Summer draws many to lakes, rivers and streams, others prefer to recreate, gather, and enjoy in the outside from terra firma underfoot.

Those water lovers may still be standing ashore, like several teenagers who check out fishing gear from the library in Sauk City.

Yes, a few libraries in southern Wisconsin have teamed with sports shops and have a lined poles, reels, fishing regulations, and maps on getting started with a new or otherwise money-demanding venture.

Be careful when in or near summer waters. Don’t take chances.

Maybe libraries should check out personal flotation devices, too for those one day recreationalists.

Berry gathering time is near; wild black raspberries (blackcaps) and field strawberries are beginning, and mulberries, too. Check locally for ripening dates.

Other garden goodies continue to come into kitchens. While potato flowering is spotty at best, and does not offer specific details about the stem tips underground, some of these small delicacies have already been dug.

Wild mushrooms are beginning to decorate dark forests, some edible, some not. Last year the prize sulphur shelf fungus first appeared in mid-July. Coral-like fungi are out and about, but not considered edible.

Turkey and grouse broods continue to be reported, while rafts of other turkeys dot fields and roadsides suggesting not all hens successfully nested.

Deer movement continues to be impressive and deadly for some. A few GPS-collared fawns are encountered fences and other deadly structures, but many seem to be practicing for future racing events. Antlers, coat colors, and feeding locations are highly attractive to observers.

In 2018, 25 sharp-tailed grouse permits were issued, all for Zone 8.

Season and permit information will be available soon, possibly including one or more of the other three zones (old deer management numbering system) in northwest Wisconsin.

Pollination events have received added attraction this summer; both the insects and the plants providing pollen, nectar, and other foods.

Monarchs are commonly seen in larval and adult stages. While most milkweed plants have no more than one larva, some plants have as many as four. If we notice that, so do some bird species, it’s presumed.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are searching for brightly colored flowers, red feeders, and sapsucker drillings. Often a bird will comes into a car garage and is unable to dip down enough to get out and open door. 

Try walking a feeder into the garage and attracting the bird closer to the door; this will sometimes work to free the hummer from captivity.

While unmowed roadsides can be trouble to deer crossing and motorists driving, the vegetation can give viewers an opportunity to brush up on July plant life.

Recognizable flowering roadside plants tall enough to be seen at 60 mph, include wild parsnip (yellow umbels), angelica (purple stems and globe-shaped, compound umbels), and cow parsnip (white flowered umbels).

Summer is a major outside recreation season, but also an accident-loaded period, particularly for they young-at-heart.

— 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.