Closer to the Ground Quotes

“There's no question winter here can take a chunk out of you. Not like the extreme cold of the upper Midwest or the round-the-clock darkness of Alaska might, but rather the opposite. Here, it's a general lack of severity - monotonous flat gray skies and the constant drip-drip of misty rain - that erodes the spirit.”
― Dylan Tomine, Closer to the Ground: An Outdoor Family's Year on the Water, in the Woods and at the Table

“I am reminded of Ted Leeson’s brilliant observation that it is really we, the earthbound, who are moving, while geese “take to altitudes to stay in one place, not migrating, but hovering, while the equinoctial tilting of the earth rocks the poles back and forth beneath them.” As our northern hemisphere careens into winter shadows – taking us along with it – the geese remain forever the perfect distance from the sun. “Their seasonal appearance,” Leeson writes, “denotes your passing, not their own.” LIGHT IN THE FOREST”
― Dylan Tomine, Closer to the Ground: An Outdoor Family's Year on the Water, In the Woods and at the Table

“From the first night we heard the barred owl’s distinctive, four-note call – frequently described as “who cooks for you?” but to me sounding more like “whoo, whoo, huh-whoo?” – echoing through our woods,”
― Dylan Tomine, Closer to the Ground: An outdoor family's year on the water, in the woods and at the table