When I first started touring, back in 1989, it was in a beat up old van and I sat shotgun whenever I could. The motion of the van and the endless prairies induced a state of meditation. It's very easy to read and write in this state of motion, looking out the window for so many days and hours as you cross the country. You experience firsthand how huge Canada really is when you tour. You see the sun rise and set, and forge through the wind, sun and snow to get to your show.

I grew up spending summers in landscapes similar to a Tom Thomson painting. I feel emotionally connected to the Ontario jack pine and the rocks of Georgian Bay in a way that no tropical paradise could compete with. I love my bare feet on the rocks and running through forest paths and seeing the light filter through the trees at dusk. Changing seasons in Ontario also inspire songs. It's like an exterior mood swing that forces you to change your state and step up to the plate.

I also lived in Vancouver for 10 years, where the climate is mild and I started to become more complacent. I still wrote a lot, yet exceedingly more about rain. The rain out West is a constant drizzle, whereas in Ontario rain means "look out, take cover!” It comes down with lightning and thunder and is exciting and wild and keeps you on your toes. To be in a cabin in the woods during a thunderstorm in Ontario is the most exhilarating experience ever! You don't know if the wind will pick the cabin up and send you flying through the air.

I often describe nature to represent emotion in my songs. It's all connected for me: nature and songs.