Contents: Introduction * Clock of the Long Now * Critical flicker fusion frequency and how all animals perceive time differently CHAPTER 1: EVOLUTIONARY SPANS * Humans arrive at five seconds to midnight * The nautilus and the whale * When early man decided to ride the horse CHAPTER 2: ECOLOGICAL SPANS * Lichen growth to show pollution reduction * River regeneration * After the fire * After the flood * Lemming population fluctuations * From chaos to order, self-organizing systems in social insects * Rates of migration * How disease spreads * Occupation of a shared nesting hole by tits and other species * Seasonal ocean current migrations CHAPTER 3: LIFE SPANS * Clonal colonies (the quaking aspen called Pando) * Mahogany vs. pine * Time taken for an immortal jellyfish to die * From the very, very old to the very, very young (Galapagos tortoise to the mayfly) * The mad cat virus * Metamorphosis * Long pupations in cicadas, mayflies, and butterflies CHAPTER 4: GROWTH SPANS * Why is an elephant pregnancy so long? * Time from birth to maturity (human vs. aphid) * Parenting spans and kittens' eyes * A little older than my teeth? * A cat gives birth * A baby giraffe learns to walk * A limb regenerates (human, lizard, jellyfish) * Every breath we take (comparing respiratory rates) * Estrous cycles * In heat * Skunk rut * The melatonin effect * A circadian rhythm * Hair growth * Nail growth * Ugly ducklings (and penguins) CHAPTER 5: BEHAVIORAL SPANS * Quick to react? (springbok, fly, sloth) * Sleep tight (sloth, cat, bird) * Hibernation * For a beaver to build a kingdom * For a bowerbird to build a bower * For a weaverbird to weave a nest * Alzheimers CHAPTER 6: DECOMPOSITION SPANS * Pumpkin * Human * Aging * Whale fall * Rock erosion Further reading Index Acknowledgments.