Injured Ijams barred owl rescued by staff

Ijams is noted for at least two wild barred owls (Strix varia), so accustomed to seeing people that they tend to be found perched low to the ground often near the Visitor Center.

This makes them very photogenic. Even a photographer with a short lens can usually get a good shot.

Yesterday, an injured barred owl was found on a branch near the Universal Trail. Its wing hung useless at its side. Was it injured in last week's hailstorm? Possibly.

Hoping to encourage it to move to the ground, Ijams staffers Paul Forsyth and Jennifer Roder nudged it with a downed branch Paul found on the ground. Instead the owl, perhaps weak from hunger, stepped up on the makeshift fishing pole, which allowed Paul and Jen to slowly lower it to our vet, Dr. Louise Conrad, who waited below.

Louise took the owl to UT's Veterinarian Teaching Hospital for treatment. No word yet on its condition.

Was it the same barred owl I photographed near the plaza four weeks ago? Perhaps. But let's hope not because that one is so laid-back it doesn't mind paparazzi.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Cardinal nest survived hail and heavy rain

A female Northern Cardinal has laid two speckled eggs, and found a sneaky place to nest in a hemlock tree at Ijams.

Hemlocks are usually pretty open conifers, but she snuck a nest in a spot overlaid by drooping branches, which is very well-hidden. She will incubate her eggs for 11-13 days before they hatch.

Editor's note: The cardinal chose her location wisely. Despite the intense hailstorm that hit Wednesday night, shredding about a bazillion leaves, the hemlock proved to be a safe haven. Her nest survived. To protect her privacy, the location will not be posted.

- Text and photo by Laura Marsh

Ijams is bruised by storms but not broken

Oh, what a night!

April 27, 2011 will be remembered for its savagery. It seems nature also has a serious side. Thunder, lightning, high winds, tornadoes and hail the size of jawbreakers. (You know: not as big as a ping-pong ball but bigger than an RC Cola bottle cap.)

Ijams suffered damage to all the skylights in the Visitor Center, the solar panels and windows on both of the Prius hybrids. BONK! BAM! BONK! SHATTERED!

Several major trees are down and a few trails will be closed for a brief time until cleared of debris. (Question: If a tree falls in the woods and there's no one to hear it does it still make a sound? Probably in this case it does.) Regardless, our spirits are high—dinged and dampened—we're open and the plant sale is still scheduled for Saturday.

Ijams is a non-profit. Donations to help with our out-of-pocket expenses for the storm damage clean up will be greatly appreciated.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Lenten roses available at Spring Plant Sale this Saturday

At the nature center, there’s a hillside on the original Ijams’ homesite property that is covered with an escapee. It’s an early-blooming perennial with long-lasting burgundy, pink or yellow flowers.

Probably planted originally by Alice Ijams, who lived at the location from 1910 to 1964, the plant is known as Lenten rose because it blooms in winter between Christmas and Lent. On a gray winter’s day, it would have been a cheery sight to Alice.

And it still is today.

Not native to North America, the shade-loving perennial with deeply lobed leaves is an invited guest from the Old Country. Although the flower resembles a wild rose, it’s actually a hellebore. The genus in the buttercup family is native to much of Europe from western Great Britain east into Romania and Ukraine.

From the mountains of the Ukraine to the mountains of East Tennessee, that's a long way to travel for something that doesn't have any legs or feet. Perhaps it had help.

There will be lenten roses—offspring of Alice's original plantings—available for sale at the Spring Plant Sale on Saturday, April 30: 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM.

- Text and photo Stephen Lyn Bales

Vireo heightens outdoor yoga experience

At the end of a long day, yoga is a very satisfying and relaxing activity. Once a week, several Ijams staff members gather for an after-hours yoga class.

Last week we met at the Homesite Pavilion. The great thing about an outdoor yoga class is all the natural sounds that accompany Teacher Leslie's voice. It creates an ambiance not available when we meet indoors. It enhances the experience; wraps it in a warm auditory blanket. At the pavilion, we often hear chorus frogs and spring peepers, barred owls and Carolina wrens, and, now with the new season, the returning birds of summer are just making their presence known.

