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"We do not own these woods. They own us."
Includes 60 original illustrations by the author.
"(This book) is arresting, like the wee lesson at the end of an Aesop's fable. All who spend time in the woods ... will deeply appreciate this book." -Minneapolis Star Tribune
From the author of Ecological Identity: Finding your place in a biological world
With the eye of a biologist and the soul of an artist, Goodwin guides the reader on a personal and educational journey through the Northwoods of the Great Lakes Region. He reflects on the elegance of the evolutionary process and the interconnectedness of all living things. At times a microscopic examination of the forest floor, and at others a far-reaching gaze into the wonders of a night sky. Goodwin explores this enchanted place and the delicate dance its history, geology, and organisms have performed since before recorded time. Along the way, he asks the difficult questions about stewardship and spirituality that only connecting to nature and understanding our place in it can begin to answer.
***For original press-quality copies printed on linen cover stock, contact the publisher at: www.riverfeetpress.com***
List of contents
Introduction
Deer Mouse
White Tail Deer
Timber Wolf
Short-tailed Weasel
Cooper’s Hawk
Sugar Maple.
Spring Beauty
Wood Anemone
Spring Peeper
Jack in the Pulpit
Cope’s Gray Tree Frog
Large-Leafed Trillium
Red-Eyed Vireo
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
Snapping Turtle
White-Throated Sparrow
Bloodroot
Black-Capped Chickadee
Common Loon
Eastern Phoebe
Club Moss
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Bald Eagle
Beaver
White-Breasted Nuthatch
Chipping Sparrow
White Pine
Balsam Fir
Quaking Aspen
Black Bear
Blue-Bead Lilly
Red Fox
Smallmouth Bass
Belted Kingfisher
Black Crappie
Common Merganser
Raccoon
Great Blue Heron
Wild Rice
Bull Frog
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Canada Goose
The Night Sky
About the author
After teaching secondary science for 20 years, Timothy Goodwin is now an associate professor in the Department of Professional Education at Bemidji State University. With a M.A. and Doctorate in Education from Hamline University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from St. Olaf College, Dr. Goodwin’s research involves work in environmental education, ecological literacy and ecological identity. Goodwin has also written Ecological Identity: Finding Your Place in a Biological World, and Consider, Construct, Confirm: A New Framework for Teaching and Learning. In addition to teaching, writing and illustrating about the natural world, he is also a musician.
Find Dr. Goodwin’s blog, music and other information at www.timothygoodwin.net.
Summary
"We do not own these woods. They own us" - Timothy Goodwin
"(This book) is arresting, like the wee lesson at the end of an Aesop's fable. All who spend time in the woods ... will deeply
appreciate this book." –Minneapolis Star Tribune
Goodwin's book is an intimate journey into the Northwoods. As a biologist, musician and artist, he explores the diversity of life, from flora to fauna, who live in the forest near his cabin in the woods. This book is truly like taking a walk in nature with a good friend who has a scientific eye and the soul of an artist. Includes 60 original illustrations by the author.
Additional text
"This book provides an antidote for those who want to recover a sense of belonging and meaning. Like Thoreau, Goodwin shows that nature can help us become our truest selves and lead lives of fulfillment and joy." -David Backes, author of A Wilderness Within, and editor of A Private Wilderness
"It is the love of place, a love that many will share and find so beautifully expressed, that ties everything together and makes this volume a treasure for any cabin book shelf." -Douglas Wood, author of Old Turtle
"Within These Woods delivers an intimate and knowledgeable perspective on the flora and fauna of the Minnesota forest. It transports us from the page and into the wild. That transforms our worldview. When you really get to know something it is impossible to be ambivalent about its destruction." -Anton Treuer, author of Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask
"Goodwin's essays and drawings aren't just a walk through nature; rather, they each strive to establish the relationship between creatures and humans... Though I am a country boy, familiar with many of the animals described, each essay taught me something entirely new thanks to Goodwin's detailed observations and clear, sincere writing." -Aaron J. Brown, Host of The Great Northern Radio Show (KAXE), and author of Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range
"If you are a lover of the natural world, and the study thereof, this book will simply make you feel good." -Daniel J. Rice, author of The Unpeopled Season
