🧭 Hello everyone! 🧭

🌟 Welcome to the Winter 2025-2026 edition of the Station WIL Trail Roundup Newsletter. 🌟

We’re gathered here at a fresh trailhead for the new year. Before we set out, let’s take a moment to notice the strength we’ve gained. Winter has offered us quiet walks, fireside work, small victories, and the steady glow of shared stories. 🧭

As you step into this season, you might pause to jot down a short list of 2–4 strengths, insights, or moments worth carrying forward:

• A creative spark that surprised you

• A lesson that shaped your direction

• A connection that encouraged you

• A milestone that deserves a nod

🪶 Where the trail leads next

Winter invites us into a softer light and the stories and discoveries that come with it. It’s the season when nature takes stock of what it stored through spring and summer. Autumn softened the load — the light shifted, the last fruits were gathered, leaves fell, and the waters cooled.

Then winter arrived with its crisp stillness, sending all but the hardiest explorers indoors. This is nature’s time of guarding its reserves, preparing quietly for spring’s burst of renewal.

Soon enough, spring and summer will return with planting, swimming, hiking, and long days of light. For now, we look forward to the gifts winter keeps in cold storage — the seeds of next season’s bounty.

🌲 Look What’s Happening Now!

The first three chapters of Ranger Station’s newest book, Station WIL ~ What It’s Like to Find Your Way, are now live in our Books & Blogs section.

This second book in the Station WIL Series invites readers to explore outdoor skills like orienteering, compass reading, and navigation — all woven into a little adventure, showing how map skills can help us make thoughtful decisions in any circumstance.

For now, join Rangers Jack and Jill and the whole team as we journey through stories, skills, and winter wonder — and yes, we’re finishing the book together.

WINTER WALK​
​Trees adorned in gray
I hike forest's soft light, as
Giants guard my way.

✍️ TRU Prompt Challenge:
Where Readers Become Writers

This year, we’re inviting you to write with us.

Each month, we’ll share a one-line writing prompt — evocative, mysterious, or just plain fun. Your challenge: craft a short story (up to 3000 words) inspired by that prompt and send it our way.

We’ll choose one winning story each month to feature in the Books & Blogs section of the TRU website. The winner will receive a custom illustration and a spotlight in the next newsletter.

Why?

Because we believe Readers Make Writers.

Because stories deserve to be shared.

Because your voice matters.

How to Enter:

• Watch for the prompt in the TRU Newsletter
• Write a short story (max 3000 words) inspired by it
• Email your story to carolan@station-wil.com by the last day of winter (Friday, March 20, 2026)
• Include your name, a short note about yourself if you'd like (optional), and a title for your story

Winter Story Prompt:

⭐ “Winter had one more surprise waiting.”

Let the story begin.

Two Very Special Bunny Editions:

Abby's Strawberry Patch & The Scavenger Hunt Continues!

🐇

🍓 Welcome to the Strawberry Patch with Abby🍓 Hello there — hop right in! I’m Abby, and this cozy little corner is where I share curious tidbits, bunny-sized stories, and thoughtful questions from my friends. It’s not a big advice column — more like a soft patch of clover where we can nibble on ideas together. 🎄 This time of year, the clover’s frosted and the strawberries are tucked in for a winter nap, but our stories still sparkle like snowflakes. So, grab a warm blanket, light a little candle, and let’s share some gentle wonder — together. 🍓

Hello again, snowy friends! ❄️

Have you ever wondered how wild bunnies stay warm and fed when the world turns icy and white? Guess what — we’re clever, quiet, and full of surprises!

We don’t hibernate like bears or fly south like birds. We stay tucked into our cozy nests hidden under brush piles, tree roots, or tall grasses. Our fur gets extra fluffy, and we snuggle down tight to stay warm.

As for food? We nibble on bark, twigs, and dried leaves. Sometimes we find leftover berries or hidden garden treats beneath the snow. And if we’re lucky, we discover scraps of hay or leftover garden veggies—a winter feast worth thumping about.

So next time you see tiny tracks in the snow or a twitch of ears near the hedge, you might be spotting one of us quietly making it through winter.

Stay warm, stay curious, and keep your stories hopping!

Abby's Poetry & Haiku ... Just for you!

A BUNNY HAIKU

Mouth full of carrots
Strawberries and adventures
My brain full of dreams

LETTUCE PRAY

Humble, lowly creatures bow
To songs of angels heard on high
To contagious joy that fills the air
To friendship, faith, and family.

A TASTE OF THE HOLIDAY

Strawberries, parsley
Christmas, delicious and bright
Stockings stuffed with joy

CHOICES

My snowy footprints
Icy tracks of where I’ve been
Steps ahead unmarked

JOY

A crate full of hay
A bowl filled with yum
A heart full of love
A day filled with fun.

🌼 What’s on Your Mind?

Now it’s your turn! Got a question, a story, or a silly thought? Send it my way. The Strawberry Patch is always open — and there’s room for everyone under the leaves.
📬 Write to Abby:

​abby@abbyadventurebooks.com ​
​(Abby reads every message with a little help from Sofia.)

