Once the fog and rain lifted, it was a perfect fall day to explore Merrymeeting Fields.  Jean Vaughn and I met Mollie as she was finishing her hike this morning, and we followed her advice on the trails to follow.  Walking through a middle-aged hardwood forest, we were surprised at how high we were above the bay before a gentle dropdown to the water’s edge.  A word of warning, even before we reached the large lower meadow (we went in on the Trott Homestead Trail), there were increasingly large patches of poison ivy along the trail’s edges.  The trail is clear of it (except in the meadow where small ivies have popped up where the path is mowed), but don’t plan to wander off trail unless you are prepared to wash your clothes and boots!  I was so engrossed in the uplifted sedimentary rocks at the bay’s edge, that we missed the iron rings. There are very informative panels along the way that give the history of the land, the ecological and historical importance of the bay to the early settlers, and the story of Eleanor Burke who deeded the land for conservation.  It is a hike worth repeating in every season.