“Never curse the rain” was a decades-ago farmer’s advice to his son, and others. Some years later, the farmer’s son, Jerry Apps, now 87, wrote a book, Never curse the rain: A farm boy’s reflections on water.
June (4.05 inches), July (3.93 inches.) and August (4.33 inches) are Wisconsin’s wettest months; that rainfall is good, even for outdoor enthusiasts and their summer activities.
Where would pheasant hunting, ginseng digging, berry picking, canoeing, fly-fishing and be without those rainfalls?
Unless it’s flooding from too much rain, catfish will bite and sometimes move upstream in summer in the Yellowstone and Pecatonica rivers, according to Wayne Smith, near Fayette.
Wally Banfi, at Wilderness Fish and Game in Sauk City, and a 30-year fishing guide on the Wisconsin River, said a cold rain is not good but a warm rain generally makes fish more active. Fishing during a rain often finds anglers spending more time noticing wildlife, eagles, pelicans and listening to owls and turkeys “talking” back and forth with one another. Slowing down, even while fishing can sometimes be good.
Rain, or its lack, are always showing. Today woodland brambles stand 3-4 feet. Deer have selectively eaten some of that lush vegetation. Forest edge shooting stars’ old flowers and seed pods have been nipped short; some ginseng plants have lost a leaf or two to deer, maybe fawns.
Young acorns show on bur oaks, making reading fall’s nut crop possible. Raspberries and blackberries are forming, one before the other. Walnuts, hickory nuts, hazelnuts and a few butternuts are there, too. Assess those crops for squirrel, turkey, deer, and grouse hunting and gathering these fruits as a natural yard feed for squirrels and birds when mature, unless drought comes first.
During some rainy spells, Brent Drake, at Tall Tails in Boscobel said fishing baits, night crawlers and shiners, usually sell to anglers going after catfish because they bite in anticipation of rains and storms.
“It puts a damper on my grilling for an evening, too but all I do is open the garage door and sit there to watch the grill and enjoy a picnic from inside my shelter.”
Sometimes the rains’ impacts are far in advance of an outdoor activity. Kelly Maguire, manager at Poynette Game Farm explained that rains have positive and negative impacts on getting pheasant chick hatches into outside pens.
“The warm and then cold spells this past spring messed up some of the breeders and layers,” she said. “Still, we were able to get enough eggs to hatch chicks for an anticipated 75,000 birds to be released later this year, and 16,000 day-old-chicks for 13 conservation clubs.”
Rains must come at the right time so Kelly can get the corn and grasses planted in the netted pens and so plant growth is enough so the corn is at least at tall as the birds placed in the runways.
The crew has retrofitted tractors to hold up and push aside the nets so tilling can be done with less labor.
“But we have to acclimate the young birds for at least a day outside before a rain or there are likely to be problems,” she said.
“Falling rain can delay releasing birds, too, because their tails get tangled in the cages. All summer rain is helping vegetation cover develop.”
Native and released pheasants are likely to come out of wet grass onto a road or path making scouting and observation counts easier without observers getting wet. Turkeys and ruffed grouse are less likely to be seen along a road during or immediately following a rain.
“Just stay out of the rain during a storm, thunder, and lightning,” says Doug Williams, at D W Sports Center in Portage. “Other safety precautions, rain or shine, are for bikers and hikers to wear bright colors, particularly those who ride procumbent bikes. Also carry a can of pepper spray for sick or problem animals.”
Another way to predict ripening times for Juneberries, mulberries and black raspberries it watching raccoons and even looking at their scat, which shows berry seeds soon after if the animals are eating the fruit.
Many shooting ranges have roofed seating areas to shield shooters from light rain. Practice lightly with limited ammunition, even now.
Wild berry picking need not be discontinued with light rain.
Plant growth and mushroom emergence usually require normal rain in summer months. April showers are necessary for May flowers so June, July, and August rainfall is a must for berry and nut development.
Just as clouds, even intermittent shows, can be perfect weather for wedding photographers (yes it is), so, too are summer clouds and rainfalls for wildlife viewing and photographing. It’s all about the light intensity and avoiding shadows.
Wildlife viewing and rural drives are great during rainy days.
Turkeys, eagles and vultures are commonly seen “spread eagle” to dry their feathers. Vultures do this most mornings, rain or shine.
Some photographs use mist bottles to make blooms wet-looking and sports participants sweaty. Rain does that naturally.
Mushroom fruiting bodies are beginning to show, in part because of ample rain this spring. Chicken-of-the-woods, and a few other edible fungi are appearing. More will follow.
What might be more attractive than a fawn photographed with water dripping off its face or a hummingbird protecting its nest, while droplets collect on its bill and back.
Every day rain delays cutting alfalfa is another day’s fawn growth and possibly a fawn saved.
Nature can’t exist without a weekly dose of moisture. Live with rains, don’t curse them. Work and recreate around them; appreciate them for what they do.
— Jerry Davis is an Argyle native and a freelance writer who lives in Barneveld. He can be reached at sivadjam@mhtc.net or at 608-924-1112.
