Mengerson Nature Reserve, Allen County

     When I first embarked on my tour of surrounding nature preserves, I envisioned traveling through rural areas and navigating hilly back roads leading me to my destinations. And until now, I've been right. 

http://www.acreslandtrust.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=44551&PID=630218

     Mengerson Nature Reserve is located in the heart of Fort Wayne, Indiana.  In fact, we made a pit stop at Target right before we pulled in!  As we were parking, it struck me how odd it was to be at a nature preserve in the middle of the city.  But what a treasure for folks who live in town, to have a bit of Indiana's natural splendor so accessible!

"Which way to go?"  

     As we entered the preserve (once we decided which path to take), it was like entering another world...one not situated in a town at all. Surrounded by the leafy trees, the active wildlife, and the calls of the birds, it was easy to forget where the preserve is located and get lost in nature's splendor.

The Mengerson Reserve was a gift of Carl and Ursula Mengerson, given in 1973. 

Carl Mengerson's Tree is an oak.

     The further we hiked, the more surprised I became at what a wonderful bit of forest is hiding right here in the city, from open meadow, to an area of early-stage woods, to a mature sugar maple forest! 

However, nothing surprised me more than when we stumbled upon her...

We finally found our deer!  Who knew it would be in a city preserve?!

     The kids actually saw her first.  We've been looking for deer, any animals really, on all of our hikes and the first one we find is in the middle of town.  How ironic.  We went on to see a 'possum and several rabbits in the Mengerson Reserve.

The Mengerson Reserve is 36 acres with about a mile of trails.

Ursula Mengerson's tree is a tulip.

     Not only did we have the opportunity to see and hear much wildlife today, but the kids and I saw many other interesting sights as well.

The proverbial "hollow log"

Long, peeling strips of bark on the Shagbark Hickory

European nightshade

Wormy paths carved by critters dining underneath the bark of an ash tree.

     Unbeknownst to the children, (who would have rolled their eyes had I said, "look at those neat branches") my eye caught these images.  Just branches and lines? Perhaps. But when I see them, my mind recalls images of some of my favorite stained glass artists.  

Magnolias and Irises, 1908
Louis Comfort Tiffany

Sleeping Christ, by Harry Clarke
Chapel of the Sacred Heart
Diseart Institute of Education and Celtic Culture

     The time is drawing near for me to begin working on my own stained glass images inspired by my walks with Indiana's nature.  I have many ideas bumping around in my head, but I also have a few more nature preserves to visit first. See you at the next one!

LIttle Wabash River Nature Preserve, Allen County

http://www.acreslandtrust.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=44551&PID=635629

     A recent nature hike took us to Little Wabash River Nature Preserve in Allen county, near Roanoke, Indiana.  This area is former farmland, but you'd never know it now.  The former owner created a pond and hand planted many different varieties of trees.

A panoramic view of Little Wabash's pond and surrounding trees.  All of this was created on farmland  by the land's previous owner.

What was once perhaps corn and soybeans is now a well developed woodland.

Look at the variety of leaves in this photo!
This preserve contains cedar, cottonwood, willow, birch, oak, maple, spruce, basswood, hickory, beech, elm, tulip, black cherry, sweet gum, dogwood, sumac and cypress.  I wish I had known about this place when doing that pesky leaf-identification project in 5th grade!!

One of the only signs that this forest was planted by man - this cedar lined entrance path.  

      
      Even though this land no longer produces commercial crops, my little band of hikers found something to harvest...

Legend has it that the Greeks discovered raspberries in the 1st century BC, when they noticed them growing on a mountainside in Turkey. But people didn’t grow and eat raspberries back then like they do today.  Instead, the roots and blossoms of wild raspberry plants were used to make eye ointments, astringents, and teas for stomach and throat problems.

Raspberries made their way to America by the late 1700s, and commercial production of this tasty fruit was soon on the rise.  Today, people can’t seem to get enough of the them, like Hank here!  

