Freeze-Up

A week or more sooner than we have learned to expect it, comes this most welcome gift of late autumn. In the starlit blackness there is no splash of waves, and at first light we can discern no bank of fog lying offshore. Deep cold, nearly thirty below zero, and more of the same in the forecast. Dead calm, and on the weather charts no tight isobars warning of a fresh gale. This will do it.

The bay, an honest seventy miles long and nearly ten across, has once again been transformed by the ever-astounding physics of water and ice. So recently a churning, steaming confusion of sharp-peaked waves and viscous November rollers, it is today one smooth pane of frosted glass. It is a blank white page, upon which now for six or seven months we all – fox, wolverine, sled dog, wolf, snowmobile, ski plane, caribou – will inscribe the story of another winter.

But first things first – bring all the ice skates in from the shed and warm them up by the stove!

Heard on the local CBC this morning — (I paraphrase, but almost verbatim):  “Although the Yellowknife Bay is frozen and people are walking and skating on it now, the ice may not be as thick as normal at this time of year — be sure to check the web for updates on ice thickness.”

An image comes to mind — man venturing out on smooth new ice, smart phone in hand.  Cautiously he moves forward, intent on the little screen, cold fingers scrolling down the menu…

There is a race horse on the thoroughbred circuit called All I Can Say Is Wow.  (I love race-horse names.)

For the latest news on the publication and distribution of my book Kinds of Winter please see the post called Announcement, from August 2014,

I have updated that August announcement post today.  There is a link there (and at the bottom of this post)  to the publisher’s catalog web page, from which the book can be ordered directly, at the best price, within the coming week or so. 

Your local independent bookseller or library should be able to order the book now, for shipping November 10. 

And of course the friendly local folks at  Amazon and all the rest are standing by in Calcutta, eager for your credit card number…  See lines above.

I will put out one more update when this all falls into place, which should be next week.

Here is the link to the WLU Press web page for the book:

Kinds of Winter