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By Gene Stratton-Porter The killdeer nest was in the middle of a cornfield. It was not much to boast of. The four tan-colored eggs sprinkled with dark brown and black lay on the bare earth surrounded by a few bits of bark and cornstalk. The mother bird was young and extremely shy and nervous, andContinue reading “A Shy Killdeer Family”

This blog is a collaboration of a hike led by Naturalist Curt Burnette at the Music of the Wild Preserve on October 27, photographs of the hike by Melissa Fey and Randy Lehman and the words of Gene Stratton-Porter from her book “Music of the Wild,” Part II, Songs of the Fields, which is aboutContinue reading “Songs of the Fields”

By Melissa Fey This is a new concept in the United States, but Forest Bathing has been practiced in Japan for many years. The idea is to immerse yourself in the forest. This is not a hike but more a leisurely walk using all your senses to engage with Nature. Contact with nature is asContinue reading “Shinrin – Yoku/Forest Bathing”

By Terri Gorney Where was the magical place that Gene called Paradise on the Wabash? In a 1903 article, Gene gave clues to where it was located. She mentions Stanley’s end, Shimp’s farm, a favorite picnic, fishing and swimming sot along the river. It was also a place she could easily reach by carriage asContinue reading “Gene’s Paradise on the Wabash”

By Willy DeSmet Inspired by Melissa Fey, my wife Phyllis started raising Monarch butterflies from eggs and caterpillars we found in the yard. Going around in the garden we came across other caterpillars, including some of the Red Spotted Purple butterfly (which she has already raised to butterflies and released). She asked me what aContinue reading “The Herald – One Way to Find Out”

By Adrienne Provenzano Limberlost State Historic site in Geneva, Indiana is where Gene Stratton-Porter (1863-1924) wrote many of her articles, books, and poems, inspired by the surrounding Limberlost Swamp, Gene hiked, took photographs, observed the changing seasons, and created classic stories such as “Freckles” (1904) and “A Girl of the Limberlost” (1909). About a centuryContinue reading “A Tale of Two Genevas”

By Kimberley Roll Kimberley has been exploring Limberlost this summer with her camera. We will let her camera speak for her. Enjoy your hike with her! Male goldfinch Kestrel Kingbirds Yellow-billed cuckoo Great blue heron Monarch Painted turtles Tiger swallowtail on milkweed Blazing star Limberlost Swamp Wetland Preserve – Jay County side The tall andContinue reading “Late Summer Nature at Limberlost”

By Terri Gorney “I live in a world of light, fragrance, beauty, and song; no wonder some of it overflows in my books,” wrote Gene Stratton-Porter. Gene was a great storyteller and she wove nature into her stories. Her Limberlost books were known as much for the nature within as they were for the storiesContinue reading “Limberlost Nature Woven Into Her Stories”

By Kimberley Roll We thought our Limberlost followers would enjoy a look back at some of the birds that Kimberley Roll photographed at the Limberlost Territories this spring. Sandhill Cranes flying north in mid March. A pair has been spotted in May at the Limberlost Swamp Wetland Preserve. Our hopes is that they are nestingContinue reading “Spring Birds at Limberlost”

By Gene Stratton-Porter Note: Gene Stratton-Porter’s book “Music of the Wild” was published in 1910. Some of the places that Gene walked, studied and wrote about in this book, may be visited today. Her words are vibrant and descriptive of this area of the Limberlost Swamp around Geneva that she loved. The leaves and mossesContinue reading “Chorus of the Forest, Part One, “Music of the Wild””