Wannaskan Almanac

Hello and welcome to a pretty sweet Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is July 18th. This morning, I get to type this from the deck of a pretty nice Airbnb out at Springsteel Island on Lake of the Woods. While the visiting relatives and the Youngest enjoy a charter fishing experience, I get to enjoy chirping birds, an expansive view of the lake, and some welcomed peaceful solitude. So what's on my mind is the World Cup. I read a Wall Street Journal article this morning titled "How the U.S. Lost the World Cup - and Won Over the World." In short, the authors say that the American people, places, and food left our foreign guests more enamored than chagrined with the U.S.A. This is what I saw on social media as well. My hands-down favorite, favorite, favorite post was a Jason Stills song Welcome to the Land of the Free with accompanying videos of World Cup visitors discovering Buc-ees, Waffle House, free soda refills, and - I kid you not - a love for Ranch dressi...

     The best thing about the World Cup being in North America is that fans from overseas have realized the US is not as bad as its press. Americans can be as nice as anyone else if you're nice to them. The fans have spent a lot of money to get here and their efforts to have a good time have been rewarded. Americans are nowhere near as passionate about soccer as fans from elsewhere so there's no hostility towards fans when their country plays the US Men's team.    Teresa and I just completed a tour across the Eastern half of the US. The whole counrty was bedecked in US flags. It's our 250th birthday. Our national sour mood has abated for a season. The only discordant note I heard was in a small-town Pennsylvania gas station. A woman was complaining that gas price would be going up because the president had ended the cease fire in Iran.   We had various goals for this trip. We planned to see our three sons south of Boston, then drive to Delaware to pick up T...

   Life's mysteries surround me on occasion, but perhaps they're not so mysterious if I think about it as they mostly occur in the area of a small Canadian border town and county named Roseau, Minnesota, with a population of 2672, and 15, 246, respectively or, as Joe/Woe Wednesday stated it on February 13, 2025, " Another way to characterize where we live is in terms of population density comparisons. Wannaska: 4 persons/square mile; Roseau County: 9.2 persons/square mile; Tuff Rubber Balls: 914.0 persons/square mile; Minneapolis: 7,962.1 persons/square mile; New York City: 29,303.2 persons/square mile."      The odds of meeting people one recognizes here, or who recognize you, grows exponentially, as happened last week in the Super One parking lot where, as I left the store, I met my friend, JoMar, walking toward the store. He and I meet periodically throughout the year, exchanging pleasantries as we pass; but this time, he stopped and asked, "So are you going...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for July 15, 2026, the twenty-eighth Wednesday of the year, the fourth Wednesday of summer, the third Wednesday of July, and the one-hundred ninety-sixth day of the year, with one-hundred sixty-nine days remaining. Wannaska Phenology Update for July 15, 2026 Blueberries Vaccinium myrtilloides (velvet leaf) and Vaccinium angustifolium (lowbush) are now bearing pickable fruit in Wannaskaland. Miin (singular), miinan (plural) in Anishinaabe, feature prominently in this people's tradition. July is traditionally known as Miini-giizis, which translates directly to the "Blueberry Moon". Blueberries spiritually symbolize protection, wisdom, and resilience. Often called "star berries" in Indigenous folklore because of the five-pointed star on their blossom end, they are viewed as gifts of abundance and healing. July 15 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special : Potato Dumpling July 15 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch : Still ...

I went out for breakfast the other day up in Minnesota.  The cafe I ate at did not have waffles.  I wanted waffles, but no luck.  So I split a meal of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns with my sister.  I should have known better.  Even half of that order was too much food...and I had been eating rhubarb the day before.  I wasn't quite finished when a pressure in my bowels sent me scuttling toward the bathroom.  And what a bathroom it was!  I have never seen one like it.   Before we get into the pictures, I do have to say that using bathrooms in unfamiliar locations can be a scary experience.  I have dealt with doors that don't quite shut.  I have seen bathrooms that haven't been cleaned since the Carter administration.  I have witnessed empty toilet paper rolls and paper towel dispensers.  I have even seen a bathrom that was just a hole in the floor over an empty space (ah...Mexico!) so I thought I had seen it a...

I have friends who bake for pleasure. They try complicated recipes like cookie bars with shortbread crusts. They add caramel and chocolate layers. I’ve seen them throw in a layer of jam for good measure. Ganache. Mousse. These are construction jobs that require patience and skill.  Take people who make focaccia bread! Chairman Joe, for instance. I love focaccia, all that chewy goodness - the salted olive oil. I watched him make it and it seemed easy. Truth is, when I tried it burned. ​What does baking for pleasure have to do with writing? In a way, a blank sheet and a clean counter are springboards. Both activities produce something new from what are otherwise disparate nothings. I’ve always been a lover of stories, and recently read a novel that was so good I didn’t want it to end. I fell in love with the characters and couldn’t believe the level of care the author brought to her plot. As a former high school English teacher, this is certainly not the first time it has happened, b...