Celebrating Pollinator Week June 22-28, 2026

This is a week I can really get excited about. 

With summer upon us, I can't think of a better time to celebrate - and support - the many kinds of wildlife that pollinate everything from fruit to veggies and numerous wildflowers and plants. From the beloved butterflies, birds and bees to beetles, ants, bats and many other animals, our pollinators perform a critical role in our food and plant systems.

What can we do to support our pollinators? Here are few suggestions:

• Plant native wildflowers in your gardens and landscape.
• Plant in clusters to help create an area large enough for pollinators to zone in on.
• Look for sunny areas with some wind protection to help pollinators stay on the blossoms.
• Reduce or eliminate use of pesticides on your lawn.
• Leave leaf litter, branches and dead stalks stand in the fall to provide nesting sites. 
• Don't be afraid to leave small unmulched areas to provide nesting sites for bees.

You can find more tips here at the Friends of the Mississippi pollinator page.

While we do alot of the above at our house, I also encourage you to take time on the trails to observe pollinators at their work. Taking the time to pause and observe insect pollinators like bumblebees, beetles, butterflies and ants at their work is a treat in itself.

To find out more about pollinator Week and check out their resoures, please click here. 

The Nature Place in La Crosse WI is celebrating all week long. Stop by their Facebook page for the scoop and stop by and see them this week!

Here are a few photos of our busy insect friends that I've taken in the last week as I lingered on the trails and at home in the native plants.

Flat-headed baldycypress sapwood beetle

Black and gold bumblebee

Monarch butterfly

Western honeybee

Ant on prairie rose

Common eastern bumblebee

Spangled fritillary butterfly

Two-spotted bumblebee

See you  - and the pollinators - on the trails!

Images - Marge Loch-Wouters

Ditch the Itch

It's mosquito season once again. Rain and heat have resulted in a bumper crop of these pesty flying bloodsuckers. While recent cooler temps have slowed them, the mosquitoes are just beginning their summer activity. The resulting itch of the woods mosquitoes is something else.

There are a few ways to arm yourself so you can enjoy the trails itch-free. Everyone has a formula for success here - from drenching ourselves in bug spray to skipping sprays and simply smacking mosquitoes as we hike and not scratching any bites after until the itch finally quits.

Image - AZ Animals 

I'm a bit of a middle-roader here. Some chemicals, some clothes choices and a tried-and-true itch relieving gel. I'm a peace-of-mind kind of gal so prevention is high on my list of hiking comforts!

Here's the gear I rely on to keep me worry (and mosquito bite)-free.

First, the non-chemical..

Head net over my hat. Newer nets almost make you forget you have a fine mesh in front of your face. My go-to is a SeatoSummit bug net that is compact and can be carried in a pocket. With a cord at the bottom, it easily keeps bugs off you face and neck. It's a great non-chemical way to hike through clouds of skeeters.

Rynoskin long- sleeve shirts, pants and socks - I heard about these from a Canadian canoeist who did alot of spring canoe trips. You wear them under your clothes - the pants are more like light, long-undies. So no chemicals needed against your skin. They are very lightweight and have reinforced elbows and knees and have a tight band at wrists and ankles to prevent ticks and mosquitoes from getting to your skin.

I rely on these during tick season and summer evening/early morning hikes when mosquitoes are at their most active. My Rynoskins are light and white so the shirt gives me protection from the sun - and I can skip sun screen on my arms (for the win)! While pricey, I haven't had ticks on my skin or mosquito bites through my shirt after three years of hiking with them.

Chemical Means to an End
Permethrin Spray -we spray clothes we use only for hiking. The soaking lasts for about 6 weeks or 6 washes. We re-spray again after that. We also wash these in separate loads from our regular wash. The spray is very effective at deterring ticks and dampening the enthusiasm of mosquitoes. I do appreciate that I wear the permethrin clothes over my Rynoskin so no chemicals next to my skin. You can also use the spray on your gear.

