Loved, loved, loved this beautifully written, seasonally-organized guide to discovering the natural world hidden in overlooked urban spaces. Brenner's careful observations of the tiny creatures most of us never bother to look at, much the less really see (such as tardigrades, damsel flies, spiders) ...more
What a wonderful book! Kelly Brenner is a great writer and does very well in describing the nature around her in the city. She has a great way of getting you interested in creatures you hadn't thought about before. I learned about musk rats, slime molds and other cool things. Definitely recommended! ...more
This book kept my mental state from scraping the very bottom of its capacity when COVID really started flaming, and for that I will be forever grateful. It is just a really lovely (and totally fascinating!) ode to different life forms, most of them tiny (slime molds! tardigrades!) that the author, a ...more
While I don't live in Washington (or a biome anything like it), this is a great walk through the myriad and diverse life we can encounter in urban and suburban areas. It has inspired me to think about building a nature pond in my backyard. There is also a great section on how to be an urban naturali ...more
I very much enjoyed this book. Natural history books are often hard to balance as one can fall too easily into narratives or into annotated bibliographies, but Ms. Brenner finds a nice balance in here. Moving seamlessly across phyla she demonstrates an infectious curiosity. I enjoyed the collections ...more
Educational. Inspiring. Set in Seattle, the author details her urban naturalist adventures. From her pond to Puget Sound to far-flung slime mold samples, the author narrates her love of the world we live in. This books inspired me to be a more curious, more observant person and to encourage this cur ...more
I was a bit disappointed in this one, although probably because it didn't match with my expectations. I expected this to be about nature you can find in an urban setting, but with a few exceptions (hummingbirds, crows, tardigrades) this was all about creatures she found in very wild places. I was ho ...more
For a city dweller, this book is the perfect guide on observing nature in the urban environment. The author points out that urban wildlife is more diverse than most areas just beyond it, and to appreciate it all you simply have to “get your eyes in”, as the British say about close observation.
Oh, how I wish I'd pursued biology, ecology, botany and more instead of doing what I did at Uni. I'm forever attracted to and engrossed in natural history. Brenner's book is a joy to read and provided me with a big fix of natural history education. I'll be looking for more by her. Those of you who a ...more
Delightful read for anyone who lives in Seattle or who wants some extra inspiration to take in the glorious, little natural details in their world... To not just observe them, but to learn and discover their stories. It was so fun to walk through Seward Park and stumble upon the sword fern die off o ...more
This is a lovely, gently written nature book set in Pacific North west largely where the author could easily ramble. The chapter on dragonflies was particularly lovely. This is a relatively small not too expensive book for anyone who wants to know more about what is under his feet or above his head ...more
This is a very informative book, especially pertinent if you reside in the PACNW. The chapters on Anna's Humingbirds, mosses, Dragonflys and Damselflies and Arachnids were especially well done. ...more
Just delightful. An enhanced awareness of the natural world around us and the complexities of relationship. The book itself is not complex. What a great read! ...more