We were somewhere in an upper-body stretch, with the spirits of H.P. and Alice all around us, when we heard the unmistakable phrase:

"Quick-with-the-beer-check-please"

"Quick-with-the-beer-check-please"

Jen Roder and I slipped from our yoga-trance, looked at each other and whispered, "white-eyed vireo" and then fell back adrift in our own little Zen worlds.

Ahhhhhh spring!

- By Stephen Lyn Bales

Native rose available at Spring Plant Sale

Carolina rose, a.k.a. pasture rose (Rosa carolina) is now in bloom along the fence in front of the Raptor Enclosure near the parking lot at Ijams.

A true native rose, it grows in almost all the states and Canadian provinces east of the Great Plains. And can be found in a wide variety of open habitats, from thickets and open woods to roadsides and along railroads.

There will be Carolina roses available at the Spring Plant Sale, saturday, April 30.


- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Second hummingbird favorite in bloom at Ijams

Now that red buckeye’s flowering season is beginning to fade, another hummingbird favorite is starting to appear: crossvine (Bignonia capreolata), a native semi-evergreen, woody vine. It’s a climber generally found growing up a supportive tree.

Like most plants that use hummingbirds as pollinators, crossvine has tubular flowers that range from red to orange to tangerine in color. Also known as quartervine, the plant gets its name from its cross-shaped pith. If you cut a stem, you’ll discover it has four chambers that form an “x” pattern.

Crossvine flowers are also noted for their curious fragrance, most often described as “mocha-like" which I imagine might serve to attract cappuccino-loving insects with extra long tongues. (Hummingbirds are lured by color not scent.)

Look for crossvine growing high in the trees or there is a low-growing vine on the east entrance to the Universal Trail near the Visitor Center.

Make sure you take a sniff.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Tree swallows have taken up residence at Ijams

Jennifer and Emily report that Tree swallows, (Tachycineta bicolor), are nesting in the artificial gourds near the TVA-KUB solar panels on the Universal Trail.

Tree swallows are migratory, spending their winters in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, but historically they nested in the western part of this country. Tree swallow nesting in the Tennessee Valley, and even our state, is a fairly recent occurrence.

According to Chuck Nicholson, author of the Atlas of Breeding Bird of Tennessee, published by UT Press, the first recorded tree swallow nest in Tennessee was discovered in 1918 at Reelfoot Lake. It wasn’t until 1968 that other nests were documented, this time in Anderson and Maury Counties. After that, nests have been reported every year and since the late 1980s, the nesting population has increased dramatically. Today, they’re fairly common throughout the state.

Tree swallows nest in empty cavities, hollow trees, bluebird boxes or even empty round gourds. Unlike their cousins, the colony-loving purple martins, the dark metallic blue backed tree swallows prefer to build their nests isolated from other swallows.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Roosting red bat found by Ijams visitor

Recently Sue Wagoner from Illinois visited Ijams hoping to find a barred owl to photograph. She did but Sue also found something else of interest napping in the trees.

Something much smaller.

Sue emails, "Here is the Eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) we saw on the trail at eye level. I saw the reddish fluff sticking out of the leaves and wondered if it was some artifact caught on the tree, or a weird gall or a fuzzy seed pod or something, so imagine my surprise when I lifted the leaf and saw movement, a face and some toes (or fingers). What a cutie...he looks like a little imp."

Eastern red bats roost individually, often hanging upside down in trees.

- By Stephen Lyn Bales. Photo by Sue Wagoner

Fothergilla in bloom near the Visitor Center

Fothergillas are shrubs native to the American Southeast that are grown as ornamental plants for their puffy-white flowers in spring and bright color of their fall foliage. There are several in bloom near the Visitor Center at Ijams.

John Fothergill (1712-1780) was an English physician, plant collector and philanthropist.

As a physician in London, Fothergill had an extensive practice noted for successfully treating patients during the epidemics of influenza in 1775 and 1776. His hobby was botany. At Upton near Stratford, Dr. Fothergill had an extensive botanical garden (today known as West Ham Park) with many rare plants collected from various parts of the world. He also helped finance the travels of American naturalist William Bartram, who collected plants from the Southeast to be shipped back to England.

