North – cold, wind, precipices, glaciers, caves, heroic conquest of dangerous obstacles,
whales, hot meat, and vegetables, concentration and production, privacy. – W. H. Auden

1. The way he uses an auger to makes holes for ice fishing before laying in the gill net.
2. The way he pulls the polar shell over his leather mittens.
3. The way he lays logs for a fire in the granite fireplace that he built himself.
4. The way he knows what the temperature is without checking the thermometer.
5. The way the snow and frost settle on his eyebrows.
6. The way he climbs onto the roof to sweep off the snow.
7. The way he snaps icicles off the eavestrough before they shatter onto the ground.
8. The way he puts chains on his truck and that they always fit.
9. The way he folds his trapper blanket at the end of the bed.
10. The way he knows all the constellations in the winter sky – Orion being our favorite.

Photograph © David Dodds