Street Smart Naturalist

On July 14, 1884, a short article appeared in the Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer. It noted that artist H. Wellge had just completed “the finest view of Seattle ever taken.” The image was of the bir…

This past weekend, Marjorie and I and friends went walking in a splendid, wooded area, Taylor Mountain. Like other forested spots near Seattle that have been protected by the city, county, state, or …

Alas, it’s back to me after last week’s lovely interlude by Marjorie.

“The point is that the pleasures of spring are available to everybody, and cost nothing. Even in the most sordid street the coming…

Hello from Marjorie, the wife often referred to in David’s writing. In honor of David’s birthday week, I offered to write a newsletter and give readers some insight into the man behind the Street Sma…

I am excited to announce that Wild in Seattle: Stories at the Crossroads of People and Nature is now on sale in bookstores. My first thanks goes to Mountaineers Books for all of their hard work in cr…

In early January, I wrote about one my favorite images of Seattle, August Koch’s 1891 Bird’s Eye View. I’d now like to return to another similar map: Eli Sheldon Glover’s 1878 Bird’s-Eye View of the …

We ventured down to Arizona last week to attend the amazing Tucson Book Festival: 130,000 attendees and 320 authors. It’s a book dork’s idea of heaven.

While down in the desert, we saw two, curious n…

Over the weekend, I went out for a quick walk around our neighborhood, which I have done thousands of times. So it was rather exciting to discover something new. In particular, I walked on a path I h…

Recently on a walk at Dungeness Spit on the Olympic Peninsula, my wife and I saw a curious phenomenon. If you haven’t been out to this five-mile finger of sand and driftwood, you are missing out. It’…

Many, many years ago, I was a national park ranger at Arches National Park and the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site. As a ranger, I led tours, helped people understand what they were seei…

I hope you’ll put up with a bit of self-indulgence and promotion. I am excited to announce that the new, updated edition of Seattle Walks is now available in bookstores. Here’s the skinny on it.

In th…

Few natural story tellers are better than snow. Or more ephemeral. I was lucky enough to read some of the stories told by snow in Seattle’s recent snowmageddon. For those not from my fair city, we go…

Last week I had the privilege of touring Seattle’s new waterfront park with my friend Owen Oliver. A writer and artist, he has been a key consultant to park designers highlighting Coast Salish priori…

Since election day, the president has issued a vast and horrible horde of executive orders. Most have been short-sighted and narrow-minded. Many have been racist, mean-spirited, and vindictive. Other…

I like to think I am pretty good at reading maps. I understand topo lines and can tell a valley from a ridge from a summit. I know to look for scale and that sometimes 39-foot cliffs don’t show up on…

2025 began with a burst of color in our yard. Along the wall in our backyard, I spotted a patch of brilliance, the astonishing yellow-gold of a slime mold. It looked a bit like a two-dimensional broc…

I have long been enamored with maps so I thought I’d begin 2025 by exploring one of my favorite’s. In 1891, Augustus Koch produced his Bird’s Eye View of Seattle, a glorious illustration of the city.…

Happy Holidays to all.

A couple of weeks ago I explored the world of ghost creeks in Seattle. Now, I’d like to turn to ghost lakes. Like ghost creeks, these are bodies of water that have been overlook…

As a map and geography dork, one of my little pleasures is being a gnomon. This is particularly true when my shadow is directly in front of me as I walk north on a city street. When that happens, I k…

One of my joys of discovery is heading down an absorbing path of seeking out more information in newspapers and scientific journals, reaching out to friends and colleagues, or delving into the books …