A periodic pause to intensely observe a singularly unique ecosystem sharpens one's awareness of this diverse world of ours, especially, as the author notes, if one observes a transitional ecosystem whose ecological treasures are hidden or maybe obscured by a tidal sediment's resemblance to a large, rotten cheese! "It smells, is slimy and sticky, is punched with holes and crowded with various worms." Sounds good to me! Reise's "pause" encompasses 10 years in which he investigated the Wadden Sea mudflats near the border between West Germany and Denmark. He uses this site to discuss the biotic and abiotic interactions within tidal flats in consummate detail.