Wannaskan Almanac

 Originally published June 8, 2020... And here we are – the first of two installments of The One for the month of June. You may have noticed that each month my posts include one guest poet from nearly unknown to the most famous, one poem newly created by yours truly, and two posts per month allocated to The One . Hope you enjoy the variety, especially you lovers of all things poetic – perhaps even including the itsy-bitsy spider and the waterspout. All great stories, especially those concerning a hero’s journey, have points of transition; The O ne is not an exception. At this point in the narrative the main character and faithful Argose continue heading south with less idea about why then, perhaps, any other time so far. For a journey such as this one, the direction and timing really don’t matter. It is “the quest” that drives the story’s purpose. But what’s to be done when no defining purpose exists? Carry on? Go home? Find someone to tell you what to do? What is the MC’s raison ...

  The Palmville Globe Volume 1 Number 45 Man Repairs Butter Door Joe McDonnell, 78 and a resident of Palmville Twp, Minnesota, recently repaired his refrigerator butter door. "The clear plastic door is on the inside of the refrigerator door. It pivots up and down on pegs and prevents the butter from falling out. When I opened the refrigerator door the other day, perhaps too quickly, the butter door popped out, fell on the floor, and a piece broke off one end. The glue bottle said to clamp the two pieces together for best adhesion, but the butter door is all curves and angles so clamping was impractical. My repair has been holding up fine after a week." In a follow up report, McDonnell says he put strapping tape on both sides of the break for extra strength. "It's not pretty," he says, "but no one except the family ever sees it." Man Replaces Five Smoke Detector Batteries Joe McDonnell, 78 and an unlicensed electrician, recently replaced the batteries i...

Hello and welcome to a wintry Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is December 6th. Today is St. Nicholas Day (Svatý Mikuláš) and my brother's birthday. Enjoy this poem celebrating both events. Mikuláš Wishes In chilly air, the sixth of Decembers glow, Marks Saint Nicholas Day, as old traditions flow. A time when stories from history awake, And generous deeds for our children's sake. Across the Czech lands, the magic starts at night, When  Mikuláš  arrives, a truly wondrous sight. With bishop's robes and staff, a presence so grand, Bringing judgment and treats across the land. He travels not alone, as is the local way, But with an angel bright, and dark  čert  (devil), sad to say, To sort the naughty from the good, with gentle hand, A beloved holiday, truly well-planned. They knock on doors, and listen for a song or rhyme, Then apples, nuts, and candies fill the evening time. Good children are rewarded, while the  čert  just waits, To warn the mis...

   I never hear of the city of Tyre without hearing its sister city of Sidon mentioned as well. Jesus and the prophets were always predicting the destruction of these proud merchant cities for failing to repent. But I recently came across Tyre by itself in an article about Frumentius, a native of that city on the coast of present-day Lebanon. The city of Tyre (and Sidon) has been destroyed and rebuilt many times since the Bronze Age till now.    Frumentius lived in the fourth century A.D. at which time Tyre was part of the Roman Empire during a peaceful era. His uncle made a good living as a philosopher and took Frumentius and his brother on a tour of the known world.     On the way home their ship was either wrecked in a storm, or it landed in a port on the coast of Ethiopia. The crew was either slaughtered, while Frumentius and his brother were enslaved, or the boys were invited to the king's court while the ship went on its way unharmed. Accounts fr...

   The title of this blog post is a direct quote from this YouTube DIY link that inspired me to fix my 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback, although his example features a 1999 model LO and isn't the same color -- nor sporting what has proved to be quite an attention getter, and so much so that just yesterday, December 3rd, 2025 at 9:48 AM, Chairman Joe himself texted me, "I saw your car at Kevin's. You're (the) only Subaru Legacy with a KOJB :  bumper sticker in Roseau, I think. Troubles?"     I mean, Kevin's Garage isn't located on Main Street, if you know what I'm sayin'. Joe musta driven around the block and down a couple alleys (He's known for that) to see my Soob, then gotten down on his knees to see that bumper sticker on 'tween it and that white '24 Nissan parked behind it, to make sure it was my car because there is another just like it--almost.. I just replied. "Oil change," which seemed to satisfy him: "Ah so. Good to...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for December 3, 2025, the twenty-fifth Wednesday of the year, the eleventh Wednesday of fall, the first Wednesday of December, and the three-hundred thirty-seventh day of the year, with twenty-eight days remaining.   Wannaska Phenology Update for December 3, 2025 Ice Ice, Maybe Ice covers form after a lake or pond reaches 39°F throughout the body of water. The Minnesota DNR says that it takes at least four inches of new solid ice over stationary water for safe walking, skating, and ice fishing, where new ice supports more weight than old ice. Some other DNR facts about new ice include the following: Ice seldom freezes uniformly. It may be a foot thick in one location and only an inch or two just a few feet away. Ice formed over flowing water and currents is often dangerous. This is especially true near streams, bridges and culverts. Also, the ice on outside river bends is usually weaker due to the undermining effects of the fas...