Shows / Street Smart Naturalist
Street Smart Naturalist
A free newsletter oriented toward building stronger connections to place through stories of human and natural history in the Pacific Northwest
streetsmartnaturalist.substack.com
Episodes
Street Smart NaturalistThe Cascades’ Most Commanding View
The summit of Darland Mountain is nothing special compared to other classic Cascades’ peaks. No crags, cliffs, or steep rocky parts, it’s flat and open and…
Street Smart NaturalistPikas, Mountain Goats, and the Milky Way
Marjorie and I had a lovely trip up into the Cascades this past weekend, the highlights of which were pikas, a mountain goat, and the Milky Way. We were…
Street Smart NaturalistA Writer’s Life: Beware of Scams
If you don’t mind, here’s a bit of a deviation from my normal writing. Readers often wonder about the writing life, and what authors do after a book is…
Street Smart NaturalistThe Grace of Geese
Canada Geese graced my morning run the other day. A flight of the big honkers was skimming the sky, heeding the call of the seasons and traveling south. As…
Street Smart NaturalistOf Oaks, Acorns, and Ants
Originally posted in October 2021 and still relevant as this seems to be a good mast year. Over the past few weeks, I have been enjoying the acorns along…
Street Smart NaturalistCoyote vs Seattle
Alas for coyotes, they face one serious issue in Seattle; no roadrunners grace the wilds of my fair city. But perhaps this may be a saving grace. Instead of…
Street Smart NaturalistPoopitalism: The Exploitation of Dung
Marjorie reminded me that I hadn’t written about poop in a while. Sadly, that is correct, so I thought I’d remedy the situation. Her comment came when we were…
Street Smart NaturalistThe Wolf Flower - Lupine
In June 1982, ecologists Charlie Crisafulli and Jim McMahon were surveying the Pumice Plain at Mount St. Helens. Traveling by helicopter, they were seeking out…
Street Smart NaturalistOf Ancient Trees and Young Lava
If you have been reading my newsletter for some time, you know that I have a deep and abiding love for Douglas firs. They have appeared as a subject many…
Street Smart NaturalistThe Biggest Burn: Yacolt 1902
2026 is turning into one of the worst fire seasons in Washington history. The reasons are many: a fourth straight year of drought, unusually hot weather…
Street Smart NaturalistVampire Deception
Plants in the genus Castilleja have long been one my wife’s favorite wildflowers. Not simply because they are lovely bursts of color exciting the landscape…
Street Smart NaturalistGhosts of Seattle's Industrial Past
It’s been a while since I wrote a strictly urban newsletter so thought I’d return to that subject this week. Specifically, I’d like to address two features in…
Street Smart NaturalistAttention Seekers
The kid started screaming the other night. We first heard the cries on a walk near our house. They were high pitched and short, lasting just a second at most…
Street Smart NaturalistIntention to Attention
My good friend Andy Nettell has what I call the intention to attention. By this I mean that he goes outside seeking to be a good observer. He does this not…
Street Smart NaturalistRock v. Stone: The Great Conundrum
Rock or Stone? Questions such as this that have tempted many of the great minds over the centuries. Not surprisingly, I, too, a geogeek, have pondered this…
Street Smart NaturalistStrait Ahead - Juan de Fuca
Ever since I started work on my book about Puget Sound, Homewaters, I have wanted to travel in a boat down the length of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Last week…
Street Smart NaturalistWhat's In a Pronoun
Three years ago, I sent out a newsletter about the use of the word it to refer to animals. Now that I am more experienced with trying to meet this goal and to…
Street Smart NaturalistA Man Who Stares At Goats
Rarely does one have the opportunity, or perhaps, challenge of standing face to face with a large, hairy, stiletto-horned beast. My wife and I did this week…
Street Smart NaturalistPikas: Engineers in the High Country
We saw our first pika of the season. I didn’t expect to do so. We were on a bouldery debris slope at about 4,700 feet in elevation—ideal pika habitat—but the…
Street Smart NaturalistShipwrecks of Lake Union
