Wannaskan Almanac

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for August 31, 2022, the thirty-fifth Wednesday of the year, the eleventh Wednesday of summer, the last Wednesday of August, and the 243rd day of the year, with 121 days remaining. Brought to you once again by Bead Gypsy Studio , 101 Main Avenue North, in downtown Roseau, on the very, very, very last day of their August Sock $ale — 10% off the first pair; 20% off the second pair; and 30% off the third pair. Mention Word-Wednesday when you ask about fourth, fifth, and sixth pair rates in-person, and see where that gets you. Wannaska Phenology Update for August 31, 2022 Time to Gather Rose Hips The rose hip or rosehip, also called rose haw, rose hep, and hipster rose , is the accessory fruit of the various species of rose plant, where two species are most common: Rosa moyesii and Rosa rugosa . Rosa moyesii have large red flagon-shaped hips, like the ones so common around Wannaska. Rose hips begin to form after pollination of flower...

It is important to always use the correct word, and spelling, when sharing a story.  For example: There is a big difference between guerilla warfare and gorilla warfare. The best of both words There is a big difference between being in a continent and being incontinent. It is tough to be a bee on a b-team. There is a big difference between being one and being won. If you are told to grow a pair they don't mean grow a pear.   It is better when you are past gas as opposed to when you passed gas. What kind of days leaves you in a daze? What kind of here do you hear here? Have you got a symbol for the cymbal?   These words are known as homophones.  They are words that sound the same but mean different things.  I guess you could say that politician's speeches are homophones too!  When it comes to politicians they say that the buck stops here.  Unfortunately, too often, the sense does too! These are not to be confused with multiple meaning words, s...

Haiku for the Lost One Who Remains Here Grieve not because he is gone; rather, celebrate that he was here. I humbly offer today’s haiku – one of two parts. This post and the next contain seven haiku that I wrote after the death of my beloved teacher, Zenko N. Okimura, Shihan*, who left us on 7 March this year, after a short confrontation with pancreatic cancer. He descended from a samurai clan dating back to the sixteenth century – perhaps older. He left behind a worldwide federation of dojos. He accumulated 6 decades of practicing and teaching Aikido, and he achieved a seventh-degree black belt** and fifty years of service as a Buddhist priest. A singular teacher who lived a remarkable life. I wrote these seven haiku that were read at his Memorial last month. I could not read them myself as I was in hospital; however, a fellow chief instructor stepped up and read all seven to those attending. Today, I show you four of seven. Next week, I will share the other three. Though the subject ...

  Google Translate is great, but before sending a translation on to your correspondent, reverse the translation back through Translate to see if Google captured what you meant.  Each and every language has its beauty and    wit.  I myself prefer English because I understand it.  If your diary reads, “Got up, had breakfast, went to work, came home, had supper, went to bed,” you’re doing it all wrong. To make your diary immortal, record the outrageous doings of your friends and neighbors.  Picking petals off the black flowers of evil one by one, the sinner says, “There is a devil…He doesn’t exist. There is a devil… He doesn’t exist…” The detective opens a tin of red herrings for breakfast and a can of worms for lunch.  Our good looks make us interesting in youth, our money in middle age, and in old age our long string of ailments.  Truth and heresy are ever at war.  Out wanting our own way is at heresy’s core.  The poor man’s infinity...

 Hello and welcome to a writing retreat Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is August 27th. Today I’m in Fosston hosting the last day of the Red ShoesWriting Retreat and it’s been a blast. Thirty writers from all over the state of Minnesota (and a few from North Dakota!) gathered at the Fosston Library and Arts Center. Now, speaking broadly here, writers tend to be a solitary crowd, which makes sense because writing can be a very solitary endeavor. But this crowd of Red Shoes Retreaters came in with big smiles and conversation skills that wowed even this extrovert. I even led an icebreaker activity to create opportunities for people to connect and create a sense of community among the group. They were already chatting before I gave them their first warm-up question, “What are your favorite shoes?” It’s been an awesome whirlwind of activity – yoga for writers, workshops, discussion panels, consultations, book sales, and entertainment – and really nice people who are g...

  Immediately after President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, a great number of books appeared on the shelves turning the dead president into a martyr and turning a quick buck for the authors. I recently came across a beat up old book in a second hand bookstore that had been cranked out immediately after the assassination of President McKinley in 1901.   The book was definitely a rush job, padded with photographs and purple prose. McKinley was shot twice in the chest on September 6, 1901. He was expected to recover, but died from gangrene on September 14. When the book was published the assassin was still living. The author suggested he be kept alive as an example. No one listened to him and the assassin was electrocuted on October 29 of that same year.   Anarchism was the Terrorism of McKinley’s day. Teddy Roosevelt, a few years before becoming president upon McKinley's death, said anarchism was the main problem in the country. Anarchism is a philosophy that rejects th...

