Wannaskan Almanac

Hello and welcome to an Independence Day Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is July 4th. Happy 250th, America! Today's the big day: the celebration of 250 years as united states. I used to poo-poo birthdays, but then I turned 50 and realized that celebration of major milestones and life events is a good thing. So, let's throw the confetti, toot the kazoos and wave our banners. WAKWIR* 1.0 just phoned in from Philadelphia to report on his successful trip to see Big Boy , the world's largest operating steam locomotive he mentioned in his last blog post . "It's HUGE." (Emphasis on the capital letters.) "It's so interesting because usually you think of trains like a passenger or a freight train, but this was neither. It's a heritage train part of the Union Pacific heritage department. Its purpose is to celebrate the history of that specific train." The best part of seeing it with his own eyeballs was that it was REAL. "I've se...

    Happy 250th Birthday America!      Is a 250th birthday more portentous for a country than a 200th? I was around for America's 200th birthday and I can say with authority that these fifty year increments zip by quickly. In 1976 Gerald Ford was doing his best as president, but the country was not happy. President Nixon had resigned two years earlier to avoid impeachment. Half the country believed he had been unjustly hounded from office and the other half had been delighted to see him go. There's been a vendetta atmosphere in the country ever since.   Are things better now in the US or worse? They were pretty good for me back in '76. I had a beautiful wife. We owned a house in Wannaska that we planned to move to as soon as I finished school. We had friends and supportive families. Life was good. Fifty years later it's even better. Most of our sorrows have come from witnessing the sorrows of our friends and family members. It bothers me that half the count...

   My late brother-in-law, Clair Baldner, who is survived by his wife Ann Marie Reynolds Baldner, walked on in February this year. A Celebration of Life gathering is to be held on his 5th generation farmstead in Dallas County, Iowa; my daughter Bonny and her family, along with myself, will be attending. I wrote this memory of him, initially in a sympathy card to his family.   Clair and Ann Marie got married at The Stover Memorial Church of the Brethren in Des Moines in 1956, when I was five years old. Nonetheless, they pressed me into service as their familial ‘Ring Bearer’ who, as AI describes now is “... often a close relative ... who carries the wedding rings down the aisle on a pillow ...; whose role adds charm and sentimentality to the ceremony; (I nailed that.) Dress them in a mini version of the groomsman’s suit, or suspenders and a bow tie for a cute look; keep the walk short; help them feel special and behave well.”    Clair’s niece, Susan, was their ‘F...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for July 1, 2026, the twenty-sixth Wednesday of the year, the second Wednesday of summer, the first Wednesday of July, and the one-hundred eighty-second day of the year, with one-hundred eighty-three days remaining. Wannaska Phenology Update for July 1, 2026 Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata —diindiisi in Anishinaabe—is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae , along with raven, crow, and magpie, making its presence known to Wannaskans everywhere. Diindiisi breeds in both deciduous and coniferous forests, and is common in residential areas. Blue jays feed mainly on seeds and nuts, such as acorns, which they may hide to eat later; soft fruits; arthropods; and occasionally small vertebrates. They typically glean food from trees, shrubs, and the ground, and sometimes hawks insects from the air. Blue jay parents build an open cup nest in the branches of a tree, and both sexes participate. The clutch may be two to seven eggs, which are bluis...

There are things that strike you and leaving you asking the question...how could I have not known that.  Take this for example:  We're Not Gonna Take it by Twisted Sister borrows the music progression from a Christmas carol.  Which one?  Well, listen to this. Sneaky.  I would have never guessed, but now I can't unhear it.  Here are some other things that people should know but often don't: 1.  Ventilation Often Backfires: We are taught that venting anger helps us "let it out." However, psychological studies show that aggressively venting (like punching a pillow or screaming or randomly ramming parked cars) actually prolongs and intensifies anger rather than diffusing it. Quieter reflection or distraction works much better.  That is why you should always silently look into a mirror. 2.  Hearing is the Last Sense to Go: When a person is dying or under heavy anesthesia, the auditory system remains functional longer than sight, touch, o...

  The woman had slept in. Now, sitting up and stretching, she yawns,  looks around the room, and thinks, Home invasion! She won’t be calling the police, but this looks bad. Only after her ritual read in bed does she look up again to survey the scene. The necklace she’d worn to church peeks out from the pile of laundry on the bureau. Her sunglasses loll on the floor asking to be stepped on. Last week’s unpacked suitcase doubles now as a doorstop. Before she’d gone out of town, she’d set aside a pile of random socks for matching. She sees them now, crowding together on top of the bookcase. On her way downstairs to make some breakfast she thinks she hears them griping because the others are still gone missing Mayhem reigned on the first floor too, and as our woman walks into the kitchen, she chuckles as she continues the inventory she’d begun in her messy room. After staying up too late watching some series, rimmed cups and rinsed dishes sit in the sink unwashed. Dried teabags, a...