Indeed, if "biology is chemistry with history," as somebody has said, then nature writing is biology with love.
Edward HoaglandHenry David Thoreau, who never earned much of a living or sustained a relationship with any woman that wasn't brotherly -- who lived mostly under his parents' roof . . . who advocated one day's work and six days "off" as the weekly round and was considered a bit of a fool in his hometown . . . is probably the American writer who tells us best how to live comfortably with our most constant companion, ourselves.
Edward HoaglandOnce I climbed into a mountain lion's cage and she bounded at me and put her paw on my face, but she kept her claws withdrawn.
Edward HoaglandCountry people do not behave as if they think life is short; they live on the principle that it is long, and savor variations of the kind best appreciated if most days are the same.
Edward HoaglandIf a walker is indeed an individualist there is nowhere he can't go at dawn and not many places he can't go at noon. But just as it demeans life to live alongside a great river you can no longer swim in or drink from, to be crowded into safer areas and hours takes much of the gloss off walking - one sport you shouldn't have to reserve a time and a court for.
Edward Hoagland