Michigan Forest Life - January 4, 2026

Hello nature enthusiasts,

I must admit, today I am not at Winterfield Pines Nature Sanctuary, I am home in Salem - planning. Planning several road trips that will consume much of January and February and will sweep through much of Michigan’s lower peninsula to visit bookshops and libraries; to show them FOREST LEGEND: THE TALE OF OL’ SPLIT TOE, and to leave them with the publisher’s sell sheet with page of literary praise for FOREST LEGEND on the reverse (Photo 1). 

I truly plan to visit all of the bookshops and libraries that I can Google my way through.  If you have a bookshop in your community where you would particularly like me to stop, please let me know its name.  FOREST LEGEND is now in its preorder phase. Bookshops that order by mid-February should have their books in time for the March 31, 2026 Publication Date. Now is also a good time for you to order a copy through Amazon if you would like to have one when it comes out.  Check out the reviews so far on Goodreads left by advance readers. They are extraordinary.

This all means that my time at the Treehouse is likely to be sporadic during the first quarter of 2026, as the book launch is in full swing. But I would like to continue to bring you the weekly preview snippets from FOREST LEGEND, whether I am in the forest or not - until we have made it through all 27 snippets. I do hope you are enjoying them and that they spark your curiosity. When I cannot post from the forest, I will post one with a forest topic that I think will interest you, with photos from my photo gallery.

Today’s forest topic is simple. Campfires. It is always good to have water and sand close by

to put out the campfire when you are finished or in case the fire unintentionally spreads to nearby twigs and leaves. The campfire for the Bunkee at Winterfield Pines Nature Sanctuary has one of the best solutions I know of - a bucket of water and a bucket of sand that double as outdoor side tables, always at the fire pit (Photo 2, 3).  In fact, look closely to see the design solution that works so well. Now in their sixth year, these simple side tabletops are made from 2 x 8 and 2 x 4 pressure treated lumber set atop five-gallon buckets; one filled with water, the other with sand. They are simple, durable, stable, easy to use, and a comfortable side table height. Enjoy your campfire! Keep the forest safe!

Meanwhile, permit me to give you another FOREST LEGEND teaser, preview snippet 15 or 27 (Photo 4). Enjoy!

I wish you a happy 2026, filled with the wonder of nature.

Until next time,

Dan

Excerpt from Chapter 19

AD 1911 - Hopeful people planted a farm of some sort at almost every mile along the road. Humans migrated to this new range as any wild animal would also have done, enticed by the conditions—natural and human. Where a great forest of white pine once stood, the migrants saw a place to survive and grow. A place to build a nest. One hundred sixty acres of their own to make something of themselves.

All the forces of human nature brought them to Michigan: social, economic, psychological, and biological, combined with the natural conditions of livable climate, plenty of water, and rich, tillable soil. Some of the folks were simply escaping another life, and they found an opportunity for a new start here. They imagined freedom, independence, wealth, and perhaps a brighter future for generations of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

It was obvious which farms were simply getting by, and which ones were thriving. Mother Nature had a lot to do with the results. Humans needed her cooperation to succeed.

Jake paused, his mind racing. He tried to look at the world objectively. Perhaps his feeling that humans needed Mother Nature’s cooperation was merely humanity’s way of looking at the world.

“Hmm … A human needs the cooperation of Mother Nature?” Something about it did not seem right to Jake. “What a strange way of looking at the world.”

Copyright @ 2025 by Daniel S. Ellens

Pre-order now on Amazon

Publication Date: March 31, 2026

Praise for FOREST LEGEND:

“Ol’ Split Toe, the majestic, time-traveling deer, takes us on a magical ride through ancient forests, the land of the First People, colonial settlement and deforestation, and modern times.   An epic adventure story that will transform how you look at our land, and inspire you to conserve it.”

– Bill Gleason, Author and Tree Naturalist, West Hartford, CT.