Michigan Forest Life - November 15, 2025

Greetings friends,

I sit in the open forest waiting for the sky to lighten. This morning's cloud cover is likely to nudge out any colorful sunrise. It is 6:40 am. I am deep in the woods. A mile from any serious country road. Not too far from my own forest trail.

A rooster calls with its clear, singular chime - like a morning cuckoo from the clock on the wall. Where is that rooster? There is not a farm within a mile as the crow flies. Its voice carries in the clear air. I cannot imagine where the rooster lives. What makes its voice so clear at such a great distance? Is it the stillness of the surrounding forest that allows the sound to break through? 

A pleasant breeze kisses my cheek. My nose detects smoke from the fire I left in the treehouse woodstove. Do the animals smell it too and know that I am here? Or do they now see it as just part of the forest they live in, unconcerned? I am one of them.

I left a venison stew simmering on the woodstove when stepping out in the predawn darkness (Photo 1). At noon I will add a bottle of beer to the stew, for the flavor.

The forest looks winter-like. Leaves have left their branches. Empty trees. A forest of sticks. Well, most leaves have dropped. Certainly the maples. Many oaks will hold their leaves until spring, when fresh buds will push out each old leaf. In a forest filled with maples, I note a solitary exception.  A single red leaf still clinging to its lifeline (Photo 2). The lone leaf looks as bleak as the forest surrounding it. It has been abandoned. Forgotten. 

The leaf calls out, "Is it only me?" But there is not a single companion left to answer.

Trees all around respond for the departed leaves, "It is winter, why are you alone clinging to your summer tether?"

"I had not noticed, but it is so," the leaf whispers in confusion. "What do I do now? Maybe tomorrow the wind will tug me away from this umbilical cord and I will join my sisters and brothers on the forest floor. It is where I should be."

"What's a leaf to do?"

Let's finish with a few stray photos (Photos 3, 4, 5) and then another teaser from FOREST LEGEND: THE TALE OF OLE' SPLIT TOE (PHOTO 6).

I wish you a day with nature, and simple wonder to exercise your curiosity. 

Until next time,

Dan

FOREST LEGEND: THE TALE OF OL’ SPLIT TOE

By Dan Ellens

Snippet 8 of 27

Excerpt from Chapter 10

AD 1874 - As the loggers took down more of the large white pines, something else

unexpected happened. When the supply sled arrived, it carried a second person: a woman. She was not like women of the Ojibwe village. Her hair was tucked under a hat, not braided. Her clothing was different.

This woman seemed altogether different. It was her movements. Her purpose. Her authority. She was not part of a village. There was an independence about her. Or perhaps it was confidence. The woman arrived bundled up for the cold wet snow, as were the logging men, but she wore a heavy ground-length skirt that covered her boots. She stepped down from the sled, gripping its side as she placed her foot in the snow. The logging supervisor, the foreman, met her at the sled.

“Sir, I think you were expecting me.”

“Yes ma’am. We figured you’d be here any time now.”

“So, can you show me the corner? The northwest corner of the parcel?”

“We’ll try, ma’am. But I have to say … to ask, ma’am,” the foreman paused. “What are you doing out here? I mean, what are you really doing here?”

Copyright @ 2025 by Daniel S. Ellens

FOREST LEGEND now available for PRE-ORDER at 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.