Wildlife Photograph

Bales’ Backyard Tales

700th flower found at Ijams

June 7, 2008

Kris Light is a science teacher for ORNL's outreach program. She has a passion: wildflowers. Kris photographs what she finds and maintains a website displaying her collection. This is better than pressed flowers because in time they lose their color, becoming brittle with age. Kris's flowers look just as vibrant as the day she clicked the shutter.

Recently, Kris came to Ijams in search of any flower she had never photographed; it would be number 700 in her portfolio. That's a milestone by any difinition of the word. She found it, a prairie trillium.

Visit her website: www.easttennesseewildflowers.com to see it and the other 699 East Tennessee wildflowers she has recorded.

 Good job Kris. Number 800 is out there somewhere.

 

 

Stephen Lyn Bales is a manager and naturalist at Ijams. A native of Gatlinburg, Lyn grew up with a roving curiosity and a national park in his backyard. In addition to his responsibilities at the nature center, he writes regular columns in the weekly farragutpress and bimonthly Hellbender Press. His book "Natural Histories: Stories from the Tennessee Valley," published by the University of Tennessee Press, is available in the Ijams gift shop.

Also visit: stephenlynbales.blogspot.com