Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) thrives in the Driftless Area, known for its clusters and summer treat potential. Early settlers used its hollow stems for collecting maple sap. The plant’s seeds signal the making of “sumac lemonade,” a delightful drink rich in malic acid. Caution is advised for those allergic to cashews.
The re-introduction of Wild Turkeys in Wisconsin has been successful, leading to a popular spring turkey hunting season. Despite challenges in securing tags and low success rates, enthusiasts enjoy the experience. The author shares memorable hunting moments, emphasizing the thrill of the chase and the beauty of the outdoors in the Driftless Area.
The author shares experiences fishing for perch in Wisconsin, highlighting the species’ decline in Lake Michigan and popular fishing spots like Green Bay. Despite challenges, the author finds joy in catching perch with family. A memorable encounter results in a trophy-sized perch, demonstrating Wisconsin’s quality fishing opportunities and community spirit.
The Prickly Pear Cactus blooms in Wisconsin offer a unique seasonal experience for nature lovers in Wisconsin. While often overlooked, these flowers thrive in the sandy soils of the Wisconsin River valley. Peak blooming occurs in late June, and the red fruit produced is also edible.
The article discusses insect monitoring and management in gardening, focusing on the importance of degree days (DD) to predict insect life cycles, particularly the imported cabbageworm. It outlines Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques, including monitoring, prevention, and control. The author encourages community engagement through events by the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association.
After this past weekend and many decades of doing it, I have figured out that my favorite way to spend time is helping to introduce kids to new outdoor activities. I helped start KAMO in 2007, helped start NOAC in 2023 and though both overload my schedule, I do not seem to be backing off.
Carsyn Thiede, who is 14 and as of today, a freshmen at Mayville High School and Conner Thiede who is 12 and a 7th grader at Mayville are the children of Tyler and Patsy and are my KAMO Kids these days. In other words for about 3 years, I have been helping to introduce them to turkey, deer and now duck and goose hunting.
This week’s column has good news and is loaded with adventure. As you may know, my 23-year-old daughter Selina Walters has been hired by the USFWS as a biologist in Montana. Selina graduated from UW Stevens point last December and I helped her to move to Missoula in January. Selina and I communicate almost daily, and she has become a very active hiker, fly fisher woman and she does a lot of camping and kayaking.
The Savanna Institute, a non-profit based in Wisconsin and Illinois, promotes agroforestry for sustainable agriculture, recently held an open house at their Spring Green Campus. The Institute aims to integrate tree crops into farms, helping farmers increase profitability and ecosystem benefits. Through open events, research, and technical assistance, the institute supports farmers in adopting agroforestry practices. They also offer free classes, volunteer opportunities, apprenticeships, and a podcast.
“Fifty-one opening days of duck hunting ago I was a very young boy in a very low income, single parent family, and my dad was raising my brothers Mike, Tom, myself, my sister Lynn and sometimes my brother Bob. We lived kind of like I do now, which is a very busy life that is often centered around the next outdoor experience. One of our annual ‘can’t miss’ trips was living on an island on the Mississippi River near Ferryville and hunting ducks. I am now 61, low income, running hard, and still on that ‘can’t miss trip’.”
Follow along each week on the adventures of Mark Walters, a syndicated outdoor adventure columnist who lives in Necedah, Wisconsin. He began writing his column, An Outdoorsman’s Journal, in 1989. It includes hunting, fishing, lots of canoeing and backpacking. He currently writes for around 60 newspapers on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!
“This week’s column is about a successful conclusion to my 2022 bear hunting season that has absorbed large parts of my time, thoughts, and pocket book since I began running baits in northern Juneau County as well as southern Jackson on April 15th.”
Follow along each week on the adventures of Mark Walters, a syndicated outdoor adventure columnist who lives in Necedah, Wisconsin. He began writing his column, An Outdoorsman’s Journal, in 1989. It includes hunting, fishing, lots of canoeing and backpacking. He currently writes for around 60 newspapers on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!
“This week’s column is a short summary of the first ten days of my bear hunting situation in which I did not miss a day sitting in a tree.”
