Ephemeral by Nature Exploring the Exceptional with a Tennessee Naturalist [Paperback]

“Reading Ephemeral by Nature 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 Finding Nemo, 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 Passionate Slugs and Hollywood Frogs and Kidnapping the Wild One

“I have had the pleasure of working with Stephen Lyn Bales at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, and I consider him a kindred spirit. As a former naturalist myself, I would number Lyn among the best in the field of interpretation and nature writing. He will begin with a simple topic, like a bullfrog, weave the theme through history, popular culture, art, natural science, muck and slime, and a sprinkling of well-placed humor, and then bring one back to the humble frog.  He is an accomplished naturalist and a master storyteller, and he astonishes me with his unique style of writing.”—Allen R. Coggins, author of Place Names of the Smokies and Escape from Bone Cave

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.

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 devl³8