Wannaskan Almanac

We love our doctor and hope that he is right. When he's grim, we pray that he is wrong. Allow no piece of technology in your portrait, or it will pretty quickly date you. I once parked so straight, with all kinds of graces. Now, I'm the galoot who takes up three spaces. The debates are about finding the right St. George to slay the dragon and rescue the princess (us). The solstice passes, and we descend towards winter like a fly sinking in a jar of honey. The better the ingredients you can afford to buy, the worser a cook you can afford to be.                                                                                   jmcdonnell123

YAY! and welcome y'all to a fabulous Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is June 29th, aka the LAST Saturday of June which means one month down, two to go of #SummerVacay2019. The flock has returned from their annual migration across the great Atlantic pond and summer has officially started. We kicked off with an organizational map I prepared while they were still in flight. What the heck is an "organizational map?" It's a visual representation of all the stuff I have to do and want to do in the next two months, including spending time with loved ones and brushing up on my Czech language skills. I'm a mind-mapper type of gal and so my map consisted of small rectangular strips of cut-up notecards that filled a library table. I lumped all the bits of paper under several headers such as Relationships, Red Shoes, and Me (because a body's gotta do something for the self, no?) And why am I taking up valuable Wannaskan Almanac real estate to tell you ...

   Welcome to Friday with Joe McDonnell    On this day in 1914 Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo. Exactly five years and 15 to 19 million deaths later, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending the First World War.    Gavrilo Princip was a Bosnian Serb who got involved with the Black Hand, a Serbian secret military society, that was trying to unite all the south Serbs into a single Yugoslavia. Bosnia had been taken over by the Austrians just five years earlier as its old master, the Ottoman Empire, was falling apart.    Archduke Ferdinand had said that when he became emperor, he would give parts of his empire such as Bosnia more autonomy. If that happened it would be harder for Serbia to pry Bosnia loose from the Austrian Empire. The Black Hand decided the Archduke had to go. They stationed six potential assassins armed with bombs or pistols along the route the Archduke's motorcade would ...

                                      Saving Turtles Iclic Vermer sadly observed yet another driver who had slowed traffic north of Palmville District 44 West by stopping their vehicle in the lane with its flashers going. The person was busy ‘saving turtles’. "There you are, safe across the road!."  Johnson Crick flows east northeast under County Road 8 through two large culverts there, just south of the Palmville Cemetery Road, but the Painted turtles who have resided there for centuries refuse to use them. Instead they use the overland route exposing themselves to vehicular mayhem of various descriptions including, but not limited to, farm business & recreational pickups, straight trucks; tankers and flatbed semis, vans, cars, campers, tractors (2-9 wheeled models and those on tracks), ...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac for Word-Wednesday, for June 26, 2019, the 26th Wednesday of the year,  the 177th day of the year, with 188 days remaining. Nordhem Lunch : Hot Ham Sandwich w/Potatoes & Gravy Earth/Moon Almanac for June 26, 2019 Sunrise: 5:22am; Sunset: 9:31pm; 27 seconds less daylight today Moonrise: 2:05am; Moonset: 2:43pm, waning crescent Temperature Almanac for June 26, 2019                 Average        Record         Today High            76                   95              81 Low             55             ...

Ho ho ho!  You are half way to Christmas!  Have you begun to decorate your tree yet?  Do you have your lights up, or did you forget to take them down?  Do you have your shopping done yet?  If you are looking for a list of things to get your favorite Almanac writer, you can find it www.amazon.com where you can search for a wish list.  I won't presume who your favorite almanac writer is.  Today is the birthday of: 1927  Marvin Windows...hockey player from Roseau, MN. 1906  Silver Dragon...silent karate movie actor in the 1920's from Malung, MN. 2019  Hugh J Mosquito...annoying blood sucker from Roseau County, MN.  Soon to stop by your house! 86 AD  River Frontstore...Jack of All trades from Wannaska, MN.  Credited with the saying "You ain't gotta drive all the way to Roseau for a gallon of milk!" The Anti-Politeness Revolution, part 2: Last week I talked about whooping and hollering at a graduation ceremony.  Thi...

Last time, our young heroes had just finished a meeting with their teacher who has encouraged them to reach for the stars – or at least spread their wings and learn to fly. All the planets appear to be converging to facilitate the launch of a journey into unknown territory. One might ask from what source young people feel such calls to adventure, exploration, and discovery. The teacher certainly adds speed to their trajectory. Then after months of waiting, as is said, “I feel like something’s bound to show up soon.” And it does in the form of – well no spoilers here. What does arrive, however, begs the question of the role of will power and intention and their effect on life events. Weighing Anchor – Segment 1 The river runs silky against mud banks Winter snowmelt hurries down a thousand tiny streams to feed the widening water Months have been swallowed up since Hart and I sealed our pact to leave, but here it is Spring again, and we remain in Chickopee with ...