Hello and welcome to the first Saturday of August here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is the 3rd which means in exactly one month, school-aged children will be boarding the ubiquitous yellow buses and hitching rides with parents on their morning commute to schools across Wannaska country.
This week was pretty quiet at our house. The raspberry bushes were pleasingly prolific this summer, bursting with berries and the peak of the harvest has now passed. I hear the blueberries are still in abundance in the forest, so if you haven't gotten out yet for the annual pick, there's still time. A friend came and took a portion of my prolific Lily of the Valley patch in my otherwise very sorry, overgrown garden. If you would like some Lily of the Valley, comment below and we can make arrangements!
Last weekend the littles and I were at my mom's cabin near Nisswa, my childhood home. I never tire of showing people the house I grew up in, the playground my uncle built, the two garages that stand back-to-back (one of which my dad built.)
The cabin is tiny and I say that with no exaggeration. The front half of the cabin consists of a kitchen area and a sitting space for two. A modern-day kitchen is probably larger than that entire space. Imagine the smallest bedroom in your home and it's probably smaller than that.
The back half of the cabin has a sleeping space just large enough for a queen bed, a dresser, and a half bath with a surprisingly sizable closet. There's a half loft under the sloping ceilings that is every kid's dream consisting of two single mattresses, a squat nightstand and a lamp. Instead of stairs, there's a black metal ladder bolted to the wall (a job well done by my handyman uncle) in the "front room."
But we love it anyway. I think it's the no frills feel that captures our spirit and wins our hearts. Staying at the cabin is all about being at the lake. And the lake means two things: swimming and fishing.
We jumped in the lake as soon as we arrived Friday night and swam all day Saturday, only hopping out for meals and to fish. During the Saturday evening swim, a leech attached itself to the Toddler's leg. I pried it off his leg and put the leech on the hook of our Barbie kiddie pole. Unfortunately, like many lakes in Minnesota, our Round Lake, has been infested with Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS), namely zebra mussels, making the water as clear as a glacier-fed mountain lake minus all the benefits.
The pan fish at the end of the dock came aswimmin' once that juicy little morsel plopped into the water. It didn't take long for them to nibble each end of the leech, but the remaining bodily fragment clung stubbornly to the hook. One fish finally couldn't take it anymore. We watched as he made a greedy grab and the Toddler managed to snag it just so and - whoop - we had ourselves a fish.
Maybe it's my upbringing, but I have a very firm belief that the purpose of catching fish is to eat the fish. This conviction is ingrained so much so that I learned how to clean fish. In previous years, one of our consistent objectives while staying at the cabin is to catch enough fish for a fish fry by the end of the weekend.
But this was just a little guy not worth keeping and the forecast for Sunday called for rain. So we took a snapshot and let him go. Out of bait, we took half of a Mike and Ike and stabbed the fish hook through it.
As the sun worked its way past the western treeline and the light faded, we giggled and watched with delight as the pan fish and perch took turns pecking at the candy which quickly lost its bright pink coloring giving way to a clear gummy sphere.
When it finally got too dark to stay out, we tugged the opaque, sticky glob off the hook. The First Grader got the honor of dropping it in the water. The candy remnant barely hit the surface before a small sunny wiggled its way up and swallowed it in one fishy gulp.
1960 - Niger gains its independence from France
The West African country became a French colony in the early 20th century. Hamani Diori became the first president of the country.
1946 - World's first theme park opens its doors in in Santa Claus, Indiana, USA
Santa Claus Land is now known as Holiday World & Splashin' Safari.
1900 - Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is founded
The American tire company was founded by Harvey Samuel Firestone in Akron, Ohio. In 1988, the company was taken over by Japan's Bridgestone Corporation.
1984 - Ryan Lochte, American swimmer
1941 - Martha Stewart, American businesswoman, publisher, author, founded Living Omnimedia
1940 - Martin Sheen, American actor
1926 - Tony Bennett, American singer
1867 - Stanley Baldwin, English politician
This week was pretty quiet at our house. The raspberry bushes were pleasingly prolific this summer, bursting with berries and the peak of the harvest has now passed. I hear the blueberries are still in abundance in the forest, so if you haven't gotten out yet for the annual pick, there's still time. A friend came and took a portion of my prolific Lily of the Valley patch in my otherwise very sorry, overgrown garden. If you would like some Lily of the Valley, comment below and we can make arrangements!
Last weekend the littles and I were at my mom's cabin near Nisswa, my childhood home. I never tire of showing people the house I grew up in, the playground my uncle built, the two garages that stand back-to-back (one of which my dad built.)
The cabin is tiny and I say that with no exaggeration. The front half of the cabin consists of a kitchen area and a sitting space for two. A modern-day kitchen is probably larger than that entire space. Imagine the smallest bedroom in your home and it's probably smaller than that.
