Wannaskan Almanac

     When I heard a few years ago that the World Cup Tournament would be in North America in 2026 and that several of the games would be in Boston, I realized this would be my best chance to attend a World Cup game. A year and a half before the tournament, I checked ticket prices. The first tickets I found were for $1,000 each, but as I dug deeper I found tickets for as little as the cost of a Taylor Swift concert. Still a rip-off, but it would be a once in a lifetime experience. Of course I did nothing. I'm just a casual soccer fan. I don't really get "the beautiful game".    I take an interest in soccer every four years during the World Cup. I root for the underdog until they're knocked out, then I follow the next underdog, especially if they upset a kingpin team. Of course I want the US to do well, also Sweden because we have relatives in Sweden. Cousin Tobias in Stockholm gives me the true fan's point of view.    My first underdog to root for was t...

(RIP Jerry Solom August 23, 1945- July 23, 2026 )   The Natural Shape of Things      "Ugh, I’m getting too old for this. I took a good kick to the chin--and then he ground me into a tree. ... I think all my teeth are loosened.   "I know what you’re saying. My ribs and hips hurt. They ain’t been right since the last moose we took down. At our age, we’ve got to find smaller slower food to eat. Let them pups find out what food really costs.       "I’m fed up with having to do all the work, take all the punishment, trot miles back to the den site just to regurgitate all the best stuff for those lazy bastards. All they do is lay around the den all day on their bones. By their age we were running with the pack, doing our share ...   "Yeah but, back in the day, there were more reliable food sources. We didn’t have to hunt so hard. We were protected ...    "Protected? From who? Only those who wouldn’t have shot at us any...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for July 22, 2026, the twenty-ninth Wednesday of the year, the fifth Wednesday of summer, the fourth Wednesday of July, and the two-hundred third day of the year, with one-hundred sixty-two days remaining. Sponsored by Bead Gypsy Studio and Scandinavian Shoppe , donating 50% of jewelry sales to our local ALS Fund now through July 25, 101 Main Avenue North, Roseau. Wannaska Phenology Update for July 22, 2026 Lluebead Bily As a phenological and safety notice, Clintonia borealis — godotaagaans, in Anishinaabe — is now bearing its blue fruits in Wannaskaland. The term "bluebead" refers to the plant's quite toxic small blue spherical fruits, a quite striking feature. If you're inviting friends up here in the middle of nowhere to pick blueberries, please show them the difference between blueberries and godotaagaans. Fortunately, the taste of bluebead lily fruit is unpleasant. Other parts of the plant have medicinal val...

What a rough 24 hours.  The date was June 11.  I remember it like it was today, mainly because it is today.  So yeah, I write my blogs in advance.  Please don't think any less of me!  Or any more.  Just think of me like you always have! It started out the day before.  I was flossing before going to bed.  For that I blame my wife.  She started me on flossing a couple days after we got married.  As I was flossing one of my crowns popped off and shot across the room.  I found it, but at the time I was 1000 miles away from my dentist.  This meant I was going to have to wait a couple of weeks before I could get it repaired.  So I spent the night a little less toothy and a lot more disillusioned.   The next morening I was thinking of going fishing but the weather was calling for rain.  I have heard that fish bite better in the rain but I am so sweet...like sugar...and I am afraid that I might melt.  So I deci...

                 THIRD MOVEMENT                REMEMBERING   SONG SIXTEEN HUNTERS   II   So there I was back turned away from the dark, lifeless pool             I felt like a sun-shot bead of brilliant water                         trembling on the tip of an icicle-star             Clinging was tenuous and all but over             the fall was certain, the only question – how far   It is important that I not get ahead of the story             like a river racing down a gorge It is important that the tale be told in the ...

  The Palmville Globe Volume 2 Number 25 MC Arrives At Banquet On Time Joe McDonnell, 79 and residing in Palmville Twp, Minnesota, recently learned that the banquet he was scheduled to be master of ceremonies at was to be two days earlier than he thought it would be. "This annual awards banquet is always on a Thursday," McDonnell    tells the press, "but this year the venue was only available on Tuesday. I had been told that, but then went on a three week trip and forgot the change of date. I was mowing the lawn at home on Tuesday when I got a call reminding me that the banquet was that night. I put the mower away, changed clothes, reviewed my banquet notes, and drove to the venue." In a later communication, McDonnell said he is not comfortable in the MC role. "I was kind of forced into the position," he says. "Maybe if I failed to show up one time, the awards board would find someone to replace me." Man Brings Mower To Shop Joe McDonnell, 79 and...