Bug Sprays - Bug sprays containing DEET or picaridin are my go-to. Picaridin is less smelly and oily but I find either effective. I always spray my boots pre-hike during tick season (March-Oct). When it's too hot for the Rynoskin shirt and long-undies, I use sprays on my arms and face and hat and tuck my socks into my pants and give them a spritz too. On the trail, I carry a small bottle of bug dope in case I manage to sweat it all off .

Relief After Bites

My well-used After Bite gel.
Small enough to fit in a pocket

No matter your prep, bites happen. My absolute go-to is a product called After Bite gel. The small tube can be carried in pocket or pack. Applied immediately after a bite, it reduces swelling and itch (hurray!). I also find it relieves chigger bites when I am out in long grass or gardening. Total win!

While we have to live with biting and stinging insects on the trails, we don't have to suffer. Hope you find relief in some of these suggestions!

[Note: this post is updated from one published June 5, 2023]

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

I Spy on the Trails - June 1-15, 2026

Subtle early June prairie colors

June started with a bang - first with some lovely June-like weather and then with enough rain to keep new growth happy and swimming in moisture. As usual in our new climate-changing world, we also had some fierce storms that caused damage here and there in the Driftless. The first half of June ended with some unexpected cool temps starting our third week.

The call of the tame landscape was high on my priority list - using the pleasant days for planting, mulching the wildflower beds surrounding the house and weeding the many persistent woods-weeds that love our yard as much as the woods next to us.

That left less time on the trails than I like. The addition of a new and persistent pain in one foot meant less bluff hiking for me, more rest for the foot and doctor appointments to see if this is temporary or a new body stage as I age. I picked ambling, flatter trails that were less painful and full of prairie flowers so I wasn't bereft of the natural world though. But you'll note fewer observations.

One benefit of less motion is more reading - especially of some fascinating books on the natural world. Watch for a review or two coming up in the next month or so!

Finally one of my absolute highlights of this (and many a) year was walking through the "Prairie Dreams: A Trail of Quilts" quilt display along a prairie trail loop at Frontenac State Park on Saturday, June 13. This two-year project by the amazing volunteers in the Frontenac State Park Association was funded through a Minnesota Arts Board grant. Over 120 quilters participated by designing quilts around the theme of prairies. Wandering along the trail with quilt and nature enthusiasts admiring the quilts, the pollinators and the flowers on this perfect June day was just the best. 

To see photos and information on the quilters, the quilts, and a few reflections written by naturalists, please stop here and here.

The pictures below juxtaposing nature and art on the quilt trail capture the wonder of what happened!

A fawn makes an unexpected crossing
Image- Carrie Cronin

A real American lady butterfly landed
on a quilt designed  by Sandy Evans
at the Prairie Dreams event

 

Can you spot the butterfly on this
larger photo of the quilt?
Image - Leslie Hall

Plant Observations
Flowering:

• alexander, golden
• alyssum, hoary
• anemone, candle
• beardtongue, foxglove
• beardtongue large

  

  Large-flowered beartongue

• butterfly milkweed
• camus, death
• cinquefoil, tall
• clover, sweet yellow
• columbine
• Deptford pink
• fern, bristly bladder
• fern, bulblet bladder
• fern, oak
• grass, prairie junegrass
• grass, smooth brome
• grass, porcupine
• grass, purple lovegrass
• grass, Scribner's panicgrass

  

  Porcupine grass

• grass, rough bent
• ground cherry, Virginia
• groundsel, prairie
• harebell
• hawksbeard, narrowleaf
• indigo, wild
• jack-in-the-pulpit
• leafcup, small-flowered
• milkweed, clasping
• milkweed, common
• milkwort, racemed
• plantain, wooly
• puccoon, Carolina
• puccoon, hoary
• rockcress, lyreleaf
• rose, prairie

  

  Prairie rose

• Solomon's seal, false
• Solomon's seal, smooth
• sorrel, sheep
• spiderwort, Ohio
• spurge, flowering
• thimbleweed, Canada
• thimbleweed, tall
• thistle, nodding
• woodsorrel, slender yellow
• yarrow

