An unexpected visitor

When I looked through the window in Noddy Bay, Northern Newfoundland, I saw a seal crawling out of the water onto the land. Instantly, I put on some warm clothes (it was minus 14 degrees Celsius with wind chill!) and ran outside with my camera. I took lots of pictures, and the seal didn`t seem to mind. It literally was only a few feet away from my house door. That is how close you get to wildlife in Northern Newfoundland!

Well, what a surprise!

The seal stayed around for the entire day, it was basking in the winter sun and rolling around like a cat in heat. A local fisherman told me that it probably needed a break on land because it had been beaten around in the water by the storms that roughened up the North Atlantic. This young harp seal certainly made my day!

Young harp seal basking in the winter sun.

Another of my joys: My new German murder mystery “Mörderischer Morgen” (Murderous Morning) is doing really well. It gets excellent reviews and readers tell me how much they love it. Hopefully it will be translated into English soon!

The new German murder mystery by author Bernadette Calonego.

Winter has arrived in our neck of the woods, and soon, I will fly back to Vancouver. The Arctic temperatures and fierce snow storms in Northern Newfoundland are something that I find difficult to live with. But the locals take it in stride, they confront the weather with a mix of resilience and adjustment.

Crime novelist Bernadette Calonego in Newfoundland.