Wannaskan Almanac

                                   ôlmə nak     al·ma·nac Dictionary result for almanac /ˈôlməˌnak,ˈalməˌnak/ noun: almanac; plural noun: almanacs; noun: almanack; plural noun: almanacks An annual calendar containing important dates and statistical information such as astronomical data and tide tables. Definition of almanac. 1: a publication containing astronomical and meteorological data for a given year and often including a miscellany of other information. 2 : a usually annual publication containing statistical, tabular, and general information. An almanac is an annual publication listing a set of events forthcoming in the next year. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, a calendar for the coming year, the times of such events and phenomena as anniversar...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac for Word-Wednesday, February 27, 2019, brought to you today in gratitude for all Roseau County teachers. February 27 is the 58th day of the year, with 307 days remaining until the end of the year, 33 days remaining until April Fools Day, and 1,091 days until Twosday, February 22, 2022. Nordhem Lunch : Mushroom & Swiss Chicken Earth/Moon Almanac for February 27, 2019 Sunrise: 7:10am; Sunset: 6:03pm; 3 minutes, 32 seconds more daylight today Moonrise: 2:46am; Moonset: 11:44am, waxing gibbous Temperature Almanac for February 27, 2019            Average      Record     Today High       24               45             8 Low         4         ...

Today marks the 57th day of 2019.  There are 308 days until we receive perfect vision.  (Comment below if you understand that lame attempt at humor).  This is officially the 68th day of winter.  It only feels like the five hundredth day of winter in Ye Olde Wannaska. The official state bird for Minnesota since 1961 is the loon.  The unofficial state bird is the mosquito.  About twelve thousand loons make their home in Minnesota every summer.  Nobody is really certain how many mosquitoes call Minnesota home every year, but it is likely more than twelve thousand.  The loon is one of several different critical habitat plates that you can purchase for your vehicle. According to the Minnesota DNR, there are 246 different types of birds that make their home in Minnesota.  Some of them leave in the winter.  These are called snowbirds.  They often spend their winters lounging around in their RV's in Arizona or Florida. Speaking of loun...

Mary Oliver , 83-year-old poet, who won the National Book Award, and the Pulitzer Prize (1984), died this past 17 January. The New York Times hailed her as “far and away, this country’s best-selling poet. (Dwight Garner, February 2007). She produced poems about everyday life and the pristine splendor of nature. I’ve chosen to share in this post selections from her nature poems: geese, owls, and the deep woods. Many good reasons exist for her readers’ wide admiration. Unlike too much poetry, her work is straightforward and loving. Her unabashed enthusiasm for living seem to leap off the page coloring the simple days of human beings, of their spiritual centers, and of the sentient beings that co-exist with them. Some called her naïve. Her fans thought of her as accessible. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she was the daughter of Edward Oliver, a schoolteacher, and Helen (nee Vlasak), a secretary. Though she gave few interviews, in one of them Oliver alluded to childhood abuse, although sh...

I don't dare look up anything with even the slightest hint of evil. Otherwise my phone will be inundated with ads from hell.                                                 @jmcdonnell123

We watch the History Channel to make up for not having gone to a better school. Or even paid attention in our crummy one.

Hello and welcome to another snowy Saturday here in Wannaska and across Minnesota. Today is February 23rd and we are at the  Boston Scientific FLL MN State Championship in St. Paul where I will be cheering on the Warbotics and Lego the Woods FIRST Lego League teams and the W.A.K.W.I.R. and his teammates on the Lego the Woods team will be trying their best to advance to the World Championships. (Note: Last year, Warbotics made it to Worlds.) The W.A.K.W.I.R. and the Lego the Woods'ers have worked hard this past year. They're an impressively cohesive group with great ideas, lots of imagination and super savvy skills. Good luck, team! Concurrently, we'll also be cheering on the Lady Warriors who won their way to the big MNHSL Girls Hockey State Championship game at 4:00 pm. Go, Lady Warriors! Woohoo! Today, we also remember English poet, John Keats , who died on this day in 1821. Have you ever read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein? If you haven't, go back...

   Welcome to the Wannaskan Almanc for Friday.    On this day in 1862, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated president of the Confederate States of America. After seven states had left the Union the previous year, Davis had been named provisional president. In the meantime an election had been held which Davis won without opposition. His wife Varina considered it a tragedy for the family. Davis himself would have preferred to have been leading soldiers in the army.    Davis was born in Kentucky in 1808 a few months before, and 100 miles distant from, his future adversary Abrham Lincoln. He was the youngest of ten children. His oldest brother Joseph, who would have great influence in his life, was 23 years his senior.    When Davis was three the family moved to Mississippi and purchased plantations in the Delta. Davis was sent to high school academies in Kentucky. In 1824, brother Joseph arranged for Davis’s appointment to West Point. Just before ...

                                         Long Time No See, Morris.      Last week, I got a call on our answering machine.  “Hi, my name is Kerry and I used to go to school with you. This is my phone number. Call me.”        I knew what this was about, our fiftieth high school graduation reunion, he said as much in his opening dialogue. The cat was out of the bag. No surprises now.        “Are you on the high school reunion summons board?” I asked him, plaintively.  “Nay,” he answered, affirmatively.      Well, in so many words. He denied it, but I knew he’d come ‘round to it again. Kerry was like that ‘way back then, smooth, articulate, genius, and it was all because, he said, he...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac for Word-Wednesday, February 20, 2019, brought to you by the Love to Read Event, Roseau Library, February 23 from 10:30am - 12:00pm, featuring crafts, games, a movie, snacks, and a free Pete the Cat book!  February 20 is the 51st day of the year, with 314 days remaining until the end of the year, 40 days remaining until April Fools Day, and 1,098 days until Twosday, February 22, 2022. Nordhem Lunch : Meatloaf Dinner Earth/Moon Almanac for February 20, 2019 Sunrise: 7:24am; Sunset: 5:52pm; 2 minutes, 28 seconds more daylight today Moonrise: 7:26pm; Moonset: 8:16am, waning gibbous Temperature Almanac for February 20, 2019           Average      Record      Today High       21               50            21 Low  ...

First of all, it is indeed an honor to be writing this on 2/19/2019.  I looked up some interesting events that marked February 19 in the year 219 A.D. and found that nothing of any significance happened on that date.  People were probably too busy celebrating the numerology of that day. It is now five days past Valentine's Day.  This likely means that even the "Sorry I forgot Valentine's Day" cards are now marked down to half price at Walmart.  Hopefully you got something from that special someone...even if it was late. February 19 is National Lashes Day.  This day celebrates the beauty of both natural and fake eyelashes.  Here are some real and fake ones for you to check out. I know that you are probably eager to get some fake eyebrows of your own, so you can purchase some here .  Unfortunately, the fake eyelash store in Wannaska recently closed.   February 19 is also National Chocolate Mint Day.  The very best chocolate mint, ...