Many years ago, I started a book project about stories buried in Seattle. One of my favorites was the discovery during excavation for Light Rail of Yiddish…
Street Smart NaturalistOf Ditches and Fantastic Fishes
Over the past two weeks I have had the pleasure of visiting some less-than-favorable habitat. The first was a sort of pond under crackling power lines, the…
Street Smart NaturalistMy Wife: The Rattlesnake Dowser
Last weekend we ventured over the Cascade divide to the dry, east side of our fair state. We spent three nights in a sort of modified shed at Rimrock Lake…
Street Smart NaturalistMount St. Helens: 46 Years After the Big Blast
As has happened every year since 1981, we in the PNW noted the anniversary this week of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. At 8:32 AM on May 18, 1980, the…
Street Smart NaturalistHow Not to Harness a River
A poured concrete block the size of a Sprinter van is not something one normally finds in a river. Even less likely is finding an additional 21 such blocks…
Street Smart NaturalistAn Urban Scavenger Hunt
With spring in the air and more and more people getting out and enjoying the loveliness, I thought I’d return to a scavenger hunt I put together several years…
Street Smart NaturalistSpring Fling
Spring has long been my favorite season, primarily because the weather is so mutable. This week we topped 70 degrees, had fog and rain and a few sunbreaks, and…
Street Smart NaturalistDinosaurs Among Us
Birds are dinosaurs. “This is one of the greatest achievements in the history of paleontology,” writes Steve Brusatte, in his splendid new book, The Story of…
Street Smart NaturalistSalmon, the Locks, and the Ship Canal
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of launching my newest book, Seattle’s Locks and Ship Canal: A History and Guide. Written with my friend and Executive…
Street Smart NaturalistYa Old Coot
Do you know who produces super cute babies? Many animals, of course, but I was completely surprised to learn how über darling coot babies are. Unlike their…
Street Smart NaturalistThe Geology of Whales
Marjorie and I had the opportunity to see a whale again (see Whale Tales for our previous whaling experience) the other day. We weren’t on a boat. In fact, we…
Street Smart NaturalistWoody Woodpecker...Not!
My guess is that many urban dwellers, particularly in Seattle, have heard the sounds of Northern Flickers. With a rapid, rhythmic banging, the birds pound all…
Street Smart NaturalistThe Windshield Phenomenon
Recently, I experienced a natural history phenomenon I haven’t in many years: Marjorie and I had to stop to wash the bugs off our windshield. We were in the…
Street Smart NaturalistA Love Letter to Libraries
Last week, I had the honor and pleasure to be part of the King County Library System’s annual fundraising event: Literary Lions. The theme of the event was…
Street Smart NaturalistSeattle Shakes
Twenty five years and five days ago, the earth shook in Seattle. Although the Big One didn’t hit that day, I doubt I will forget the seconds following 10:54…
Street Smart NaturalistWhale Tales
Recently, I had the good fortune to time travel back to when giants ruled the Earth. Well, sort of. I was down in Loreto, Mexico, and got to see the largest…
Street Smart NaturalistCreating a Book: In the Range of Fire and Ice
Nearly four years ago I sent a short email to my friend Emily White, Acquisitions Editor at Mountaineers Book: “Might you have 20 to 30 minutes to chat about a…
Street Smart NaturalistStatus Symbols
On a recent trip down to Tucson, we flew on Alaska Airlines. They were promoting their new mileage plan touting the changes and upgrades and wonderful reasons…
Street Smart NaturalistDead Trees Tell No Lies: The Electron Mudflow
In October of 2023, I published a newsletter about scientists using tree rings to date the Seattle Fault. I wrote: “It is a tour de force and beautiful example…
Street Smart NaturalistBirding by Butt: The Mobile Edition
Last week, my wife and I and two pals of ours participated in one of the finer known BBB events, driving around the lower Stillaguamish, Skagit, and Samish…
Street Smart NaturalistAn Ode to My Bike
