Farmers, gardeners, landscapers, foresters, anglers, and berry pickers have all been impacted by this spring’s lack of usual precipitation.

A short term bright sport could be ground nesting birds and hatching nestlings who leave the nest in search of food, mainly insects.

Heavy rainfall hinders many hatching and growing events of pheasants, grouse, turkeys and other ground nesters.

Working in more controlled environs, Kelly Maguire, at the WDNR Game Farm near Poynette, has had a few impacts. “Our first hatch was just let outside, but the lack of moisture kept the cover corn planted in the pens slow growing,” Maguire said. “We put water out for the new chicks at least twice a day for drinking and preening.”

Maguire is more than midway in the 13 spaced hatches, having just completed eight. “Egg laying, as it usually does, slows a bit from inside and outside hens. The first conservation club received day-old chicks this past week,” she said. “We’re right on schedule to produce our goal of 75,000 birds for department releases, plus the birds for the day-old chick program.”

Trout fishing has really slowed down, according to Bret Schultz, in Black Earth. “The water is very clear and low. Fishing can turn on dime if conditions go from cloudy to sunny, then everything shuts down. But all this will pass, too.”

“Bugs” along the streams have gotten very bad, with anglers running for the vanilla extract and Buggins; others swear by Icy Hot and Absorbine Jr.

Wally Banfi, at Wilderness Fish and Game in Sauk City said fishing is very good but the algae continue to be way ahead of schedule in terms of growth and greening water. “The river (Wisconsin) is about two feet low,” Banfi said. “Bluegills are still spawning, with mainly males being caught in some locations.”

The water temperature in Cox Hollow Lake and Twin Valley Lake at Gov. Dodge State Park in Iowa County, is 70 degrees, according to Kate Mosley, at Kate’s Bait along US 23 near the park. Kate is ready for the hot summer with an ice cream shop associated with her bait shop, where she serves hand-dipped ice cream made from local milk.

Doug Williams, at DW Sports Center in Portage reminds boaters to have the personal flotation devices in their boats at all times. “Don’t forget to use sun screen, too,” he said. “Asparagus picking has been good, morels were not, and the mosquitoes have become fierce in places.”

Area bloomers continue to show, with several in the prairies kicking in every day to two. The spectacular tulip tree, a native of Indiana and a landscape tree in Wisconsin, is peaking. A number of insects and birds visit these flowers, which are laden with pollen and nectar.

Garden and field crops are waiting for more rain. Grasses and pines are laden with pollen waiting for each breath of breeze. Ginseng flower buds are beginning to open and stickseed weeds are ripe for pulling, or wait for removal from clothing beginning in August. Poison ivy vines are beginning to bloom; don’t be distracted and make contact with any part of this vine plant.

During the 2022 spring turkey hunting season, hunters registered 39,009 birds. This year (2023) hunters registered 40,067 birds through the first five hunting periods. Both figures surpassed the 2021 registration of about 37,000 birds.

Begin watching for bobwhite, grouse, turkey, and pheasant poults to appear.

— 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.