Fothergillas, the shrubs collected in America, were named for the English physician. We all should be so honored.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Eagle threesome spotted over river boardwalk

We seem to be having birds of prey appear in multiples this week. One day it's ospreys; the next it's eagles.

Kathleen Gibi, Public Affairs Specialist with the City of Knoxville Parks & Rec, and I were walking the River Trail at Ijams yesterday afternoon scouting for wildflowers for the city's Tour de Fleur walk on Saturday when our attention moved from terra firma to terra abova.

And what did we see?

Three bald eagles—two adult and one juvenile—"playing" over the boardwalk near Maude Moore's Cave that opens onto the Tennessee River. What were they doing? I speculate that the two adults were late-season courting, perhaps forming a pair bond for next season. (Local established pairs are much too busy raising nestlings to have time to play.) The unrelated juvenile just joined in on the fun. But, that is pure speculation on my part.

Luckily, Kathleen had brought along her Blackberry and could take their photo.

- Photo by Kathleen Gibi, text by Stephen Lyn Bales

Kindergarten group watches osprey pair overhead

Walking along North Cove Trail you never know what you are going to hear or see, and yesterday was no exception.

As I led a small group of kindergarten kids, I heard the high-pitched call of an osprey (Pandion haliaetus). We were treated to two ospreys calling incessantly as they displayed directly over our heads. This lasted for several minutes, and we were all frozen on the trail staring straight up in the sky.

This is nesting season for ospreys, and I have already seen a pair sitting on eggs.

Ospreys build their nests near water on platforms put up by people, in the tops of trees or on any high flat surface. I’m not sure where this pair is nesting, but there is a platform on the end of the Dickinson Island where the Knoxville Downtown Island Airport is located across the channel from Ijams.

A convenient nest to see is on the railroad bridge next to the now closed for repair Henley Street Bridge. It is easily seen from Neyland Drive and the female is incubating now.

Because Ijams is so close to the river, you may hear and see ospreys on any of our trails. We consistently see them even flying over the Visitor Center.

- By Emily Boves

Old trillium found growing along roadside

Perhaps one of the largest yellow trillium (Trillium luteum) I've ever found at the nature center.

As a general rule, all trillium are very slow growing perennial wildflowers, only producing one leaf—and not the characteristic three leaves—until roughly six years old.

In time, a single plant may produce two flowers, years later three, years later four, etc. This one has twelve which should mean that the parent plant is decades old.

As are most woodland wildflowers, trillium are fragile. Do not attempt to transplant. It's a death sentence for the delicate thing. Death. Death. Death.

They are also one of several plants that rely on ants to spread their seeds once they ripen in the fall. So if you want one in your yard, invite an ant to do the planting.

Is duckweed an indicator plant for water quality?

Our congratulations go to Anna Ward, a fifth grade student at St. John Neumann Catholic School, for winning the Ijams Prize at this year's regional science fair.

Ward's experiment was titled "What are Fronds "Frond" of?

Dr. Louise Conrad, judge for the award, says that Anna wanted to determine if duckweed—a small floating aquatic plant and the smallest flowering plant—was an indicator of water quality. She floated 100 plants in each of several different containers. One container held fresh water, the others had water from the same source but that had been fouled by a variety of different pollutants: detergent, motor oil, fertilizer, etc.

After a week, Ward counted the number of plants that remained in each container.

A simple experiment that yielded a very observable answer and that is the way science works.

Congratulations, Anna.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales. Thanks, Louise!

State Birds nest in familiar plaza tree

Mockingbirds are once again nesting near the Plaza Pond in the same tree as last year.

As I write this in my office, I can see them come and go, bringing nesting material.

Is it the same pair as last year? That's hard to say. But it is the same cedar tree. The Tennessee State Bird, the Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), is very territorial. This male has claimed the row of shrubs along the Universal Trail but his strongest defense will be saved for the actual nest tree.

Northern mockingbirds traditionally produce two broods of three to five eggs a year, but here in the warmer climes of the South they can occasionally have three or four broods.

That's a lot of new State Birds.

- Stephen Lyn Bales

An odd sort of flower that can make you sneeze

Ahh spring!