Sprouting/greened/budded:

• bergamot, wild
• boneset, false
• clover, purple prairie
• clover, white prairie
• compass plant
• coneflower, gray-headed

  

  Goat's rue bud

• coneflower, purple
• coreopsis, prairie
• Culver's root
• cupplant
• fleabane, prairie
• four-o-clock
• goat's rue
• goldenrods
• grass, bluestem, big
• grass, bluestem, little
• leadplant
• quinine, wild
• rattlesnake master
• roundheaded bushclover
• sage, white
• wormwood, field

Past bloom:

• frostweed, Canada
• lupine, wild
• prairie smoke
• ginger, wild
• prairie blue-eyed grass
• puccoon, hoary

Fungi/Moss/Lichen:

• moss, twisted

Wildlife Observations (seen/heard/detected)

Birds: 

• blackbird, red-winged

  

  Dickcissel

• blackbird, yellow-headed
• blue jay
• bluebird, eastern
• cardinal
• catbird, gray
• cedar waxwing
• chickadee, black-capped
• chimney swift
• cowbird, brown-headed
• crow
• dickcissel
• finch, house
• flycatcher, great-crested
• flycatcher, willow
• goldfinch, American
• grosbeak, rose-breasted
• indigo bunting
• killdeer
• kingbird, eastern
• meadowlark, eastern
• mourning dove, 
• oriole, Baltimore
• pewee, eastern wood

  

  Mourning dove eggs after I accidentally
  flushed her off her nest

• redstart, American
• robin, American
• sparrow, clay-colored
• sparrow, field
• sparrow, Henslow's
• sparrow, house
• sparrow, song
• sparrow, vesper
• starling
• swallow, tree
• titmouse, tufted
• thrasher, brown
• vireo, Bell's
• vireo, eastern warbling
• vireo, red-eyed
• warbler, northern yellow
• warbler, Tennessee
• woodpecker, downy
• woodpecker, hairy
• wren, Carolina
• wren, house
• yellowthroat

Mammals

• fawn

Insects/arachnids

• bumblebee, American

  

  Twelve-spotted skipper

• bumblebee, common eastern
• butterfly, American lady
• butterfly, bronze, copper
• butterfly, Monarch
• butterfly, spangled fritillary 
• butterfly, tiger swallowtail
• dragonfly, Halloween pennant
• dragonfly, twelve-spotted skipper
• dragonfly, widow skimmer

Great spangled fritillary
on butterfly weed

Two weeks of hikes
Hikes below in colored, bold type or underlined have links to previous posts OR descriptions and/or location of the trails found online.

Holland Sand Prairie, Holman WI (2); Community Prairie and Butterfly Garden, Decorah, IA; Trout Run Trail, Decorah, IA; Upper Mississippi National Wildlife & Fish Refuge Visitor's Center, Brice Prairie WI (2); Frontenac State Park, Frontenac MN

Deptford pink

The "I Spy on the Trails" column is a phenology (the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals) journal to chronicle year-round the weather, plant life and wildlife I observe while hiking. It is very useful in helping me compare observations from year-to-year. The column is published monthly from September through April and then twice-a-month from May through August when warm weather brings the natural world back to vibrant life.

Images, unless noted -Marge Loch-Wouters

American bumblebee on a nodding thistle

Naturalist's Corner - Climate Change

If you are a person who loves getting into nature -whether a hiker, gardener, kayaker, canoeist, biker, hunter, golfer, boater or other outdoor enthusiast - it isn't  a surprise to note how our climate is changing despite those who deny the exisitence of this threat to our spaceship earth. So it was with great interest that I read our guest naturalist Melissa Hermsen's article in the summer issue of the Rattlesnake Buzz newsletter. The Buzz is a quarterly publication of the Allamakeee County (IA) Conservation Board and Driftless Area Education and Visitor's Center based in Lansing IA.

