INTRODUCTION In a mini-proverb, Jesus asks us to "Consider the lilies of the field..." reminding his listeners that these wildflowers are divinely clothed, and are even more glorious than King Solomon in full royal vestment. The natural world, then, is a place to rediscover the splendor of God's creation and our ancestral Eden, to ponder deeply humanity's role within it, and to realize and act upon our entrusted responsibility for it. These concerns are strong in the Golden State. Few corners of our dazzling planet are more naturally blessed than California, a region lavished with natural riches in amazing variety. Even Nob Hill, the Grace Cathedral site, once harbored a rich tapestry of wildlife (see Tales -- Lost Worlds). Summarized in Grace Cathedral's California granite and California redwood High Altar, our state's bounty extends from the granite peaks of the Sierra to the pristine desert, from the golden oak-lined hills to the fog-wrapt coastal redwood groves, from colorful tidepools to ocean kelp forests. These multiple habitats support a vast variety of plant and animal life; from California poppies to valley oaks, from dragonflies to black bears, from wild strawberries to monkey flowers, from kangaroo rats to condors, from shooting stars to Monterey cypress, from anemones to humpback whales. It is this life -- California wildlife in all its stunning diversity and glory -- that dances across the cathedral's needlepoint choir stall seats, and is the subject of this feature. Climate change, overpopulation, overharvesting of nature, soaring energy demands, and bloated lifestyles are some of the pressing and fundamental environmental challenges humanity, especially Americans, must now confront. The future of the planetary environment has become recognized as a moral issue, perhaps the most grave issue of our time, and environmental awareness is growing fast around the globe. Earth itself has become the Ark and we are all called to be latter-day Noahs. As long as people have the God-given will and ability to find solutions, as long as we recognize our ancient home, the natural world, as our true Eden- a wellspring of spiritual and biological life, there is hope for life on our amazing home planet. William Hick's painting "The Peacable Kingdom", envisions a world where all life is at peace and harmony, where antipathy is banished and innocence rediscovered, where compassionate love is the driving force. Saint Francis also expressed that love through his delight in the natural world and its creatures; brothers and sisters in God's splendid creation. The vision of the heavenly city, the second Eden, for which Grace Cathedral is an architectural metaphor, reinforces that age-old ideal (see Tales -- A Cathedral Bestiary). In that spirit of delight and compassion for all life, we present our fourth web site feature, an exploration of the abundant flora and fauna of California as depicted in the sanctuary and choir needlepoint of Grace Cathedral. The kneelers/cushions are in two groups, California Diocesan Wildflowers -- the sanctuary kneelers, and California Fauna -- clergy stall, choir stall and (selected) choir wall stall seat cushions and related kneelers. Pass your cursor over images to see numbers, which refer to animal or plant names listed below each image. Background information on each series follows the last cushion or kneeler description in the series. Most duplicate or immature animals are not named, and some plants are not named. California wildflower kneelers are listed as arranged, from left to right at the front (east) railing of the cathedral sanctuary. California fauna choir seat cushions are arranged as follows; Clergy Stall and Cathedra cushions from front to back in the south choir, front (east) (left to right); Farallon Islands, Sierra Nevada, and selected wall stall seat cushions from front to back in the south choir rear (west) (left to right); Monterey Bay, (aisle) Shore/Wetlands, Deep Sea, (aisle) Pastorale, and selected wall stall seat cushions from front to back in the south choir (left to right). Click here for general background information on these series. For full lists of common and scientific California wildflower, wildlife and plant names, names of stitchers and memorials, and environmental links, click here to go to the Appendices section. Photographs by Brent Andrew, Canon for Communications, text by Michael D. Lampen, Archivist, preparation by Kate Kilbourne, web master, and Maurice Tani, designer. Text and photographs copyright © by Grace Cathedral.