“A rewarding and enriching fusion of traditional wisdom, science and first-hand experience.” —Tristan Gooley, author of The Natural Navigator, and How to Read Nature




Drawing from a similar
lifestyle and environmental ethic as Henry D. Thoreau and Aldo Leopold, Babcock
has lived more than two decades off-grid deep in the forest near the headwaters
of the Mississippi River. Here he has discovered a balance in the interconnectedness
of all life in the woods, and derived his sustenance from hunting, fishing,
gardening, gathering wild food, providing water from a hand-pump well and
minimal electricity from the sun. He befriended an Ojibwe Elder, Chi-Ma’iingan
(Big Wolf), from whom he learned the Seven Grandfather Teachings (Wisdom, Love,
Respect, Courage, Honesty, Humility, and Truth). Each of these seven teachings are represented by an animal. In this collection, Babcock
shares his love of the natural world through a unique land ethic that combines
the ideology of Thoreau and Leopold, and that which he learned from
Chi-Ma’iingan.




Babcock proposes a radical
shift in how Americans support our environment and wildlife. He was recently
featured in the documentary films: MEDICINE OF THE WOLF,
and WOLF SPIRIT.




From these pages: “We
must stop seeing the natural world as a commodity and start seeing it as we
would see a family member—something to love, protect, care for, and cherish.”