We all marvel at the native trees in bloom—redbud, dogwood, serviceberry—that produce showy flowers. They're spectacular and their displays are designed to attract insects, their pollinators.

But what about the trees that aren't so flashy? These generally have less noticeable flowers that produce lots and lots of tiny pollen grains. They are pollinated by the wind.

Nature is full of understated wonders. With this in mind: Have you ever noticed the flowers produced by American sweetgum trees (Liquidambar styraciflua). The male parts are greenish with rufous fuzzy hair found in ball-like clusters on the end of the branches; the female flowers are drooping ball-like blooms that dangle below the branches. And when the wind blows, the pollen goes all over the place. Some of it may actually find the receptive female flowers. The rest can make you sneeze.

For a closer look, the sweetgums are in bloom at the nature center.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Local rivers rescued for 22nd time

Yesterday was the 22nd Annual River Rescue, a volunteer driven clean-up of local shorelines: from Ijams downstream along the Tennessee River to Fort. Loudoun Dam and the Clinch River at Melton Hill Dam plus assorted urban creeks.

As in years past, Ijams Nature Center—principally staffers Peg Beute and Sarah Brobst—organized this year's event. (with commemorative t-shirt design by Jennifer Roder.)

Special thanks goes to the sponsors for this year's rescue: Green Mountain Coffee, Mast General Store, Chaco, First Tennessee, Water Quality Forum, Kimberly Clark, CAC AmeriCorps, Erie Insurance, TVA Employees Credit Union, Information International Associates.

All the actual numbers have not been tabulated but traditionally over 800 volunteers "spring clean" public shorelines, boat ramps and neighborhood streams.

As in previous years, I was zone captain at Marine Park off Alcoa Highway and without a doubt my most enthusiastic volunteers were the Fab Four: Addison, Emily, Savannah and Keira, shepherded by Emily's mom Leanne.

It's hard to say if they were more cute than eager, or more eager than cute. With an undeniable ardor that really bordered on unbridled zeal, I think the pendulum swings toward the latter. They were environmental dynamos.

"We want to pick up trash. Clean the environment and save the EARTH," was their collective refrain.

You go girls!

- Text and photos by Stephen Lyn Bales

Spring's return stirs wintering mourning cloaks

One of the first butterflies to be seen fluttering about in late winter or early spring is the mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa).

The reason? They get a head start being one of the few species that overwinters, i.e. hibernates as adults.Mourning cloaks are widespread: tundra south to central Mexico and in Eurasia, primarily Scandinavia. In Sweden they are known as sorgmantel literally "mourning cloak" presumably a name that comes from their cloak of dark purple-brown color.

Host plants for the caterpillars: Female mourning cloaks lay their eggs on willows, aspens, elms, cottonwoods and paper birches, but seem to prefer assorted willows.

On Tuesday, March 29, I saw a mourning cloak flutter trough the plaza in front of the Visitor Center for the first time this season.

- By Stephen Lyn Bales

Waterthrush serenades from Homesite stream

The arrival of spring is often announced by an increased cacophony of bird songs outside your window. Songbirds generally start practicing their songs on the wintering grounds and continue to practice as they migrate back to their breeding grounds. This means it all reaches a crescendo during April and May when the breeders are beginning to arrive, the migrants are passing through and the wintering birds are getting ready to leave.

Two days ago, fellow naturalist Jennifer Roder alerted me that she heard a new song behind the Visitor Center. As soon as I stepped out the door, I heard the loud song of a Louisiana waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla). They are one of the first migrants to arrive back in Tennessee.

I quickly grabbed my binoculars and ran down the trail. I knew exactly where to find him. Waterthrushes forage, sing and build their nests along streams in forested areas. True to form, this beautiful bird was singing right off of the Discovery Trail by the stream. We got several great looks at him as he held his bill to the sky and belted out his song as loud as he could.

Waterthrushes aren’t actually thrushes. They are warblers, but they look more like small thrushes or sparrows. Their distinct song and tendency to bob their tails as they walk along the edges of streams make them easy to recognize.

