With passion and desire to live more sustainably, the eagerness to learn, and the shared dream of knowing there's a better future for everyone.  This is what brought a small group of passionate individuals together to discuss how we could achieve these mutual goals.

Our parents and grandparents worked hard to put food on the table, they knew where their food came from and most kept gardens of their own.  Somewhere along the line, many of us have lost that connection, but deep down inside we all secretly thirst to feel and taste that connection again.

Last night, as a small group of peers, we agreed to work together to share our skills and develop a garden at LUNA where we can all share in the bounty.  This to me feels like community at it's finest.  The thought of spending evenings in our small yurt kitchen as a group, sipping wine while washing and canning veggies is hugly attractive to me.  I'm excited to see how together we can grow while we share the hopes of having animals and vegetable gardens for all to enjoy.  2012 is going to be a great year to see how our garden will grow.

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Other improvements to the water course for 2012 include an additional 200 trees to be planted, 24 acres above the wetland has been decommissioned, 2 new wetlands to be built, and turtle and duck nesting platforms will be constructed. It's going to be incredible to see old farmland transform into flourishing wetlands.

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The roar intensifies as it approaches. It slams hard onto the soft walls of my yurt waking me from my slumber.  As it passes, it takes with it the old and the weak.  I am witness to the fall of the dead as their branches and decaying bodies hit the forest floor.

Last night and today the winds have reached speeds of 100km plus.  They come in gusts, and last night the first strong gusts woke me from a deep sleep.  After surviving a powerful micro-burst this summer on a canoe trip in Temagami, I know only too well the power of nature.  My nerves during the first few gusts had my stomach in knots, but after a short while, the approaching gusts sounded like waves crashing  on an ocean shore.  The round shape of the yurt and the fact that I built them lower in the valley, means they weather the storms well.

To my delight and amazmnet this morning, a cardinal was still singing his morning song, and the swans still pushed through the storm high overhead on their quest northward.  The power and strength of nature is truly inspiring to me. It shows that when you're deeply rooted, you have the strength and support to weather almost any storm.

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For those of who out there who are yearning for signs of spring...have no fear, the stillness of the winter forest has been broken. This morning on my walk to the office, the sounds of the Cardinal, and the Red-Winged Blackbird filled the morning air. In the distance, the distinctive hammering of the Pileated Woodpecker echoed in the background. Our small scale maple syrup production is well underway and the buds of the Choke Cherries are ready to leaf out. It seems early for all of this, but as we haven't had a real winter in Southern Ontario, all the forest dwellers including myself are itching for spring to arrive.

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A cold bite to the early morning air woke me up to say that it was time throw another log on the fire. Temperature was just below -20 degrees outside and at 3am the sound of popping trees echoed through the forest.

Slipping on my boots and a tattered red checked lumber jacket, I sipped my morning coffee and ventured into the frigid air. Outside there was a thin layer of frost blanketing the meadow as I walked up to gather another days ration of wood for the fire. I paused to gaze deep into the meadow to see the morning sun glisten bits of crystal frost as they fell from the trees. To my right, the full moon is setting low in the west as the sun was breaking the east horizon and slowly warming the eastern skies

This morning I realized yet again, that taking time to appreciate these simple things can truly raise your spirits and focus one's mind.

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For those of you who have been to LUNA, you all know the story of the old man who has been wandering the property in search of Willie (Billie). An old man who has been seen by my late father and my brother several times throughout their lives. Even my sister has seen this old man wandering the road with cane or maybe a shotgun in hand.

Yesterday, with chisel in hand and focused eye that can look deep into the soul of a tree, John uncovered Willie. Willie has been hiding in an old Cherry Tree in our Tree Lounge here at LUNA, and none of this came to light until John shared this story with me when he was done.

Willie the woodspirit loved to play,
He'd dance and sing and run all day.
He'd teach the newborn birds to sing,
And mend a Robin's broken wing.

"Till one day, while running thru woods,
An evil spirit, before him stood.
He cast a spell to make Willie sleep,
And placed him inside a tree to keep.

There he stayed for many a year,
Until one day, what did he hear?
A chopping sound, some scrapes, some cuts,
Poor little Willie thought he'd gone nuts.

But the sound grew louder, it was getting close,
And before he knew it, he could wiggle his nose.
And soon he felt the wind on his cheek,
Dare he open his eyes and take a peek?

He summoned his courage and opened one eye,
Looked all around and up to the sky.
When what did he see when he gazed up above?
A man with a chisel, a hat and a glove.

A man with a wonderful look in his eyes,
A man who listened and heard Willie's cries.
And set Willie free from his prison of timber,
That carver of wood, he will always
remember.

Unknow Author

When you come to LUNA, look deep into the heart of the forest, there, you will find Willie

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This ten year old boy, sitting by the fire, now still believes in magic and understands that he is connected to everything and directly linked to the symphony of life. Just the week before as he pulled out his slingshot and starting hitting an old white pine, I asked him "Do you think the tree likes that? Maybe you should ask the tree if it's alright". At the time I didn't think much of it, but these simple words to a child really helped him to look at the forest in a new way. In a way that magic and little people abound and he can now, if he wishes, talk to everything.

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