Kayakers with Memphis Whitewater play boatball at Patriot Lake, a regular Tuesday evening outing for the paddling club. The park conservancy plans to continue work on phase one of it's master plan which includes enlarging Patriot Lake from 54 to 150 acres.
Allison Carr, 18, jokes with her friends while walking through the sunflowers at the Shelby Farms Agricenter. Despite the oppressive heat, couples, families, photographers, and bees turned out en masse to enjoy the festive summer color provided by this year's sunflower crop.
The Shelby Farms bison herd placidly mills about as a storm blows into the park from the west. The herd has grown by leaps in the past few years to around 60 due to donations and a renewed focus by park officials on the health of the herd.
Bobby Haygood with Dow Agrosciences empties bags of cotton into piles of snowy down as he and a team of researchers weigh the production of numbered plots at the Agricenter. The Agricenter manages about a quarter of Shelby Farms' 4,500 acres including some 700 acres of cultivated and experimental crop land.
Runners line up to be hosed off after the LUVMUD 5k fun race at Shelby Farms. Some 900 runners, most of which arrived in costume, turned out for the fund raising run to benefit Habitat for Hope, Shelby Farms, which plays host to an estimated one million visitors a year, is the countries largest urban park at 4,500 acres, over 5 times the size of Central Park in New York City.
Sweetgum and Maple leaves sandwiched against an autumn sky are scarce in the Burch National Area along the Wolf River. As part of the first phase of Shelby Farms' master plan, the park conservancy plans to plant one million trees hoping that the introduction of more native tree species will increase diversity and help combat the pervasive privet thickets and kudzu that plague parts of the park.
A barn owl recovers at the Mid-South Raptor Center located on the grounds of the Agricenter. A staff of mostly volunteers cares for and rehabilitates species of owls, hawks, eagles, and their less glamorous buzzard cousins at the 20 cage facility with the goal of releasing healthy birds back into the wild.
In a spinning whirlwind of light, rides reflect in the pond at the Agricenter with the Delta Fair and Music Festival drawing record crowds this year. Shelby Farms, which plays host to an estimate one million visitors a year, is the county's largest urban park at 4,500 acres, over 5 times the size of Central Park in New York City.
Shelby Farms Ranger Brigitta Yanakopulos untangles herself while repairing the lights on one of the park's display pieces for Starry Nights. Starry Nights is the largest annual fundraiser for the Park and a holiday tradition for over 100,000 visitors.
Dallas Drews and her son Jacob Dallosta start to slide precariously sideways with a sharp push from Kennon Lavergne, right, Monday morning while snow kayaking at Shelby Farms.
The sun sets over Beaver Lake and Patriot Lake, a pair of Shelby Farms' larger lakes. Shelby farms has over 20 bodies of water, but years of under-funding at the park has led to a degrading of the system of sloughs that connected many of the lakes. The smaller ponds have suffered from lower water levels as a result.
A blue dragonfly rests on a lotus pod at one of Shelby Farm's smaller lakes. Park administration is trying to discover new ways to combine many of the pockets of forest that serve as home to the wildlife population. As it is, the isolated ecosystems north of Walnut grove are unable to connect with more stable forest along the Wolf River.
Matt Young pulls his son's daily take out of Catch'em Lake to add another catfish to the line during the annual Junior Fishing Rodeo. Matt's son, Reed Young, hopes to win enough fishing competitions to earn a fishing scholarship to college in a few years.
Fireworks light the sky at Shelby Farms at the annual Star Spangled Celebration as an estimated 63,000 people gather to watch the show.
Dogs get a quick spritz after running amok at the Dog Park. One of the most popular locations in the park, Shelby Farms installed a washing station and fountain at the 150 acre dog park this summer to serve four legged visitors.
A bald cypress pokes out of Patriot lake, a common resting place for passing birds. With a planned expansion of Patriot Lake will come new habitat - a new swamp area along the southern portion of the lake - as well as new amenities - a new beach area and marina.
Viewing the park from horseback is a unique experience. The usually skittish wildlife at Shelby Farms are strangely unafraid of riders allowing visitors on horseback to often get within a half dozen yards before bolting.
Jerrod Love with the Shelby County Firefighters keeps the enormous Patriot Flag from touching the ground after a ceremony to mark the flying of The Patriot Flag over Patriot Lake in Shelby Farms. Patriot Lake has always been the focal point for the park, but it's importance may be growing as phase one of the park's master plan kicks in and the lake is enlarged to three times it's present size.
Joseph Broy, 11, (left) and his baby brother Owen pose for their own American Gothic portrait Sunday afternoon at the Shelby Farms Agricenter's Corn Maze. Memphians flocked to maze this weekend since it will be closing down after Halloween.
Silhouetted against the clear summer sky, Max Kapajev watches as Kayakers with Memphis Whitewater play boatball at Patriot Lake. Patriot Lake has always been the focal point for the park, but it's importance may be growing as phase one of the park's master plan kicks in and the lake is enlarged to three times it's present size.