Wannaskan Almanac

Hello and welcome to a special-announcement Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac by way of Prague. (Yes, that gorgeous European city.) Today is April 25th. I'm delighted to announce that my friend Kathy Magnusson has recently published her first children's book, Luna's Light. I'm so proud of Kathy, not just because she's my friend, but because this book is a result of her diligence in utilizing the Red Shoes. She has used the information, contacts, inspiration, feedback, and the simple amenity of space and time of several of my writing retreats to craft this book. It was a thrill to be her book coach/cheerleader during this time. What follows is Kathy's big book launch announcement. Save the date! In 2018, I wrote a story about a little light bulb for the public speaking club I belong to, Star of the North Toastmasters. The goal was to write an original story and tell it in 5-7 minutes.  My story was about Brenda the Light Bulb and how she thought she wasn’t g...

     When searching Google Maps for a town, you’re offered a chance to explore the local vibe. AI gives a brief summary of what a place is like based on what people are saying about that place. For example, my town of Wannaska is "quiet and peaceful. The people there are friendly and family oriented. They enjoy outdoor sports". I personally know people who say there’s nothing to do there, but AI filters out negativity.     AI keeps changing the description each time I look. When I just checked, Wannaska has become "deeply" quiet  and "characterized by its lack of hubbub," which is a nice way of saying there's nothing to do there. Wait! What about the annual Potato Days Festival in August. AI admits that the Wannaska Potato Days Festival is actually in Barnesville, MN, 160 southwest of Wannaska (AI said it was southeast). According to AI, Wannaskans enjoy the vibe at the Black Cat Sports Bar. The Black Cat is half way between Barnesville and Wannaska in...

Firebreaks are just my attempt to do something against wild fire, rather do nothing.      I burned off a Blue Grama Native Grass plantation to renew its growth and to kill the volunteer alder brush spreading through it. The evident snow line on the left is a 800-yard long firebreak protecting several thousand trees of many different varieties planted in the last 14 years; on the far right is a township roadbed that acts as a firebreak as well. I carry a couple backpack fire pumps and buckets with me on my ATV to put out spot fires or insure fires are out along the line. Here I have started to burn creek banks nearest the house. (The snowplow is unnecessary; just hadn't removed it.)      After last year's many Red Flag warnings, I keep an eye out for the weak links in our own chain of firebreaks I've made. For the last couple years, I've renewed our firebreaks, for stalling the progression of an unexpected grassland wildfire.    ...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for April 22, 2026, the sixteenth Wednesday of the year, the fifth Wednesday of spring, the fourth Wednesday of April, and the one-hundred-twelfth day of the year, with two-hundred fifty-three days remaining. Wannaska Phenology Update for April 22, 2026 River Otters — Out and About Lontra canadensis , Minnesota's largest aquatic carnivore can be seen now at Hayes Lake. Nigig, in Anishinaabe, can swim and maneuver better than many fish, and swims with only the top of its head out of the water. Adults are about four to five and one-half feet long, including the 18-inch tail. Nigig prey includes a variety of small aquatic organisms such as fish, clams, muskrats, and turtles. They can also catch terrestrial mammals such as chipmunks, mice, and young rabbits. Members of the family Mustelidae , otters have a long period of "delayed implantation". Shortly after adult females have a litter of one to five young, they are bred ...

The Day We All Woke Up and Said, “Wait… We Pay Who How Much?” Historians will someday mark it as a turning point in human civilization: the morning when the world collectively rubbed its eyes, stretched, checked its bank apps, and suddenly realized that the people we’d been paying the most money to—actors, athletes, and musicians—were not, in fact, the ones keeping society from collapsing into a feral, post‑apocalyptic wasteland. It was a shocking revelation, especially for those who had spent decades believing that a man who pretends to be a superhero on screen was somehow more essential than the person who grows the food that keeps us alive. The shift began innocently enough. A famous quarterback signed a contract worth more than the GDP of a small island nation, and someone—no one knows who—muttered, “Huh… but he doesn’t actually feed anyone.” The comment spread like wildfire. Within hours, millions were asking themselves why a person who can throw a ball really far was earning more...

Life hacks. I recall first hearing the term in the early aughts and wincing. A wordophile, I thought the harsh, dry-cutting sound of the word seemed so violent. Should I look away? Or what, are we talking about coughing?  I've since learned that, of the 8.5 billion Google searches made each day, more than half involve some version of how-to or a life tip.  I'm not much on social media, but I don't live under a rock. Before long, I caught on that the hack was just a hip way to talk about making life easier or more efficient. Always one for innovation, yay, I said to myself, it sounds like a party. I love to cook, so today I'll feature food hacks for two of my favorite carbs: oatmeal and pasta. Oatmeal is a time-honored breakfast staple. For years, it's helped me maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Plus, I like it. These could be significant factors that outweigh oatmeal's dirty-pan drudgery: the long wait involved in cooking and the gummy pan to clean. For me, ...