     Anna and Joseph Palm with daughters, L-R Eileen, Shirley, and Avis.   The Palm of Your Land  (Author unknown)       Joseph Palm was born to Louis and Ingeborg (Anderson) Palm, in the SE quarter of Section 2 Palmville Township on December 12, 1898, three years after Louis and Ingeborg arrived as the first immigrants to the township. Palmville Township was named for them for that very fact.      Anna (Aasen) married Joseph in Wannaska on June 21, 1937. They lived with Joe's brother, Levi Palm, on the homestead for awhile and then moved to Section 12 in Grimstad Township where they farmed. They moved into Wannaska in 1947 where Anna worked at the creamery there. In 1959, they moved into Roseau.    When I was a child growing up on a farm 9 miles south of Salol, Mn, way out in the boondocks, so to speak…. one of the most fun days in the summer was when a certain traveling salesman came calling.  His na...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for August 24, 2022, the thirty-fourth Wednesday of the year, the tenth Wednesday of summer, and the 236th day of the year, with 129 days remaining. Wannaska Phenology Update for August 24, 2022 It’s Starting Phenology, the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life, doesn’t always herald good news - mosquitos, ticks, skunks. But as we ease out of summer into fall, just don’t think about winter, yet. We have plenty of Wednesdays to come before that cycle starts. August 24 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special : Potato Dumpling August 24 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch : Updated daily by 11:00am, usually. Earth/Moon Almanac for August 24, 2022 Sunrise: 6:29am; Sunset: 8:23pm; 3 minutes, 22 seconds less daylight today Moonrise: 3:05am; Moonset: 7:47pm, waning crescent, 6% illuminated. Temperature Almanac for August 24, 2022          ...

My mom's shower has two settings:   1.  Peel your skin off. 2.  Pound you into submission. Oh well...at least I am clean! I am not sure if it is the shower head or the pressure from the town, but it is pretty intense.  Like a Shiatsu massage it will leave you relaxed and sore for days.   The first showers were taken by people who lived in caves and huts.  At that time, the only powerful source of water was waterfalls. Ancient people would simply stand under the falling water to clean themselves. Not an actual cave drawing according to my sources The Ancient Egyptians used ceramic jugs to replicate the effects of a waterfall by pouring water over themselves. This was the first manmade way of showering.  Wealthy Egyptians would have servants which brought jugs of water to shower rooms. Shower and chicken nuggets...the rich Egyptians knew how to live The ancient Greeks and Romans also developed systems of moving water to their houses and then re...

17 SYLLABLES – Written by a Man Dear Readers, You are in for a bonus today. Yes, it’s about haiku. No, it isn’t about analysis. Oh-oh. We’re going to break our promise about offering a series of female poets to balance out a male-dominated string of posts. No, not a “string”; rather the past total of the guys’ work makes up the threads of a Persian rug the size of Saudi Arabia. (Hmmm . . . Does that analogy work?) Today’s bonus takes a detour to present haiku by our honored guest: The Chairman. It would seem that he was inspired by last week’s post and decided to create a few 17-syllable masterpieces of his own. So, after you’ve read the background that follows, dive right into the Chairman’s haiku, spiced with a few haiku by women know their 5-7-5s. And please, don’t be hard on today’s guest. I confess, I am the one who invited him to be our gender-breaking visitor today. No, it isn’t nepotism. Background: A Brief History of Haiku Haiku’s origin began in the thirteenth century with th...

  You’ll have much better luck getting a spare part from the shop that works on the thing rather than from the place where you bought it.  The old saints wore prickly hair shirts for penance. We modern saints have as hair shirts our civilization’s bright lights and noises.  Once I was scornful of pro wrestling. Now I admire it as a rough ballet followed by truly mad balletomanes.  A mystery movie focuses on who done it.  A horror flick focuses on who it is done unto.  The future of the procrastinator is constantly ducking to let his present stride over it.  When mastering any science, we don’t go down a rabbit hole, rather we dig the rabbit out of his hole.  A faith to move mountains? Miracle enough to change hearts of stone into flesh and blood.  Saying no one loves me is ridiculous. If you say no one loves me like I want to be loved, I will believe you and make a discreet exit. 

Hello and welcome to another Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is August 20th. Last weekend, I had an opportunity to be a presenter at the Northwoods Art & Book Festival in Hackensack. Fun fact, this is Minnesota's longest-running art and literature festival. Hosted by the Northwoods Arts Council , this day included 60 artists and 26 authors, live music, and locally-made pies and craft beer from Rendezvous Brewing. I belong to two book clubs and we tend to lean toward picks that are hot on the market -  New York Times bestsellers, Reese's Book Club, Oprah - and Amazon algorithms for recommended reading. But what I was reminded of last weekend is that we have a whole treasure trove full of local authors right here in Minnesota. I was seated right next to the talented Cate Belleveau . Cate is a staple of the Bemidji theater community. Cate's latest book Kayak Cate is about her adventures kayaking all of the lakes of Beltrami County. On the other side of Cat...