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Each month, I spend a day walking from the gate north of Luckey’s Landing on the east side of Merry Lea’s 1,189 acres to my office at Rieth Village on the west side of the property. This is only about 3.5 miles, but it takes all day if you can’t resist keying out a new flower or just sitting and watching for awhile.

I bring a lunch, a bottle of water, a camera, a hand lens, field guides, my nature journal, my recorder [musical instrument], a song, a prayer and a bar of Fair Trade chocolate, food of the gods.

My path takes me through nearly every ecosystem Merry Lea has to offer, and given the rich diversity of our land base, that is almost every ecosystem you can find in northern Indiana. Early morning finds me at the tamarack bog, a damp forest of silver maple, spicebush and nettle. Next come the sand dunes at Luckey’s Landing, left behind by receding glaciers--and the lake itself.

The trail from Luckey’s toward the Learning Center is a secluded jungle of wet meadow with red osier dogwood lining the boardwalk. This gives way to Bear Lake Prairie, acres of little bluestem hugging the lip of another lake. Onion Bottom, a restored wetland, is a great place to watch for birds. Next come Wilmer Meadows and Cub Lake, the smallest but most secluded lake on our property, its round perimeter untouched by development.

South Kesling Meadows offers a interesting ditch and a mature tallgrass prairie waving in the wind. As I circle the Kesling Wetland, I pass through a more recent prairie and a woodland rich in spring wildflowers. That brings me to Rieth Village where I can watch our most recent prairie and wetland restorations develop, and compare them to what I’ve seen along the trails.

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