I hope you’ll indulge me with an off topic newsletter about an important event in my life. Thanks kindly. I recently gave away my old bike. It was the end of…
Street Smart NaturalistGrub Steaks
N.B. - I apologize if you get this twice. When I first sent it, Substack was having an issue and it was unclear if this newsletter was actually sent. Thanks…
Street Smart NaturalistGrub Steaks
Walk around Seattle and you will observe what for many is a disturbing sight: green lawns with what looks like mange, or areas of shredded and denuded turf…
Street Smart NaturalistTen Reasons to be an Urban Naturalist
Thought I’d start my year of newsletters with a sort of summation of why I like to do what I do. And, everyone loves a list! * Birding by butt - Why get up and…
Street Smart NaturalistPortrait of the Writer as a Young Historian
With the holidays upon us, I thought I’d take a quick and lighter spin to my subject, which happens to be me, in my youth. Plus, as you can tell, I decided to…
Street Smart NaturalistScarcely Fit For Food
On September 2, 1834, naturalist John Kirk Townsend camped near the Umatilla River in eastern Oregon. Joining him were the fellow members of an exploring…
Street Smart NaturalistLower case r regrades
Often when I am out on a run, I like to go through alleys instead of sticking to streets. Mostly I do so to see new areas, plus, I always hope that I’ll see…
Street Smart NaturalistOf Wolves and Monsters
We recently watched Guillermo del Toro’s new film of Frankenstein. Many critics have noted that the movie hews more faithfully to Mary Shelley’s novel than…
Street Smart NaturalistHappy Thanksgiving 2025
Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving to all. I thought I’d try an acrostic to celebrate the holiday and share a few highlights of my year. Hiking - I was fortunate…
Street Smart NaturalistTrees of a Feather Flock Together
I have long been pleased in my travels around Seattle to encounter what plant expert Arthur Lee Jacobson called the “ubiquitous exclamation point” of trees—the…
Street Smart NaturalistThere's Copper in Them Thar Hills
Mount St. Helens is best known for the epic eruption of 1980 when it spewed its guts 90,000 feet in the air and spread the debris around the globe. Far less…
Street Smart NaturalistWeather Marathoners
In the August 24, 1897, Hartford Courant, the editorial contained an infamous line: “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”…
Street Smart NaturalistSpider friends
Spiders rarely get much empathy, in real life or in fiction. Often depicted as scary, evil, repulsive, deadly, malevolent, and horrible, they seem for many, to…
Street Smart NaturalistOverlooked and Underloved
Probably many of you know of the overlooked little sibling, who loses out in attention to her or his elder. And, yet, that youngster certainly deserves to be…
Street Smart NaturalistThe Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
The contrast couldn’t be greater. One moment I am in the Iwate Tsunami Memorial Museum in Rikuzentakada, Japan, watching videos of The Great East Japan…
Street Smart NaturalistWhat the Dickens
For many years, I have been a fan of Charles Dickens’ novels. In case you didn’t know, he was quite the writer. His books are funny, atmospheric, and rich in…
Street Smart NaturalistThe Tides They are A-Changin'
Several years ago, Marjorie and I and Taylor (our pooch) decided to canoe the Duwamish River in Seattle. Our plan was to put in just above the sort of…
Street Smart NaturalistDead Trees Still Tell No Lies
Recently, I had the good fortune to be interviewed by Bellamy Pailthorp, the environmental reporter at KNKX radio. We chatted about my Dead Trees Tell No Lies…
Street Smart NaturalistA Bounty of Berries
This past weekend we hiked up to Marmot Pass. Called by one guide book writer the Champagne Walk of the Olympic Mountains, it is famed for its wildflowers. We…
Street Smart NaturalistFrom Tide Pools to the Stars and Back
Last week, I had the privilege of seeing one of the most famous boats to ply the Pacific Ocean: the Western Flyer. Built in Tacoma in 1937 for the sardine…
Street Smart NaturalistLava. Lava. Lava!
On August 20, 1853, future Civil War general George McClellan camped along Wenas (or Wee_Nass, as he wrote it) Creek, about 15 miles northwest of Yakima. It…