On our last hike before the covid-19 stay at home orders by the Illinois and Indiana governors, we happened upon a rather large interdunal pond. I've been on this trail quite a few times over the years, and knew about the large pond, but never knew it could be seen from this side while staying on the trail system.
A couple hundred meters from the beach, the dunes change from bare sand, to marram grass covered, then to conifer forest. This area has one of the most expansive stands of Jack Pine forest in the park - at least publicly accessible. As we walked through the dimly lit path, the under-story plants changed quit a bit. No longer marram grass, but plenty of moss, and a variety of small evergreen flowering plants that looked much like holly. I believe this is Oregon Grape, a plant that is not native to the area, but seems to thrive in the Jack Pine conifer stands here at the Indiana Dunes National Park. In spring, the plants display yellow flowers; I hope to get back in time to see them bloom.
Still very early in the Spring, we did however, see a few water birds in the area taking advantage of the still waters. I suspect this is about the time when the turtles and frogs emerge from their hibernation.
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