Kimberly Ridley

You might walk right by a vernal pool and not notice it. Often mistaken for mere puddles in the woods, vernal pools are the source of life for many interesting creatures. If you look carefully, you can find them-and be amazed! These secret pools form every year when low places on the forest floor fill up with rain and melted snow. They soon become home to hatching wood frogs, spotted salamanders, and fairy shrimp. Even in late summer and fall, when...

Nature is the original architect, designing and building extraordinary structures through more than four billion years of evolution, and in response to the tremendous forces of the Earth. "Wild Design celebrates stunning and functional forms in the world of animals, plants, and other organisms, as well as in earth, stone, and water. This illustrated compendium explores structures as intricate as the microscopic jewel-like diatoms, as flamboyant as...