The Wild City

I love nature, I love the city. I love finding wildness in the cracks and crevices of civilization. I'm usually in Seattle.

[oddity-txt]

So I found this caterpillar on my way to class

We’re bros

[oddity-txt]

I named him chicken nugget

[oddity-txt]

Aaaa he’s turning a duller color… I hope he’s alright

[oddity-txt]

So apparently chicken nugget is a spicebush swallowtail and they turn yellow before they pupate. He was making little silk things everywhere Bruh this caterpie is going to evolve to metapod today my boy isn’t messing around

[oddity-txt]

update hes entirely yellow now

[oddity-txt]

i made him a tube room

hes crawlin all over the place checking it out

[oddity-txt]

its happening

[oddity-txt]

False alarm he moved a bit This guy

[oddity-txt]

??? caterpie doesnt evolve into kakuna

[oddity-txt]

whats he doing

[oddity-txt]

its happening part 2 For Real This Time

[oddity-txt]

chicken nugget using those advanced tactics balancing my man doesnt do anything halfway

[oddity-txt]

i put on some tunez for him so he can get into the metamorphazone

[oddity-txt]

sorry for keeping you all in suspense but chicken nugget is doing fine and he has a cool hat now

hes been chillin like this for a couple days 

[oddity-txt]

hes been in cocoon for 10 days now 🎉🐛🎉

[rebecca-lotto]

let me know how he’s doing soon

[oddity-txt]

HES BUSTIN OUT

[oddity-txt]

im going to sleep, chicken nugget is snoozin and ill check up on him as soon as i wake up

hope he doesnt party too hard 

🐛 💤 💤

[oddity-txt]

hes gone goth hes in his emoteen stage

[oddity-txt]

CHICKEN NUGGET IS A CHICKEN WING NOW BABY WE HAVE LIFTOFF!!!!!

[oddity-txt]

hes’s in a bigger container than the one in the pic now but im gonna let my home boy find his way in the world after he gets used to his wings a little bit

[oddity-txt]

this kid doesnt have a bad angle dang

[oddity-txt]

https://youtu.be/TwpFUQzvRp0

there he goes he’s free and im so proud and a little sad

this was an incredible experience

(thats my family oohing and ahhing in the background)

[thewildcity]

Amazing! Looks like @oddity-txt took good care of the little papilio.

[thewildcity]

Snow is my favorite. I love when it comes down, I love when it lays on the tree branches and piles up on everyday objects making them fluffy and strangely beautiful. I love driving in it (usually) and walking in it (especially). We don't get much of it here in Seattle, which makes it even more special when we do. (I took a picture of my car because it's Sylvie's first drive in the snow and she did great) ❤️😊❄️🚗👍 Happy Friday everyone!

[thewildcity]

This is from about a week ago, but God I love this time of year. #trees #autumn #nofilter

[thewildcity]

This spider has been feasting for the past two hours on its moth prey. #breakfastisthemostimportantmealoftheday

[thewildcity]

Almost translucent, mint green. Baby grasshopper, climb those school stairs. (at Cascadia Elementary School)

[thewildcity]

I'm excited to finally share my new website and blog with you. It's nothing too fancy, but who doesn't love a fresh start? Link in bio, or at sarahjwheeler.com

[thewildcity]

Our urban skins

I decided to start this blog because I suspect I am not alone. I suspect there are others who, like me, love being surrounded by nature, wildlife, and the surprise revelations they bring. But we also love cities. We love the way moss grows in tree trunks and between sidewalk cracks. We love the way birds speak with each other and their human neighbors. We love the occasional sight of a heron, raccoon–heck even a squirrel. Or, most serendipitous of all, a bald eagle. Without leaving the city limits.

One of my personal nature writing heroes is Terry Tempest Williams, and yet for all the good she has done for wilderness conservation, and for women, and for humanity, I feel she might have misunderstood cities:

“When we are in our urban skin, what we know is largely translated through television, radio, billboards, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet, the fast-paced conversations we catch on the run. We maneuver our way through a maze of shimmering surfaces, concrete, glass, and asphalt. Speed is our adaptation to an abstract life.

"In wildness, we can saunter, every step creates a more informed muscle. The depth of a canyon as it twists and turns corresponds with the surprises and complexities of our own minds now free to wander. We cover more ground than we ever thought possible. We stop at a pool and see the reflection of our post-Paleolithic selves.” –Terry Tempest Williams, “Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert”

What she says of cities is certainly possible, maybe even the tendency. But I believe in sauntering through the city, stopping to catch my reflection in a puddle of water, and letting my mind wander as I point myself home with a bag of groceries.

I want to show, and invite others to see and share, that it’s not either/or. Either you live at breakneck speed with a media-saturated conscience, or you live in a more rural environment, able to access wilderness easily. I don’t like either/or’s–they almost always feel like false dualisms. There’s a third option. To see the ways in which nature exerts her wildness all over our cities, to stop and see it, and to say, you are beautiful.

[thewildcity]

I made friends with a very cute, very flirty young man on my walk this afternoon. Check out his eyes. What a heartthrob! (at Shoreline Interurban Trail)

[thewildcity]

I noticed this bright orange berry today, in a groundcover I walk by almost every day. I didn't notice berries last year, but here they are! Like fluorescent raspberries. I looked up "groundcover orange berries" and learned that the plant is Formosa Carpet Raspberry (Rubus calcynoides). The berries are tasty, but again, I wouldn't eat these particular berries since the plant is urban roadside landscaping. I don't want to think of all the heavy metal particulates that have settled on this plant from car exhaust. Still, it's a beauty to look at. Grows well in sun or shade. Evergreen leaves. Pretty cool! #thewildcity #theunseencity

[thewildcity]

I tried to identify the fledgling and adult bird that landed on the ledge outside my second floor office. Best guess is a tree sparrow? Little one was trying to fly, cheeping constantly. Eventually mom came over, gave fledgling a little snack and flew off. The fledgling eventually made it off the ledge safely and out of sight. Good luck, little fella!! #thewildcity #theunseencity

[thewildcity]

This is Melissa officinalis, or lemon balm, growing feral in the streetside landscaping by my office. It can flavor ice cream and tea, and is also used for its essential oil. This particular crop is probably polluted by all the exhaust from cars passing by, but even just to pinch a leaf between my fingers is bliss. #thewildcity #theunseencity

[thewildcity]

Me and @nathanjwheeler enjoying a reading by @unseencitybook at Town Hall. I can't wait to read this book--its theme is close to my heart. Glad you came to Seattle, Nathanael Johnson! (at Town Hall Seattle)

[thewildcity]

RIP Corvus brachyrhynchos. #thewildcity #unseencity (at Shoreline, Washington)

[thewildcity]

Baby spiders on the mailbox. They started out as a small clump & I thought maybe mold or pollen. Then when I opened the mailbox they unfurled and began repairing their little web. #thewildcity #unseencity

[claireoleson]

~I have a flash fiction piece published in Newfound Journal~

it’s here: http://newfoundjournal.org/current-issue/flash-claire-oleson/

[thewildcity]

And it’s such a captivating piece.

[thewildcity]

THE WILD. There are so many things I love about this brand-spanking new themed issue of @newfoundorg. In fact, I love everything about it. Check it out, link in profile. newfound.org 💙💚💛🐺🦁🏞🌪🔥

[thewildcity]

sunshine never smelled so sweet (at Sky Nursery)