Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau
As a short book Walden would have been great. However, it goes on for much too long. Thoreau goes "back to nature" and enjoys the experience. He likes the slower pace of life and finds way to live and feed himself there. It is a nice thought. Alas, these days it is difficult to find this type of nature close to home, let alone a place where you could self-sufficiently live. However, it was nice while it was there.
The Seattle Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from the City (Seattle) by David B. Williams
I had initially thought this book would point out interesting "natural areas" in the city. It does a bit of that. However, the focus is on "themes" of nature within the cities. There are chapters on hills and fault lines that are very place-centric. However, others cover topics such as eagles, crows, geese, bugs, and invasive species. There are many interesting nuggets in the book. Crows are very territorial, and are thriving in the city in thanks to the open space in the suburbs.
Many of the plants and animals in the city are non-native invasive species. They are able to thrive and push out many of the natives. Animals have had a love/hate relationship. At one time, significant effort was made to increase the geese population. Now, there is more often active culling.
The area occupied by Seattle had a diverse landscape before the city was developed. There were areas dominated by large evergreen trees. There were also creeks, bogs and wetlands with diverse flora and fauna. Some areas such as Carkeek Park and Thornton Creek expose some of this diversity. Other areas have long been paved over.
Many passengers had boarded the train in Spokane, expecting an eventful trip to Seattle. However, the weather was not cooperating. The snow kept going down. There was so much snow that the snow removal machines were jammed. And the snow kept coming. It was decided to park the passenger train (and a mail train) on a siding at Wellington. Some people had had enough of this and decided to leave the train and hike away through the snow. That ended up being a wise decision. The snow on the hill over the train train track loosened and came down in a massive avalanche, pushing the trains over hundred feet down the hill. Some people survived, but most of the train occupants had died.
There were lawsuits. Some blame was placed on poor labor conditions as well as bad decisions on the positioning of the train. A past forest fire that had removed the tree cover was also a contributing factor. However, in the end, the primary cause was deemed to be an unpredictable act of nature. The train line suffered some small avalanches later. They renamed the town of Wellington to "Tye" to remove the bad association. Eventually, a longer tunnel was built to avoid some of the worst parts of the line.
