Very true that!
I can't remember the last time I played something that has taken up so much of my time. The strangest part is that a lot of it is repetitive - harvest grass/logs/twigs/crops, check/layout traps, etc. - but for some reason it never feels boring. Maybe it's because I want to be prepared before exploring, so I cook food, get resources etc., then before I actually get to go anywhere - hound attack! After that I pick up the stuff, then more crops are ready, so I grab those (if crops are ready I feel I have to grab them, unless it's near winter - main reason I only use slow farms now!). I think this game is making me obsessive compulsive (or I always was and didn't know it!).
In my current game, it took me until about day 140 to find my first swamp with a decent amount of reeds in it. The stupid thing was, the whole time it was right next to two of my bases, it's just that I hadn't gotten around to actually checking that area out properly yet! To be fair it was connected via a tiny land bridge I had missed before, but still...
Actually I haven't even found the wooden thing in this game yet either, and haven't crafted any iceboxes yet due to lack of gears. Not that I wouldn't eat them anyway (I'm playing as WX)...
Did find McTusk at least, though I still haven't got the Tam O'Shanter this game (drops haven't been kind to me).