Here is a bit about Melissa: "Melissa Hermsen is the Assistant Naturalist/Office Manager for the Allamakee County Conservation Board, based in Lansing, Iowa. She is originally from Dubuque, and worked there as a seasonal naturalist in previous summers as she studied Environmental Science at the University of Iowa. Melissa loves everything Driftless, especially relating to the area's unique geology, and is also passionate about sustainability, biology, and education."

You can read more about what the Conservation board and visitor Center offers at their website. This article is reprinted with permission.

Climate Change at Home

by Melissa Hermsen

Climate Central IA Trends

On average, Winter and fall have warmed up 

more thanspring and summer in Iowa.

Climate change is happening. It’s happening now, it’s affecting us, and we (humans) caused it. According to the 2024 Yale Climate Opinion survey, 71% of Iowans believe that climate change will harm future generations, but only 37% think it will harm them personally. While it’s true that Iowa has no melting glaciers or rising sea levels, climate change has already started affecting our temperatures and precipitation patterns, making life more difficult for humans and wildlife alike.

Heating Up
Iowa is, on average, about 1.5 degrees warmer today than it was in the 1980’s. The most dramatic change has been between December-February, 4 degrees warmer on average. While these numbers hardly seem significant, the Earth has only warmed about 10-12 degrees since the height of the last ice age. Warmer winters may feel more comfortable for humans, but they are also more welcoming to weeds, diseases, and pests.

Moisture Madness
Heavy precipitation in Iowa has already been increasing, primarily in winter and spring, and will continue to increase flooding events. Leafy plant cover intercepts rain, slowing it down before it hits the earth, and roots anchor soil in place. Heavier rains earlier in the year, when plants are small and trees are just starting to leaf out, means more soil lost to erosion and more fertilizer leached from fields. This affects all Iowans, as runoff decreases water quality in streams for humans and wildlife. When rain quickly runs off the land, it is not able to absorb deeply into the soil or recharge aquifers.

Dying From Drought
Spring may bring heavier rains, but droughts are also expected to worsen in the midsummer heat. With more extreme summer temperatures on the way, livestock and humans will experience dangerous heat stress. Drought conditions also increase the occurrence and severity of wildfires. The fire itself isn’t the only concern---smoke traveling from hundreds of miles away can worsen Iowa air quality and pose dangers to children and the elderly.

Make A Difference
There is one thing that we absolutely must do more of: talk about climate change. Talk about weather patterns you’re noticing, how things have changed over the years, worries you have for the future, and steps you’d like to take to make things better. There are also number of changes we can make in our own lives to reduce our energy use, both small and large. These habits are good for us, too---they save us money on fuel and electricity. Personal lifestyle changes alone cannot fix the climate crisis, but they help prepare us for a lower-energy future.

For the record, I’m far from perfect. Change is difficult, and sometimes there are upfront costs before the savings hit. However, this summer I’m trying out a new adventure: biking to work. I recently got a new (used) bicycle and went on my first ride in about eight years!

WI DNR Comment Period Open for Western WI Public Lands

I saw this recently on the 1000 Friends of Wisconsin Facebook page. It should be of interest to all outdoor users in western Wisconsin.

“The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released a draft regional master plan for the Western Coulees and Ridges, covering hundreds of public lands across western Wisconsin, and they are accepting public comments through July 2026. 

The plan will guide long-term decisions on recreation access, habitat restoration, forestry practices, and future improvements to parks, trails, and wildlife areas. Because it sets management direction for decades, this is a key opportunity for residents, outdoor users, and local stakeholders to weigh in on priorities from conservation and water quality to trail expansion and public access. If you care about how these landscapes are used and protected, now is the time to review the draft and submit feedback.”

To read the full DNR plan and access comment forms, please stop here.

Image - Marge Loch-Wouters

Update on the Iowa/Wisconsin Bridge Project at Lansing

June 9 Update: LANSING, Iowa – June 9, 2026 – The Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation (DOT) are announcing that the center span of the new bridge for the Iowa 9 / WIS 82 Mississippi River Bridge Project will now be installed on June 12 due to weather. Crews will need to close the free car ferry and restrict other traffic on the Mississippi River on Friday, June 12, so the pre-assembled section of the center span can be floated down the river and connected to sections being built in place. 

