A Frosty-Walkingsticks Winter Muse

Hello and welcome to yet another snowy Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is February 12th.

Good grief! It snowed this past week, eh? I mean, I love snow, but even I have my limits. All the ice and cold is quite frankly making me feel frosty about winter. (And normally, I love winter.)

Speaking of frosty, last night the high school in my Wannaskan hamlet on Lake of the Woods hosted its annual Frosty winter dance.

I've got two teenage sons who both have girlfriends, so I was surprised when the older of the two announced he was forgoing the festivities. (The other one is going, so par for the course on that one.) Experience has taught me that these fancy dances are all about the dress, so I couldn't understand why his sweetheart wasn't pouncing on the opportunity to flounce in some sophisticated frills. Then he shared photos of super fancy dresses she's looking at and figured it out: She's saving all of that gown glory for prom.

But for the other dance attendees who dared venture out on a black-icy night, I have to wonder why a girl would step out into subzero temperatures in strappy high heels and a strapless frock with a split up the thigh for a dance? Here are my guesses:

1.) Winter is so bleak people need something to look forward to.

2.) It stems from a tradition that started with Sadie Hawkins and winter was the only spot available on the dance card.

3.) It's the American version of a Czech cultural tradition called "Ball Season" which happens before Lent, similar to the party-party mentality of Mardi Gras before Catholics batten down the hatches and get serious during the season leading up to Jesus's demise.

While the teens braved the elements, our elementary-aged kids snuggled into warm blankets with cups of hot ginger-lemon tea sweetened with a generous dollop of honey from the local Wilmer Honey Farm to enjoy an evening with their parents on the couch.

The First Grader brought home a book about walking sticks. This is something I love about still having children in elementary school – these short nonfiction books about topics I would otherwise pay no attention to. These were my teens' favorite books when they were down in the elementary wing of our school. Over the years, I’ve learned about ants, cockroaches, tarantulas, toads, lizards, the cosmos, and, now, walking sticks.

First fun fact: Walkingsticks is spelled with one word, not two. This was news to me, and apparently, to spell check, which underlines every instance with a red scribble line. (Note: You may want to update your dictionary if you find yourself in the position of writing about walkingsticks.)

Walkingsticks are insects. Insects' distinctive trait is that they have three main body parts: the head, torso (thorax?), and, um, the bottom half. (Hey, I’m doing this from memory. I’m impressed even if you’re not.)

Okay, Google says head, thorax, and abdomen.

"What's a thorax?" I asked the First Grader.

“The thorax is the middle part of the insect,” he answers while playing Minecraft on my phone, answering as fluidly as if I had asked him, "What's your name?"

Insects have antennas. Of course, I get hung up on the plural form of antenna, because I have always thought there was only one correct spelling: antennae.

According to the book, most walkingsticks live in warm and wet parts of the world. Which makes me wonder: Have I ever seen a walkingstick before? I think so? No, I’m sure I have. I spend most of my time in the northern half of the Northern Hemisphere where it is warm and wet only three months of the year.

“Google,  do walkingsticks exist in Minnesota?” (Why not, Alexa? Because Alexa doesn’t live here.)

“Northern walkingstick is common in the eastern half of the United States and adjacent Canadian provinces. It is the only stick insect found in Canada. It is the most common walkingstick in North America and in Minnesota.” (Source)

Walkingsticks squirt a smelly liquid when they sense danger. When I hear the First Grader read this, I think of the orange goo that Asian beetles emit. I can almost smell it.

And my favorite fun fact: Some walkingsticks can change color. The photos in the book are impressive, as they show glossy close-ups of gray, brown, green, and reddish walkingsticks that are nearly invisible. Like nature's version of Where's Waldo?

Just when it got really good, the book ended anticlimactically with a Glossary page - antennas, insect, liquid, predator, and sway (I asked the First Grader if he knew what sway meant. He said yes then proceeded to demonstrate a side-to-side swish). Then a tantalizing To Learn More page that makes me think for a moment that if this were an ebook, we would click on www.factsurfer.com, enter "walkingsticks" into the search box, and click the "surf" button to see a list of related websites as the book suggested.

Instead, we closed the book and turned our attention to an episode of The Thundermans while waiting for the teens to come home from their dates. ("No kissing!" the Fourth Grader demanded when her brothers were getting ready to go out. "You can kiss when you're 25!")

These nonfiction easy readers make me nostalgic for when the teens were that age. When they were little, we spent as many hours on the couch reading as I do with our Phase 2 set of littles. But my mind was elsewhere; less present and more forward-looking to their teen years and the thrill of relating to them as young adults. However, if there's one thing I've learned from having a second set of little people it is to slow down the growing up and enjoy their childhood.

I'm grateful to have had this Eureka! moment on a frosty night in mid-winter while reading about walkingsticks. This morning, I hugged my teens, dousing them with levels of affection they likely haven't experienced since before their voices started changing. As I type this, they're at Robotics with their dad. But when they come home, I'm going to test their walkingsticks knowledge and see how many of those fun facts they read when they were (little) kids still stick.

On This Day

Historic Highlights (credits)

2002 - The trial of Slobodan Milošević begins at The Hague

The former president of Yugoslavia and Serbia died 4 years later, before the trial's conclusion.

1994 - Edvard Munch's “The Scream” is stolen

The iconic painting, one of a series of four, was recovered several months later.

1924 - George Gershwin's “Rhapsody in Blue” premieres

The piece is among Gershwin's best-known compositions and one of the most popular pieces of the symphonic jazz genre.

1912 - The last Emperor of China abdicates at the age of 6

Puyi was expelled from the Forbidden City after a military coup in 1924. He died on October 17, 1967 aged 61.

1909 - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is founded in the U.S.

The NAACP is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States.

Happy Birthday to You!🎶 

1877 - Louis Renault, French businessman, co-founded Renault

1876 - 13th Dalai Lama

1870 - Marie Lloyd, English actress, singer

1809 - Abraham Lincoln, American lawyer, politician, 16th President of the United States

1809 - Charles Darwin, English scientist, theorist

Remembering You

2000 - Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist

2000 - Screamin' Jay Hawkins, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor

1979 - Jean Renoir, French director

1804 - Immanuel Kant, Russian/German philosopher

1789 - Ethan Allen, American military leader

Read about bugs, hug your people, and make it a great Saturday. 

Kim