Daniel Haas

“There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.”
― Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

“But there is no estimating the wit and wisdom concealed and latent in our lower fellow mortals until made manifest by profound experiences; for it is through suffering that dogs as well as Saints are developed and made perfect.”
― John Muir, Stickeen

“Then came the gadgeteer, otherwise known as the sporting goods dealer. He has draped the American outdoorsman with an infinity of contraptions, all offered as aids to self reliance, hardihood, woodcraft, or marksmanship, but too often functioning as substitutes for them. Gadgets fill the pockets, they dangle from the neck and belt. The overflow fills the auto-trunk, and also the trailer. Each item of outdoor equipment grows lighter and often better, but the aggregate poundage becomes tonnage. The traffic in gadgets adds up to astronomical sums, which are soberly published as representing the “economic value of wildlife.” But what of the cultural values?”
― Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

“They were survivors. They didn't complain. They didn't blame others for their misfortune. They worked hard and expected the same from their children. They treasured their friendships. They fought for their marriages. They wore their patriotism on their sleeves, and while they weren't naive about America's faults, they knew that no other country in the world valued their service and sacrifice as much as the United States did. They flew their flags proudly and without apology.”
― William H. McRaven, Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations