick and dense hair hundreds of thousands of years ago, but we slowly lost that asset that got us through the ice ages. The discovery and domestication of fire led us to clothing, graciously provided by animal skins. We relied on furs to advance our species and discover technologies. Today, we rely on technology and oil to clothe ourselves with synthetic gear that can protect us down to -50°C.

<center>http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/static/photo/1x/Person-Inventor-Caveman-Man-Primitive-Primeval-159359.png</center>

We've come a long way from the hunter gatherer species we were, evolving from the simple harsh life to a complex easy one where we can buy burgers and bitcoins with plastics and computers. I had those thoughts as I went back to bed, snuggling myself under the sheets and thinking about the harshness of Winter. I wanted to feel bad for those birds, but on the other hand I didn't, because deep down I realized they were far better equipped than us to survive the cold. I slept with the good hope of meeting those two jays again in the Spring.

<center>https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Sleep.svg/600px-Sleep.svg.png</center>

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