Larry Quamme of the Friends of Pool 9 shared this June 5 press release on the raising of the center span in the construction of the new Lansing bridge and ferry closure.

Image courtesy of Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing Facebook page

Ferry, river traffic to close for center span install

for new WIS 82 / IA 9 Mississippi River Bridge

 

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), together with the Iowa Department of Transportation, are announcing a key milestone in the IA 9 / WIS 82 Mississippi River Bridge project. The center span of the new bridge will be installed on Thursday, June 11 and Friday, June 12 in a process that includes floating the pre-assembled section down the river to be connected to sections being built in place. The project will need to close the free car ferry and restrict other traffic on the Mississippi River on June 11 and 12, 2026.

 

On the morning of Thursday, June 11, the center span will travel downstream by barge until it aligns with the new sections. It will then be lifted into place and connected to the existing east and west assemblies. The entire process is expected to take several hours. The channel will remain closed on Thursday, June 11 and Friday, June 12 to fully connect and inspect the span. The project will continue in future weeks and months with additional construction on the bridge superstructure, deck and other features. The new bridge is expected to open to traffic in 2027.

 

The Iowa DOT will display a livestream of the event at iowadot.gov/lansingbridge. People are encouraged to watch the livestream as a safe and comfortable option.

 

Below are details of the center span installation and associated impacts to the car ferry and other vessels on the Mississippi River.

 

• The free car ferry will operate on Wednesday, June 10 through normal hours. The car ferry will not operate on Thursday, June 11 and Friday, June 12, and will resume on Saturday, June 13 at normal hours. See iowadot.gov/lansingcarferry for car ferry service details.

 

• The project team is coordinating with the US Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers to restrict all commercial and recreational boat traffic on the Mississippi River around the project site on Thursday, June 11 and Friday, June 12. Recreational boat traffic from the Lansing Marina will be allowed to travel north on the river on Thursday, June 11 after the center span barge has cleared the area. Boat traffic from the Big Slough Landing and other landings on the Wisconsin side should be able to traverse the sloughs but will not be able to use the main channel under or around the bridge project.

 

• The contractor will enforce a restricted area on the Mississippi River to both the north and south of the bridge.

 

• There are no planned highway or street closures. The ferry landings on both the Iowa and Wisconsin sides will be closed to vehicles. There are no anticipated impacts to adjacent property owners.

 

• With the ferry closure, motorists should follow the marked detour routes with the closest bridges at US 18 between McGregor, Iowa, and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin; or at US 14 between La Crescent, Minnesota, and La Crosse, Wisconsin.

 

• If weather or other circumstances delay the center span installation, the alternate date is set for June 18 and June 19.

 

The Mississippi River Bridge project has been proceeding since late 2024 with the new bridge extending from both the western Iowa shore and the eastern Wisconsin approach. The prior bridge was demolished in December 2025. The center span is being assembled just upstream near the Lansing Marina. By assembling the span off site, the project was able to keep the river channel open at most times and keep the car ferry service in operation.

 

For more information on the construction of the new Mississippi River Bridge as well as updates on the existing bridge status, go to iowadot.gov/lansingbridge. Individuals may also sign up to receive email updates and view the Facebook page at facebook.com/LansingBridge/. Full information on the ferry is available at iowadot.gov/lansingcarferry.

 

The latest traveler information is available anytime through our 511 system. Visit 511ia.org; call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide); stay connected with 511 on Facebook or X (find links at https://iowadot.gov/511/511-social-media-sites); or download the free app to your mobile device.

Nature Sneak Peek - June 2026

Bulblet bladderferns

Summer is here! We are officially in the warm season of abundant plant growth and abundant wildlife activity. As the weather heats up, nature is enjoying a massive growth spurt. It makes June a particularly beautiful month to be outdoors.

Here are some of the things you might notice on the trails in June. Enjoy!

