Dormant Seasons is a portrait of my home through the lens of the cyclical land we inhabit. Like the earth, human behavior revolves around the sun. We operate on cycles of warm and cold, awake and asleep, light and shadow. Winter, a time of rest before the verdant bloom of summer, is dormant on the surface, but when experienced or examined closely, it is alive with a warmth that deepens our sense of place and defines our sense of home. This essay – in all its peculiar character – is a microcosm of the larger story of America’s soil and streams, a personal narrative of the cycles and traditions that inextricably, exquisitely, tie us to the land.