Hank does't care that raspberries aren't considered a true berry, he just cares that they are tasty! Unlike true berries which have a single pericarp (the edible outside layer), raspberries are an "aggregate fruit" since they are actually a collection of smaller seeded fruits called "drupelets." A single raspberry has an average of 100 drupelets, each with it's own tiny seed inside.  

     With our tastebuds satisfied for the moment, we trekked on through the woods hoping to catch a glimpse of the deer this area is known for.  This preserve is commonly a crossroads for white-tailed deer, and is actually closed from November through January for permitted deer hunting.  But alas, we saw no deer today.  

Ferns near to the edge
the border, the field, the wood
the dappled shadow

~A haiku by Raymond Foss

     Perhaps our next journey into the nature of Indiana will bring us closer to seeing the illusive white-tailed deer.  Our hopes are high!  Come along with us...

Ruth Kern Woodland Preserve, Fulton County

http://www.acreslandtrust.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=44551&PID=701955

     I took my latest nature walk alone.  I so enjoyed the quiet and solitude of my hike at Asherwood that I decided to go solo once more.  It was fine.  Lovely, really, but near the end, I was ready for some company.

     The Ruth Kern Woodland preserve contains a wide variety of growth from hardwoods, to pines, to the bank of the Tippecanoe river, to ponds, streams and wetlands.  I was captivated by the abandoned Christmas tree farm that used to occupy this land.

Remnants of the Kern family Christmas tree farm, active from the 50's to the 80's.

      But what was once a Christmas tree farm is now a thriving pine forest, my favorite kind of forest to hike in.  I love the carpeting of fallen pine needles which can make your footsteps almost silent.  Breathing in the sharp pine scented air is almost heaven to me! 

I find this winding, pine needle covered path so enchanting!

There is nothing like being enveloped in a towering stand of pines to make you
 feel small and insignificant...and alone.

     In fact, it was in this pine forest that I almost met death. I was meandering down the path in the photo above, when I startled a family of deer, big ones, causing them to scamper away.  Only their "scamper" sounded more like a stampede to me, complete with the thunder of beating hooves and vibrations traveling through the ground to shake my already trembling knees. The scariest part was that I couldn't see them through the woodsy growth.  So I knew they couldn't see me.  And I just knew they were going to burst through the forest, onto my trail, and trample me to death. Thankfully, deer aren't completely stupid, and tend to run away from human smells and sounds, not toward them.  Whew! Untimely demise averted.
     Only later, when I had (sort of) returned to my senses, did I conclude that I was probably never in any danger. However, from this moment on I was shaken, and began to see the forest in a different, more sinister light.  Now I wished I had some company!

Neat visual line pattern? Or reaching branches with a mind of their own...

"The branches bent down and twined around him."
~The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

It struck me odd that these trees were growing so closely together, as if they are huddling in some whispered conversation.

The Ruth Kern preserve was once Camp Wright, a camp serving boy scouts from
eastern Chicago from 1932 to the 1950's.  This duckweed covered pond was once their swimming hole.   It looked harmless enough.  Until I saw these creepy things...

Many of these short and stout, knobby and weird little things littered the pond's edge.  I now know that these are called Cypress Knees, and are woody growths that project upward from the roots of the Bald Cypress.  Before I looked them up, I was convinced they were the Swamp Thing's little brothers rising up from the depths.

Swamp Thing
Created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson, first presented by DC Comics in 1971.

     As I stood surveying this lovely, serene vista, I thought my mindset was shifting toward a more positive (less freaked out) outlook.  One that could enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the forest.  But around the next bend, I met this guy...

Don't you recognize him?  

Davy Jones
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, 2007

     At this point I was very done with my solo hike, my rattled nerves could take no more!  Thankfully I was at the end of the trail system and very close to the parking lot, where I dove into my vehicle and sprayed gravel as I high-tailed it outta there!  This hiking alone thing is overrated!  

     All joking aside, it was a beautiful day for an enjoyable hike, regardless of the stampeding wildlife.  Despite the questionable state of my nerves, I was able to get a few more nice pics to share. Enjoy!  

Layers of texture: pebbles, duckweed, water

Glad to know I wasn't completely alone!

Pods of the Redbud tree.

See you next time...with my full entourage!!