When H.P. Ijams lived here, during the 1930s and ‘40s he observed Louisiana waterthrushes nesting alongside the very stream where this guy was singing. We haven’t documented any nesting here recently, but we will continue to keep our eyes and ears open for this exciting bird.

- By Emily Boves

Spring comes early for one lone lethargic toad

A few weeks ago, I was digging through a pile of soil filling up pots for plants with a volunteer and another Ijams’ employee. All of a sudden the volunteer yelled, “Oh no! A dead frog!”

I picked up the frog and quickly realized that it was a dormant American toad (Bufo americanus).

Amphibians have to hibernate in order to survive the winter. They are ectotherms meaning that they get their heat from their surroundings.

I had already heard several American toads calling that week, but this toad was clearly not ready to come out yet. So, I took the toad and shallowly buried him near a pond on the Homesite knowing that he would soon be ready to come out to find a mate. This week, to my great surprise, I saw an American toad singing his heart out at that very pond!

Toads spend the majority of their lives on land and only go to water to mate and lay eggs. The males sing a long musical trill that can last several seconds. I watched my toad for over a half hour, and he sang almost the entire time. He will continue to sing until he attracts a mate. The female will then lay a long string of eggs in the water. As of now, I haven’t seen any toad eggs, but I will continue to monitor the pond to see if any appear.

- Text and photo by Emily Boves

First seeds: And it all happens so fast

Seed time?

Wasn’t it just last week that we were looking for the first signs of spring?

Red maples (Acer rubrum) are one of the first plants to produce flowers every year at Ijams Nature Center, even before the first day of spring.

And now, their blooms have faded and the common trees are beginning to produce their seeds in pairs borne in fruits called samaras, tiny little helicopters that twirl to the ground. A single red maple tree—with a diameter of between 2 and 8 inches—can produce between 12 ,000 and 90,000 seeds.

Red maples are widespread. Look for them anywhere in the nature center's 275 acres. But if you want to see the samaras, you better hurry, it all happens so fast.

- Text by Stephen Lyn Bales

Bluebells blooming in the sodden wet places

Virginia bluebells is the more commonly used folk name for Mertensia virginica the pale blue flower now in bloom at the nature center.

That’s fortunate because this lovely thing is also known as Virginia cowslip, a reference to the wet and muddy places that cows like to slop around in near water; literally cow+slip or cow+slop, i.e. cow dung.

Water plus mud plus dung would create a rich place for a plant to grow but I could hardly think of a more unfortunate name to go by.

“Hello. I’m Virginia cowslop. How are you?”

Nevertheless, this delightful blue wildflower is often found in wet, damp lowlands near water. Look for it near the Visitor Center and downstream from the Ijams Family pond along the Discovery Trail.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Warm, sunny day brings out early bullfrogs

Warm day.

Almost even hot.

Bullfrogs, those beefy-boys of summer concerts, are starting to appear in the Plaza Pond in front of the Visitor Center.

Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana: named in honor of famed naturalist Mark Catesby) are the largest frogs in our region; as big as a whoppers without pickles. It's still too early for their "jug-o-rum, jug-o-rummmmm, jug-o-rummmmmm" solos, but it's certainly warm enough for them to sun themselves.

It must feel good after a long winter spent in the leaves and muck at the bottom of the pond to feel the sunshine again.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Spring explodes with color at the nature center

Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) is now in bloom at the nature center. Considered either a tall shrub or a short tree—you can decide that one—the light to dark magenta flowers appear before the heart-shaped leaves.

Found throughout the Southeast, with Tennessee being at the center of its range, redbud is the first blast of intense color to explode in Appalachia. Found naturally in the understory of mixed forests and along hedgerows of farmland, redbud makes an excellent native landscape ornamental, a far better and more colorful choice than the non-native Bradford pear (imported originally from China and Korea).

At Ijams, look for redbud anywhere inside the park. And if you are truly lucky, you might even find a barred owl sitting in one.

Spring is most certainly found at Ijams.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Spring is leafing out! But is it a good thing?

Study this photo.

What's wrong with it?

It appears to show the arrival of spring to the forest understory. And it does. But why is it not a good thing?

