The Tale of Ol’ Split Toe
Science & Nature/Environment Science Fiction/Time Travel Literature &
Fiction/Action & Adventure
Date Published: 03-31-2026
Publisher: Mission Point Press
while fire, disease, logging, human displacement, and war repeatedly destroy
forests of centuries-old trees. Split Toe, a deer chosen at birth for a unique
education, travels through time to understand the interconnected workings of a
Michigan forest. He meets humans along the way: Ice Age hunters who trap and
kill a mastodon; Mukwoh, a young Ojibwe hunter who stalks Split Toe through
swamp and forest; loggers clearcutting Michigan’s white pines; Edra, a
woman advocating for the trees; Angus and Grace, pioneers who become a first
generation of family farmers; scientists from the future studying the impact
of nuclear radiation.
Split Toe witnesses two hundred years of conflict building between modern
humans — who fight to control the natural world — and Mother Nature, who
repeatedly reaches for balance. He wonders whether human ways will ultimately
overpower Mother Nature, until he meets a boy who changes everything.
Dan Ellens is an outdoor enthusiast who is passionate about connecting people
with nature. He spends nearly half of each year in an isolated,
electricity-free treehouse on Winterfield Pines Nature Sanctuary with
woodstove heat, handpump water, and oil lamp lighting.
Dan has written four nonfiction books intended to inspire adventure, promote
self-sufficient lifestyles, and connect people with nature.
While not in the wilds, Dan and his wife live in the small community of Salem,
Michigan.
LinkedIn: Daniel S. Ellens
