{"product_id":"ephemeral-by-nature-stephen-lyn-bales-9781621903543","title":"Ephemeral by Nature: Exploring the Exceptional with a Tennessee Naturalist","description":"\u003cp\u003e \"Reading \u003ci\u003eEphemeral by Nature\u003c\/i\u003e is the next best thing to talking a walk with Stephen Lyn Bales. In addition to describing the plants and animals readers will encounter, Bales scouts out hidden side trails. A look at jack-in-the-pulpit will turn up dinosaurs, Darwin, and \u003ci\u003eFinding Nemo\u003c\/i\u003e, and consideration of cerulean warblers will lead to coffee in Columbia and a discussion of why the sky is blue. Each chapter begins with one of his delightful drawings, and you'll find Bales' artistic eye is as discerning and detailed as his writing.\"--Patricia K. Lichen, author of \u003ci\u003ePassionate Slugs and Hollywood Frogs\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eKidnapping the Wild One\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In this captivating collection of twelve essays, a testament to a lifetime's fascination with the outdoors and its myriad wonders, naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales examines a variety of flora and fauna that in one way or another can be described as \"ephemeral\"--that is, fleeting, short-lived, or transient. \u003cp\u003e Focusing on his native East Tennessee, Bales introduces us to several oddities, including the ghost plant, a wispy vascular plant that resembles a rooster's tail and grows mainly in areas devoid of sunlight; the Appalachian panda, an ancestor of today's red panda that wandered the region millions of years ago and whose fossil remains have only recently been discovered; and the freshwater jellyfish, a tiny organism that is virtually invisible except for those hot summer days when clusters of them bloom into shimmering \"medusae,\" sometimes by the thousands. Other essays consider such topics as the plight of the monarch butterfly, a gorgeous insect whose populations have dropped by 90 percent in only the last two decades; the reintroduction of the lake sturgeon, one of nature's most primitive and seldom-seen fish, into the waters of the Tennessee Valley; and the surprising emergence of coyote-wolf and coyote-dog hybrids in the eastern states. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Written with insight, humor, and heart, \u003ci\u003eEphemeral by Nature\u003c\/i\u003e is as entertaining as it is instructive. Along with a wealth of biological details--and his own handsome pen-and-ink drawings--Bales fills the book with delightful anecdotes of field trips, species-protection efforts, and those thrilling occasions when some elusive member of the natural order shows itself to us, if only for a brief moment. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eStephen Lyn Bales\u003c\/b\u003e, senior naturalist at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, is the author of \u003ci\u003eNatural Histories: Stories from the Tennessee Valley\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGhost Birds\u003c\/i\u003e: Jim Tanner and the Quest for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, 1935-1941, both published by the University of Tennessee Press. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stephen Lyn Bales\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1621903540\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781621903543\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Tennessee Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/29\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 219\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2018","brand":"Stephen Lyn Bales","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47965290168575,"sku":"9781621903543","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_43ffa76d-8c91-4c8c-86e7-22eeb0b016bc.jpg?v=1767279547","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/ephemeral-by-nature-stephen-lyn-bales-9781621903543","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}