Welcome to Drenched: Field Notes from the Watersheds of the Salish Sea

May 10, 2019

This blog is a place for us to express the love we have for the Salish Sea and all its spectacular and beleaguered watersheds. This site is our exploration of science, adventure, connection, and wild living things in this region. Before anything else, I’d like to communicate my honest respect and acknowledgment of the Peoples … More Welcome to Drenched: Field Notes from the Watersheds of the Salish Sea

Undergrowth

April 27, 2021

Part I The apartment had a view down the slope of Seattle’s Capitol Hill. My windows showed several square acres of warehouses roofs and other apartment buildings. It was as if I lived in the nose-bleed section of the bleachers, and these buildings slouched down in their seats watching the freeway. My elegant brick building … More Undergrowth

New Orleans

June 25, 2020

by Mallory Clarke Getting Clued: Nine Years Old A boy, taller than me, leans into my face and asks, “Are you that girl, last name Clark?” It’s 1962 and my mom, dad, two sisters and I have moved into a house in west Seattle. I’m going to a two-story brick school with acres of play … More New Orleans

Black Poets on Nature

June 24, 2020

This is a very partial list. May I recommend, Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry edited by Camille Dungy and published in 2009 by University of George Press. (Thanks to Barbara Johnstone for recommending it to me.) Ross Gay https://www.slowdownshow.org/episode/2019/07/02/397-a-small-needful-fact C. S. Giscombe https://poets.org/poem/portland-parish-blue-mountains https://poets.org/poem/first-dream Amber Flora Thomas https://poets.org/poem/bird-hand https://cavecanempoets.org/poetstour/amber-flora-thomas/ Major Jackson … More Black Poets on Nature

Going Astray

February 26, 2020

by Kate Porter In the middle of the night, lying awake in bed, I paint pictures of birds in my mind’s eye to soothe myself back to sleep. Tonight, I’m painting a picture of a dark-eyed junco. I’ve read that there are six, somewhat distinct, populations of dark-eyed juncos in North America, but I only … More Going Astray

Dead Fish

January 29, 2020

by Mallory Clarke Shining silver bodies arcing up into the air, they seem like giant scaled fingers reaching upstream, clawing over riffles and cascades, dying to reach their spawning grounds. Salmon are our region’s silver wealth. Body by single body, they hoist nutrients from the sea up the sides of mountains where bears, trees, and … More Dead Fish

Mole Woman

July 8, 2019

by Mallory Clarke It was 10 o’clock on a wet November night, and I was peaceably leaning over the kitchen sink washing dishes in the dark when my roommates burst in, flicked on the light, and startled me within an inch of a heart attack.  Of course, they thought this was funny.  My custom is … More Mole Woman