The back half of the cabin has a sleeping space just large enough for a queen bed, a dresser, and a half bath with a surprisingly sizable closet. There's a half loft under the sloping ceilings that is every kid's dream consisting of two single mattresses, a squat nightstand and a lamp. Instead of stairs, there's a black metal ladder bolted to the wall (a job well done by my handyman uncle) in the "front room."
But we love it anyway. I think it's the no frills feel that captures our spirit and wins our hearts. Staying at the cabin is all about being at the lake. And the lake means two things: swimming and fishing.
We jumped in the lake as soon as we arrived Friday night and swam all day Saturday, only hopping out for meals and to fish. During the Saturday evening swim, a leech attached itself to the Toddler's leg. I pried it off his leg and put the leech on the hook of our Barbie kiddie pole. Unfortunately, like many lakes in Minnesota, our Round Lake, has been infested with Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS), namely zebra mussels, making the water as clear as a glacier-fed mountain lake minus all the benefits.
The pan fish at the end of the dock came aswimmin' once that juicy little morsel plopped into the water. It didn't take long for them to nibble each end of the leech, but the remaining bodily fragment clung stubbornly to the hook. One fish finally couldn't take it anymore. We watched as he made a greedy grab and the Toddler managed to snag it just so and - whoop - we had ourselves a fish.
Maybe it's my upbringing, but I have a very firm belief that the purpose of catching fish is to eat the fish. This conviction is ingrained so much so that I learned how to clean fish. In previous years, one of our consistent objectives while staying at the cabin is to catch enough fish for a fish fry by the end of the weekend.
But this was just a little guy not worth keeping and the forecast for Sunday called for rain. So we took a snapshot and let him go. Out of bait, we took half of a Mike and Ike and stabbed the fish hook through it.
When it finally got too dark to stay out, we tugged the opaque, sticky glob off the hook. The First Grader got the honor of dropping it in the water. The candy remnant barely hit the surface before a small sunny wiggled its way up and swallowed it in one fishy gulp.
Kids' Corner
The WAKWIR is cutting the grass.
Other kid experiments include setting grapes on fire in the microwave and perfecting the art of the s'more in the microwave.
Other kid experiments include setting grapes on fire in the microwave and perfecting the art of the s'more in the microwave.
On This Day
Historic Highlights (credits)
1960 - Niger gains its independence from France
The West African country became a French colony in the early 20th century. Hamani Diori became the first president of the country.
1946 - World's first theme park opens its doors in in Santa Claus, Indiana, USA
Santa Claus Land is now known as Holiday World & Splashin' Safari.
1900 - Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is founded
The American tire company was founded by Harvey Samuel Firestone in Akron, Ohio. In 1988, the company was taken over by Japan's Bridgestone Corporation.
Happy Birthday to You!🎶
1941 - Martha Stewart, American businesswoman, publisher, author, founded Living Omnimedia
1940 - Martin Sheen, American actor
1926 - Tony Bennett, American singer
1867 - Stanley Baldwin, English politician
Remembering You
2008 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian soldier, author, Nobel Prize laureate
2004 - Henri Cartier-Bresson, French photographer
1995 - Ida Lupino, English actress, director
1929 -Thorstein Veblen, American economist, sociologist
1924 - Joseph Conrad, Polish/English author
Grab a fishing pole, your favorite bait and your favorite people and make it a great Saturday!
Kim
2004 - Henri Cartier-Bresson, French photographer
1995 - Ida Lupino, English actress, director
1929 -Thorstein Veblen, American economist, sociologist
1924 - Joseph Conrad, Polish/English author
Grab a fishing pole, your favorite bait and your favorite people and make it a great Saturday!
Kim
Thanks. I see ads all over the place for Holiday World here, but thanks to some twisted marketing ploy none of them say where it is.
ReplyDeleteMaybe because it's so obvious, it's not worth mentioning? That's how a local might think, so maybe the person in charge is a Santa Claus native. In any case, you're welcome and send me photos when you make the trip!
DeleteI love the angle of the fisherman's swimming suit! Did a sister paint his toe nails?
ReplyDeleteYes she did! The little guy does all he can to keep up with the older kids including the painting of nails. :)
DeleteYour description of your home cabin reminds me of the warm memories I shared in "Remembering Flight." We are fortunate to have those memories. For many people, childhood is all about pain and disappointment, followed by an adult life that is much the same.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought regarding the themes of your new book idea: why not use posts like this one as a pool of material for your effort? Your posts' stories are always lively and full of grist for the new book's mill. CS
That's a great idea! I'm recruiting one of my kids to put my blog posts on my author website so it's easier to access (and show my vast repertoire of writing skills. Ha!) :)
Delete