Woods

Now that the leaves are fully out and shading the trails, the season of delicate ephemerals is mostly behind us. Sturdier, shade-loving plants come to the fore. Nettles, cleavers, woodbine and other green growth is explosive.

Ferns - are in their glory this month as they reach towards their full growth. Watch for interrupted, ostrich, lady, sensitive, wood and maidenhair ferns in the woods. Note the small ferns like rockcap and bulblet bladderferns that nestle in rock faces. These hardy beauties need little soil to be successful.

Leaves three, let it be -poison ivy

Fungi - mushrooms like inky caps, oysters, conks and shelf mushrooms like Dryad's saddle are much in evidence on the trails. Watch for chanterelles and old man of the woods make an appearance as well. Be sure you know which mushrooms are edible before foraging.

Poison ivy is out in plant, bush and vine form not just in woods but in wetlands and prairies too. Be cautious near trail edges and don't touch any plant with three leaves if you're not sure of it's identity.

Prairies

Death camus

This is the beginning of their shining season. I hike often in  prairies for the sheer diversity of blooms throughout the warm season. Sun loving plants and their insect pollinators (and their predators) are out in force. There are swaths of big bold color on the prairies (think butterfly weed, puccoons, spiderworts and more) but watch for the blooms of rare plans like bastard toad-flax, beardtongue, Canada frostweed, four-o-clock and Deptford pink.

Leonard's skullcap

Leonard's skullcap and mountain death camus - these tiny blooms on short stalks are some of my favorite June finds. Every part of the camus is deadly to ingest for wildlife and humans. The skullcap's bloom is no bigger than a small child's fingernail but one of the most beautiful blooms on the prairie.

Milkweeds - while we are used to seeing the common milkweed and its attendant butterflies nectoring on them, there is a wealth of other milkweeds to discover. Among the ones you can spot in the Driftless area: butterfly weed, narrow leaf, clasping leaf, purple, short green, green comet and whorled milkweed. Keep your eyes out!

The Solomon's seals - it's finally bloom time for these elegant forbs. Often people struggle between identifying smooth (true, as some people say) vs false Solomon's seal. If you are one of them, this mnemonic can help: false on the lip; true under hip. In other words, the false Solomon's seal sets it bloom from the tip while smooth Solomon's seal has blossoms under it's leaves. 

The top photo shows a false Solomon's seal with it's flower "on the "lip" or at the tip of the leaf structure.

The photo below it shows a smooth Solomon's seal with it's pendant buds ready to open "under hip", sheltered by its leaves above. 

I admit I wish poor false Solomon's seal had its own lovely name without the word "false" but that's life!

Wetlands

Plants that love wet feet are in abundance including marsh ferns, grasses, and flowers. But the real star here is the wildlife.

Widow skimmer dragonfly

Dragonflies/Damselflies - mosquito hatches in wet, damp areas also bring out a rich variety of flying predators. Wisconsin has over 118 species of dragonflies alone. It's fascinating to watch the skimmer, clubtail, forktail, darner, cruiser and spiketail dragonflies, along with the more delicate broad-winged and spread-winged damselflies, go about their business. And I can't help thanking them!

Turtles - it’s time for turtles to dig their nests and deposit their eggs. This is a dangerous time for the females. Keep a sharp eye out on roads near wetlands and bodies of water. If you can do it safely, you can help a turtle by following this guide to the left.

Birds - the nesting and fledging season for a variety of songbirds is in full swing. Early morning or late evening walks are a symphony of sound in the trees and brush of wetlands as the many warblers and songbirds call. While the leaves obscure the view, with a pair of binoculars you can still spot some of the flitting birds on the hunt for food for their young.

Finally, Fireflies  

While you may not be hiking at night, one of the most iconic and anticipated insect appearances of June is the firefly. As darkness falls, these beetles that can produce bioluminescence through a chemical reaction within their abdomen, begin their mating ritual. Their winking nightly flights always feel to me like the proof that summer is well upon us.

No matter where you go, be curious. Take some extra time to look and see what you can see along the trail. You’ll be delighted!

Purple milkweed

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

Scaly inky cap mushrooms