Bernadette Calonego's Blog: Eventful - Posts Tagged "snow"

It is a funny coincidence but as I'm writing about a polar bear in my new mystery thriller in the Detective Calista Gates series, people I know have posted pictures on Facebook of a polar bear wandering through one of their coastal communities. It happens almost every spring in northern Newfoundland. You don't have to go to the Arctic to encounter polar bears. If you live on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland, chances are good that you'll see one through your living-room window! My favourite fisherman told me that his ancestors used to call them "water bears" because they are incredibly good swimmers. I have only seen a polar bear in nature in a net. He had been tranquilized by wildlife officers and a helicopter flew him dangling in a net across an ocean strait to Labrador.
The polar bears in northern Newfoundland and Labrador are healthy and thriving because there are so many seals and sufficient pack ice. A few years ago, a polar bear broke into a shed in Goose Cove and ate some tame ducks. And another one stuck his head into a kitchen. That was quite a scare for the family in the house, as you can imagine, But nobody was hurt or killed.
I will be back in northern Newfoundland at the end of April (right now I'm in British Columbia), and chances are small that there will still be a lonely polar bear trying to find his way home. But you never know. In my book, Detective Calista Gates will be up close and personal with one of these giants. I don't know whether I should envy her or whether I should be glad that it never happened to me... What do you think?
Bay of Evil


Bernadette Calonego

My German editor told me recently she had noticed that there are a lot of cabins in my mystery thrillers. She's right. Cabins play an important role im my stories. How could they not: My crime novels are set in northern and other remote areas where a lot of people have cabins. Fishing cabins, hunting cabins, weekend cabins, party cabins, icefishing cabins, cabins along snowmobile trails, cabins in the woods, cabins on the lakes, cabins in the wilderness, cabins to get away from everybody.
There is a distinct cabin culture in isolated and rural areas. It is part of people's lifestyle and traditions. In my small community in northern Newfoundland, not many people can afford to go on cruises or beach holidays in Cuba or even to cities like Halifax or Montreal. But they do build a cabin to enjoy a getaway, especially in the winter when they can reach these wild locations on the snowmobile.
As it is tradition to visit people in their cabin, the cabin dwellers aren't alone for any stretch of time. Usually, visitors are welcome. They are offered tea and some cookies or they bring a bottle of rum or "screetch" with them and the chatting and hollering can begin.
Everything is simple in the cabins: old sofas, used cutlery, worn blankets, ancient calendars on the wall. But it is a great way to spend a day or two, to forget about village life and chores, to gossip and relax.
For me as an author of mystery novels, cabins are a fitting location for crimes, hideouts or eerie encounters. For this reason alone, I cannot promise there won't be any cabin in my next book. There is certainly one in "Missing in the Dark", my latest crime novel! And morbid things are happening there, I can tell you.

Our snowmobile broke down a few days ago and it needs to be repaired. The parts - if we can buy them - will cost around 3000 Canadian dollars. We hope to find used parts but it is uncertain. A new snowmobile can cost up to 30000 Canadian dollars, more than a decent car. One cannot really live without a snowmobile in northern Newfoundland in winter. My fisherman needs to go over the barrens to cut down trees for firewood. There are places that cannot be reached on the road when there is lots of snow. We will have to make a big decision how to proceed.
Sometimes people ask me if the costs of living are way higher in remote places in Canada's North than for instance in Vancouver. My usual answer is: "It depends." I don't find food much more expensive in our isolated area than in Vancouver (the Arctic is a different story). But in my tiny Newfoundland village, there is no supermarket chain like Costco within reach. (There is no IKEA store either on the entire island of Newfoundland.) On the other hand, I am not tempted to buy the latest fashion or exquisite furniture for our modest fisherman's house. I own a second-hand car with a battered windshield because the salty air and the salt on the roads in winter make a vehicle rust out in no time.
There is no opportunity to splurge on entertainment in winter: I pay ten dollars to participate in a competitive card game or bingo. The last concert I went to was several years ago (very few concerts come to our depopulated area). During the Iceberg Festival, I went to Trivia Night in the local pub which I really enjoyed (I even won a t-shirt!).
With Netflix, it is not so bad not to have a movie theatre in town - nor a book store. I do appreciate Amazon for book deliveries.
When I started to spend time in remote northern Newfoundland, I worried that I would be bored and not stimulated enough. It turned out that I am busier than ever. Writing mystery thrillers, but also meeting people, going on hikes, trying new handicrafts, training a dog, helping a cat rescue group as a volunteer, zooming with friends. And hey, if push comes to shove - the temptations of New York and Vancouver are just two flights away!

February, along with March, is the worst month when the snowstorms whip over Newfoundland and Labrador. Today is such a day, we expect 75 centimeters of snow. I can't see the other end of the bay in the white whirlwind.
So far, however, the winter has been manageable despite the cold. On the really bitterly cold days I wasn't outside at all.
I am lucky that right behind our house there is a hiking trail leading up a hill from which you have fantastic views. Up there, I can let the neighbors' dog, which I take for walks, run free. Maggie follows snow hares and mice and startles the hawk, which is also hunting.
The bays were not frozen over for a long time, and I asked my fisherman if there had been years without ice on the ocean near the settlements in northern Newfoundland (yes, there were, but rarely). Now the most daring among us are already driving their snowmobiles over the thick ice cover on the water. In some places, however, ice floes have piled up and besiege the shore like hungry crocodiles.
During an excursion in the snow, we made an interesting, albeit sad find: a dead whale was pushed to the shore. Some locals claim it is a sperm whale. I can't say for sure, because it would have been too dangerous to get any closer to the poor animal on the ice.
Instinctively, people turn to things that offer warmth, coziness and distraction. I bake Swiss apple pie with puff pastry, play cards with the neighbors, meet other women for a coffee chat, keep the wood fire burning in the oven, plan a vacation in warmer regions and read exciting books (biographies, adventure stories and crime novels). By the way, if you subscribe to "Bernadette's Letter" on the homepage of my website bernadettecalonego.com/eng, you will learn even more about my everyday life in northern Newfoundland. Lots of love from Noddy Bay!