In this case the understory shrub that's leafing out is bush honeysuckle, a.k.a. Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), and it's not native to the Tennessee Valley or Ijams. The flowering shrub was introduced as a backyard ornamental but it escaped to become naturalized throughout the American southeast.

Think of it as tall kudzu.

Bush honeysuckle is native to China (the Amur River Valley, hence the name), Mongolia, Korea and Japan. In fact, in the latter, it's listed as an endangered species. But not here where it's become highly invasive.

Bush honeysuckle leafs out early. Other plants do not have a chance. And like kudzu, once bush honeysuckle becomes established it creates a monoculture and no other native wildflower or shrub can compete against it.

At the nature center, Ed Yost, Ben Nanny and hundreds of volunteers have worked to eradicate it from large sections of the park. But still it exists in places. The fight continues. The good news: once you remove it, the native wildflowers return.

If you have this shrub growing near you or in your backyard, attack it with a sickle, pruner or even a butcher knife if need be. Work out your pent up hostility. Because if you do not, it'll take over.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Harbinger of spring

On a lovely walk along Discovery Trail yesterday afternoon, naturalist Emily Boves and I discovered a delicate little butterfly, flitting amongst spring wildflowers. The butterfly is a Falcate Orangetip (Anthocharis midea).

The Falcate Orangetip is one of the true harbingers of spring, flying through vernal woodlands only a few feet above the ground. This particular butterfly allowed us to get within a few feet of it, which gave us the opportunity to study its beautiful markings.

The top of the wings are white, with black spots near the front edge of the forewings, which have a very characteristic hooked tip. Only the males (shown in the photo) have bright yellow-orange coloration at the tip. On the underside of the wing both sexes have heavily marbled markings, usually of gray-green or yellow.

Be sure to stop by the trail surrounding the Ijams Homesite for a true taste of the color and sounds that represent spring in East Tennessee!

- Text by Jennifer Roder, photo by Emily Boves.

Bloodroot blooming at Visitor Center and beyond

It’s somehow surprising that one of the first spring ephemerals to plus through the surface has such a startling name.

Bloodroot!

Its name comes from the color of sap stored in its root or rhizome. As time passes, the rhizome grows just under the surface and creates a colony of the remarkable wildflower. Native Americans used this blood red sap as a dye and body paint and called the plant "puccoon."

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is in bloom in front of the Visitor Center, alog Nort Cove Trail and at the Homesite.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Raucous peepers peeping from every damp location

The spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) have been calling for several days, but late this afternoon with all the rain, they seemed to be peeping from every damp location at Ijams.

The Plaza Pond was filled with the raucous voices of the ardent male calling to attract a mate.

The question is: How can such a little thing—roughly one inch long—make so much noise?

- Stephen Lyn Bales

Annual Woodcock Walk finds energetic timberdoodle

Call it a rite of spring, or, in this case, a rite of late winter.

Last night my fellow bog-sloggers and I experienced a purely perfect natural moment. An American woodcock (Scolopax minor) a.k.a. timberdoodle performed his courtship display, his ardent "peenting" song, right on schedule at Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area.

Our annual Ijams "Woodcock Walk" has been a popular event for over 15 years. This year, Jenifer Roder and Emily Boves helped me host the somewhat muddy activity.

At the appropriate hour—twilight, just after sunset—our group was hidden in the cedars surrounding the traditional singing ground to watch it all happen. He seemed oblivious of his voyeurs. He was crooning for a female, a momentary partner to share his lust for life. If he knew we were there, he simply did not care. For he was living in the moment as were we all.

It was a good time.

- Stephen Lyn Bales

Chorus frogs croon, spring on the way

“Cree-ee-ee—eeek."

"Cree-ee-ee—eeek."

"Cree-ee-ee—eeek."

Spring is on the way. How do I know? The Western Chorus frogs (Pseudacris triseriata) herald its arrival! And with this tiny species of tree frog, the more the merrier.

Many of the ponds at the nature center, including the small ones at the Homesite are filled with their froggy choruses. The small gray males collect in great numbers to crooooooon, hoping to attract mates. And, as we all know, hope springs eternal, even in the tiniest of hearts.

- Stephen Lyn Bales