Smelting in the dead of winter

The smelt shacks were the original focus of this picture but the headstones seemed to echo the cluster of ice fishing houses on the bay in a very picturesque way. This small family graveyard sits on the hill with one of the prettiest views in town. It's such an integral part of the landscape that it doesn't seem macabre anymore to locals who drive by the scene everyday. In fact, the stones seem to yearn to be part of the scene. I imagine the old-timers still eager to join their friends out on the ice in this yearly tradition of fishermen and their fleeting village of ice houses.