“Tracks in the snow, a nibble of hay—who visited your patch today?” ​
—Scavenger Hunting Guide

Loonsong Lake Dispatch 🌿 A nature note from Michael McBride Michael's feature brings the wild wonder of Loonsong Lake straight to your inbox. Whether it’s a story about the estuary’s tiniest octopus, a kid-friendly guide to building mobiles that dance in the wind, or a poetic reflection from the lodge porch, this dispatch will offer gentle adventure and naturalist charm for readers of all ages. Loonsong Lake Lodge

The Wild World of Eagles and Loons

The world of birds, ornithology, is as broad and deep as the ocean itself.

Like the great ocean, this field of study is chock full of mysteries, even when we see things and document them in writing, we don’t always know what is behind what we have seen and recorded.

Eagles and loons, so different in many ways, share a certain kind of hunting intelligence in spite of the fact that each is comfortable in an environment not to the liking of the other. Anyone watching a heavy loon laboriously take off from the water can see that it is better suited for the surface of the water and comfortable under the water. The eagle is not comfortable on the water but it may be sometimes seen landing on the surface to grab a fish and then using its wings like oars, paddle to shore and dinner. Under water it would drown in minutes.

They share a clever hunting strategy which is usually not accurately interpreted by the watcher. Haliaeetus leucocephalus can dive at hunting speeds of 100mph while a loon flying straight and level, a little more than half of that.

The loon can “fly” underwater at a remarkable 20 mph. and turn on a dime allowing it to chase and catch fish. The fish of course doesn’t want to get caught. If all the loons were faster there would be fewer fish; if all the fish were faster, there would be fewer loons. A feeding group of loons is called an asylum.

At The Loonsong Mountain Lake Camp in the Kenai Alaska wilderness I have watched eagles hunting on the side of the mountain by flying fast and just skimming the tops of the brush. Following the undulations of the mountain they are able to “pop up” over a ridge surprising the ptarmigan or marmot and make the kill. The loon likewise under-water swims very fast and very close to the irregular bottom, the fish doesn’t see it coming until it “pops up” over the ridge and it becomes dinner for the hungry loon.

Careful observation of the mysteries of nature shows us that the world is full of new ways of seeing what is all around us.

** Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (órnis), meaning "bird", and λόγος (lógos), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds.

See Your Work Here in
Station WIL's Kid-Made Gallery!

📷 Send us your special pictures, sketches, or stories for the next Trail Roundup Newsletter, coming in Spring 2026. We'll only post photos of kids or adults with written permission, captions, and "by lines" for the photo used.
​carolan@station-wil.com​

Trail Markers At the beginning of 2026!

🧭📚 The Landing Page:

Dear TRU Friends,

✨ A New Trail for 2026: Serialized Stories You Can Follow

As we close 2025, we open a new trail into 2026—one that invites readers to walk alongside us, chapter by chapter. Adventure Writers Ink and Station WIL will begin sharing serialized installments from our upcoming books, letting each story arrive like a lantern on the trail.

No pressure to finish the whole book at once. Instead, each chapter becomes a milestone, a moment of discovery, and a gift to our readers.

🌿 Coming Soon! Featured Books including Short Stories, Prose, and Poetry

• Down the Long Trail by CS Norwood (AWI Old Brands Western)
  A western trilogy with stories brought back to life after a very long wait.
• The Grand Antipodes by Michael McBride (Loonsong Lake Books) The first six chapters are available now—
  Africa and Alaska - Timeless Lands of Fire and Ice
• The Sky Between Us: And the Voices That Bind Us by three sisters, including an eclectic-reader collection of poetry, prose, and reflection woven into a living archive.

Want to see what’s unfolding chapter by chapter? Click the button below to visit The AWI Landing Page and begin your journey. Once there, explore the menu for Books & Blogs — chapters and stories will be added along the trail.

🐾 Soft Paw Moments: Bailey's ready for spring thaw and play season to get fully underway! (Photo by Cara Dancer)

🕯️📚🕯️ Legacy Threads: We think the editor has frozen in place during nap time, and, like Bailey, just waiting for the spring thaw. Want to read something interesting while we all wait: Try reading the first few chapters of Station WIL ~ What It’s Like to Find Your Way, now available in Books & Blogs on The AWI Landing Page Menu.

🌲Back at the Trailhead with Teo & Patty You're always welcome back here! Especially at the start of a new year! Visit the WIL Bookshelf

Reader Invitation

✍️Let your creativity lead the way! Send us your latest poem or leave an epic haiku. Share an adventure story from your winter wanderings — you never know how it might inspire our next tale.

Haikus are like trail markers! Be sure to include a title and the date you wrote it. A short note helps, too — we’re moving deeper into journaling now, and your words light the way.

Walking a well-worn path or carving your own trail? Tell us:

“What kind of trail will you trek today?”

​carolan@station-wil.com​

HAIKUS FOR THE
TRAIL AHEAD​
​1.​
​New Year’s Trail​
Frost clings to the path,
Old boots find their rhythm back—
One step, then the next.

2.​
​January Light​
Thin sun on the snow,
A hush between breath and thought—
Hope begins again.

3.​
​Winter Winds
​Winter winds blow chill
Wrap myself in warm fleece folds
Out again I go.

4.
​Gray Days​
Gray skies, trees, and snow,
Broken not by will or whim
Paths again I trod.

​
​—By Rangers Jack & Jill, January 2026, written just for you!

​
(Send your own haiku and you might see it here in the next Trail Roundup Newsletter! Yay!!)