SEATTLE — There's a lot that's wild in Seattle — you just have to look for it.
In his new book, "Wild in Seattle," David B. Williams' gives you a tour of Seattle's wild side that you can only experience by getting off your phone and really looking for it.
"I love to be outside," Williams said. "And I think we're often told that nature is way out there somewhere."
But according to these essays, that are accompanied by illustrations from Elizabeth Person, nature is right here. It can even be found at unexpected places like at the Exchange Building at Second and Marion.
"What's gorgeous and wonderful about it for me is the rock at the base. This rock is 3.5 billion years old, and I pretty much guarantee that it is the oldest rock that anybody who walks by it will ever encounter in their life."
At a bridge over I-5 near Northgate — you'll hear tree frogs, not traffic.
"I remember walking over one night and hearing frogs over the sound of the freeway," Williams said. "There were so many of them back in that area. And those frogs are legendary because they are the frog used for Hollywood movies."
"Wild in Seattle" also reveals Seattle's horse-powered history.
"So, the two signs that we see in the city are old stables," Williams said. "There's about 3 or 4 of them left. Probably the best one is, at Blanchard and Western. And if you look at the building, it's three stories tall. And at the high point of the building, there's a big terracotta horse head."
The other sign are hitching posts.
"There's about maybe a half dozen to a dozen of these little granite hitching posts are usually about, you know, three feet tall. And they have it usually have a metal ring on it where you tie your horse up," Williams said.
Williams' favorite wild thing that calls Seattle home? The Red-Tailed Hawk.
"This gorgeous bird of prey that is such a symbol of wildness," he said. "One of the best places, really, to see them is along I-5."
If you see a guy patting a building in downtown Seattle, now you know it's just David B. Williams appreciating his wild urban home.
"Not a kumbaya moment, but how do I live in a way that is more respectful of the land and the people and the plants and animals? And that's what I hope these essays do, is get people to notice in them, enjoy them, respect them, and then ultimately, hopefully take care of them," he said.
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