And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for March 25, 2026, the twelfth Wednesday of the year, the first Wednesday of spring, the fourth Wednesday of March, and the eighty-fourth day of the year, with two-hundred eighty-one days remaining, sponsored by Bead Gypsy Studio , 101 Main Avenue North, Roseau, March Madness sale: Purchase any bracelet or necklace at full price and get a pair of earrings 50% off. Wannaska Phenology Update for March 25, 2026 Sandhill Crane Here at Word-Wednesday headquarters, we're all ears for the first call of Antigone canadensis — ajijaak in Anishinaabe — as one of our favorite harbingers of spring, and we heard our first song on Monday. This comes as no surprise; in Anishinaabe oral history, Ajijaak is the leader tasked by the Creator with finding a suitable home for the people, ultimately guiding them to the Great Lakes region. Sandhill cranes are social birds that live in pairs or family groups throughout the year. During migration and ...
If you want to understand the history of Walnut Bend, you don’t go to the library in Millersville. You go to Earl’s and wait for the "Council of Three" to convene near the kerosene heater. These are the men who have sat in the same mismatched chairs for so long they’ve practically become part of the floorboards. I was leaning against the counter, nursing a soda that tasted vaguely like the metal cap it came under, when the topic of "The Old Miller Run" came up. To a stranger, it’s just a stretch of washboard gravel that ruins your alignment. To Walnut Bend, it’s a legend with three different beginnings. Silas spoke first. He was seventy-five, which made him the "kid" of the group. He claimed the name came from a horse race back in the days when a '55 Chevy was still a drawing on a board. "Old Man Miller had a stallion that was more lightning than muscle," Silas said, staring out the window at the dust. "He bet a man from the city that th...