Follow along each week on the adventures of Mark Walters, a syndicated outdoor adventure columnist who lives in Necedah, Wisconsin. He began writing his column, An Outdoorsman’s Journal, in 1989. It includes hunting, fishing, lots of canoeing and backpacking. He currently writes for around 60 newspapers on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!
Follow along each week on the adventures of Mark Walters, a syndicated outdoor adventure columnist who lives in Necedah, Wisconsin. He began writing his column, An Outdoorsman’s Journal, in 1989. It includes hunting, fishing, lots of canoeing and backpacking. He currently writes for around 60 newspapers on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!
This was at least the 20th year in a row that I was in what could be best described as a very fun weekend of musky fishing where several veterans and a whole bunch of guys — “The Red Brush Gang” and some other friends, a total of 32 — get together on the Eagle River chain of lakes. Back in the day most of us put in our time at Truax Field in Madison and worked on OA-37s, A-10s and F 16s. About 25 years ago some of the guys started this fun weekend and we have just as much fun socializing as we do fishing.
Follow along each week on the adventures of Mark Walters, a syndicated outdoor adventure columnist who lives in Necedah, Wisconsin. He began writing his column, An Outdoorsman’s Journal, in 1989. It includes hunting, fishing, lots of canoeing and backpacking. He currently writes for around 60 newspapers on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!
The column that I am about to write was supposed to be written on June 15 and it is my annual hobby-farming-getting-by-with-nature-as-much-as-possible story. Instead, the good Lord decided to have my beautiful woman pass away that night and so I had my 21-year-old daughter Selina write my column so I could meet my deadline.
Follow along each week on the adventures of Mark Walters, a syndicated outdoor adventure columnist who lives in Necedah, Wisconsin. He began writing his column, An Outdoorsman’s Journal, in 1989. It includes hunting, fishing, lots of canoeing and backpacking. He currently writes for around 60 newspapers on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!
This week’s column is going to be a bit different but is a very real type of story in the form of a very successful, annual, kids fisheree that is held by Jim and Deb Bires – owners of Bires Northside Mobile in Mauston, Wisconsin. The point of this story is to tell about volunteers and how without them, this world would be a very different place.
“One of the most dangerous things about the Lower Wisconsin River is that it doesn’t look dangerous.”
Timm Zumm, president of Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway (FLOW), shared those words of warning and wisdom this week during a brief break in the search for 22-year-old Parker Kruse, of Arena, who was knocked overboard in a boat collision after rescuing someone in need on July 3 into a Wisconsin River that was high and swift.
The Prickly Pear Cactus is native to Wisconsin and one of the best places to view these beautiful yellow treasures is at the Spring Green Preserve Natural Area.
This year continues to be better than average for Wilson’s phalaropes, yellow-headed blackbirds and now another Great Plains species, the Dickcissel. Large numbers of this sparrow-like grassland bird have been reported from weedy fields, pastures and other dry open areas around the state.
In honor of June Dairy Month, Valley Sentinel is sharing stories of three regional farms throughout Sauk and Iowa Counties. The following story is a first-person account of the Reisinger’s dairy farm between Plain and Spring Green as the family made the decision to end their generational milking operation.
As we head into the unofficial start of summer, bird migration is winding down. Shorebirds are the most prominent remaining migrants, many of them headed for breeding areas on the far northern tundra. Species most commonly being seen include semipalmated, least, and white-rumped sandpipers, ruddy turnstone, sanderling, dunlin, and semipalmated plover. Unusual finds include whimbrel (especially along northern Lake Michigan), red-necked phalarope, and American avocet. Wilson’s phalaropes, a species whose core range lies in the Great Plains, have been far more numerous in the state this spring than any in recent memory.
Follow along each week on the adventures of Mark Walters, a syndicated outdoor adventure columnist who lives in Necedah, Wisconsin. He began writing his column, An Outdoorsman’s Journal, in 1989. It includes hunting, fishing, lots of canoeing and backpacking. He currently writes for around 60 newspapers on a weekly basis. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!
This week’s column is all over the map. My plan was to trout fish in Florence County and sleep in the bed of my truck at night, simple, inexpensive, and adventuresome. I had obtained some information from some very good friends of mine and my plan was to fish Woods Creek and either the Pine or Popple River.