June was unusual in northern Wisconsin. During the month much of the middle of North America, including most of Wisconsin, had very hot days early on followed by record coolness as the jet stream sagged south. The sag of the jet stream allowed cold and dry northern air to drift down over the Great Plains and the Midwest. As the month entered its last week, some parts of the state had a rain deficit of more than 7 inches for the year. But then the last day of June, Wisconsin’s Lake Superior shore recorded temperatures at more than 90 degrees. Large thunderstorms brought inches of needed rain to some areas. July began hot with more moisture falling from the sky to lessen the rain deficit in the North, offsetting cool, dry weeks in June that slowed plant growth.
From the Fields: Jason Maloney
Antique John Deere tractors and machinery stand in line in July along Bayfield County Highway C near Washburn, Wisconsin.
Ditches are mowed along Cherryville Road in the town of Barksdale in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. It’s the time of year to slow down for farmers and road equipment, especially on country roads.
Fresh-picked strawberries from the Fruit Loop near Bayfield, Wisconsin, wait to find their way to a dish of vanilla ice cream on the last day of June. Visit bayfield.org/things-to-do/farms-orchards/berry-farm-orchard-report/ to learn what’s available.
Erickson’s Orchard strawberry fields greet the first pickers of the season June 30. The rainy morning gave way to sun and temperatures hotter than 90 degrees by the end of the day.
Heifers frolic during the last days of June in lush pasture in northern Wisconsin. Rotational grazing can maintain pasture health even in dry weather.
Young farmers tend young fowl in turkey tractors at a pasture-raised-meat operation in northern Wisconsin.
A thimbleberry blossom near Wisconsin’s Lake Superior shore foretells jars of precious jam later this summer.
Tall stalks of lupine flowers stand like luminescent beacons in late June in a forest clearing along Lake Superior south of Bayfield, Wisconsin.
A Northern Yellow Lady’s-slipper stands in a swale. Land development has made the plant rare because of changing habitat. The flower is a plant of special concern in Wisconsin. Visit dnr.wisconsin.gov and search for ‘lady slipper’ for more information.Â
Bunchberry, known by some as creeping dogwood, shows flowers in June near Lake Superior. The plant produces red berries later in summer. The berries are enjoyed by some, while others find them insipid. Always correctly identify wild berries before eating them. Better yet, ask someone who knows the plant to introduce you.
A Showy Lady’s-slipper stands in June sun.
A wild rose shows colorful petals in early-July sunlight. Foragers prize the petals harvested in summer and the hips harvested in autumn.
A hawk moth explores for nectar among lilac blossoms in June. The moths are often mistaken for hummingbirds or large wild bees.
A tractor and hay-bailer stand idle in late June, waiting for the next crop of hay in a northern-Wisconsin field near Lake Superior.
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