From the interactive clockwork world of geology, tides, Northwest weather and snow, to the hidden roles of dirt, stream life and mosses and lichens, Pulitzer Prize winning writer William Dietrich explores the natural splendours of the Pacific Northwest. His topics include alder and cedar; jellyfish, geoducks, crabs and killer whales; mosquitoes and spiders; gulls, crows and bald eagles; and sea otters, coyotes, raccoons, possums, deer and cougars. This informative selection of natural history essays is adapted from articles published in the "Seattle Times" magazine, Pacific Northwest. A native Washingtonian, Dietrich has watched the Northwest double in population during his lifetime. Our rapidly changing view of nature is an underlying theme throughout his wide-ranging essays, as is the timely and essential question of how best to share and conserve the natural world that drew us to the region in the first place.