Wannaskan Almanac

Hello and welcome to a festive Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is October 4th. How about that heat last week?  Today, our family will be out and about taking in all the fall festivities happening this week across Wannaskaland. Last weekend, we enjoyed Middle River GooseFest , where we bought homemade doughnuts (you know, the kind that grannies from yesteryear make), wild plum syrup, a unicorn stocking cap, a children's book, Aunt Sophie's Place by Joni Armstrong (loved it and highly recommend), and a cute scrubby pouch that holds all the loose soap bits that sits on a nice wooden tray.  We feasted on free samples of cooked goose, smoked goose, and a wild rice goose casserole. I considered buying an apple tree and a big bushel of maroon mums before reminding myself that my gardening thumb is far too weedy and brown to justify these splurges. The squares were all sold out, so we missed our chance at $500 from the goose drop. But we enjoyed the thespian talen...

     I saw a scary ad  put out by the government when I was a kid. The ad was pushing US Savings Bonds. The ad showed an old man watching a ship pull away from the pier. He wanted to be on the ship traveling to Europe or South America, but he hadn't saved enough during his working years.   I opened a savings account after that, but it was hard for me to keep money in it. When I got a job, the government started saving money for me. I resented that at the time because I was an idiot, but now I'm glad to have it. However Social Security would provide only enough money to get to the pier. Not enough to get on the ship. When I got a better job my employer offered me money if I would match their contribution in a retirement plan. That provided enough money to get on the ship.    I bought a few Savings Bonds over the years but the government discontinued the program so I cashed them in. Nowadays the only passenger ships are those that cruise around the ocean...

  Some visiting family members had brought their two large dogs with them while they camped in our yard awhile back.   I heard the male dog make a noise that sounded remotely like a someone trying to start a car, "Urr, urr, urr, urrr ... urr."    One dog was a robust long-legged young boxer-like male; the other a very old female of the broad-backed gray muzzle set-with poor eyesight and doddering step, who according to lore, once had the disposition and ability to 'clean her young friend's clock and make him know it.' Hardly boon companions, they both were on long restraints that were anchored in the ground enabling a good deal of exercise for the younger boisterous one; not as much for the old one as she rarely explored its length, appreciating even less the frequent wrap-ups with her all too wild companion.  I've had several large dogs in my life; huskies, hunting dogs, and shepherds. I know they need rigorous exercise to match their verbal expression of un...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for October 1, 2025, the sixteenth Wednesday of the year, the second Wednesday of fall, the first Wednesday of October, and the two-hundred seventy-fourth day of the year, with ninety-one days remaining.   Wannaska Phenology Update for October 1, 2025 Lion's Mane Time Hericium erinaceus , commonly known as lion's mane, yamabushitake, bearded tooth fungus, or bearded hedgehog, is a species of tooth fungus that tends to grow in a single clump with dangling spines longer than 1⁄2 inch. Native to North America and Eurasia, these mushrooms are common during late summer and autumn on hardwoods, particularly American beech and maple. It is typically saprophytic, feeding on dead trees, but it can also be found on living trees, usually in association with a wound. Both the Latin genus name Hericium and the species name erinaceus mean "hedgehog" in Latin. This is also reflected by the German name, Igel-Stachelbart (liter...

Have you ever been truly alone? Chapter 10: A World Reborn The seagull's song was the spark that ignited the world. From the western coast of Canada, the melody of the turning spread like wildfire, carried on the winds and the currents, sung by creatures of every shape and size. The whales took the song deep into the ocean's abyssal plains, their voices resonating through the cold, dark depths, reaching places untouched by sunlight and human pollution. Dolphins danced in the waves, their songs echoing across the surface, a symphony of renewal that cleansed the waters and stirred the ancient memories of the sea. The great sea turtles, ancient mariners who had witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations, carried the song to the farthest corners of the ocean. They sang it in the coral reefs, vibrant ecosystems teeming with life, and the reefs began to heal, their colors returning, their delicate structures rebuilding. They sang it in the vast kelp forests, underwater cathedrals t...

Originally published March 23, 2020... The second city adventure continues. Our main character suddenly feels caught up in the life of others, in particular, the woman in black. With some hesitation, the scruffy and somewhat smelly MC accepts the invitation to accompany her to a funeral where a man is to be burned with his boat. Although dipping a toe into this community, the objective of getting to the sea remains. So, the protagonist is “among them, not of them.” This segment focuses on death and reactions to it. The MC is still young and coming face-to-face with death is somewhat of a surprise. Although this segment is about half the length of the usual, it is packed with serious matters; even Argose is low-key. The interaction between the MC and Ratcliff continues briefly at this point, and will pick up again in a later segment.   “I can’t eat yet, but I will go with you             that is if you won’t be embarrassed by me.” “You can stay off to t...

  The Palmville Globe Volume 1 Number 35 Man Creates New Pancake Flavor  Joe McDonnell, 78 and residing in Palmville Twp, Minnesota, recently created a new pancake flavor. “I was assisting in making turkey gravy recently for the annual church dinner. The woman who had made the gravy for fifty years had retired and four of us younger workers were attempting to recreate her technique for making gravy for five hundred. A step must have been missed because large clumps of flour floated to the top of the cauldron. As I watched our tallest worker strain the clumps out I suggested the clumps could be fried as pancakes. Another worker commented that turkey flavored pancakes sounded delicious.” In a follow-up email McDonnell admitted the comment may have been meant sarcastically. “I’m ok with that,” he says. “I can stand the heat.” Man Awakes from Longterm Nightmare  Joe McDonnell, 78 and a DIY fan, recently discovered he had been worried about something that wasn’t a problem. “Be...

Hello and welcome to a sunny Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is September 27th, and aren't we lucky to get such a gorgeous fall day on the last Saturday of the month? This last weekend in September is the first weekend since 2021 that I'm not hosting a Red Shoes writing retreat in Wannaska. It's also the first fall in which I got to attend a retreat for my own purposes for an entire week. This adventure took me to Wild Rice Retreat just outside of Bayfield, Wisconsin. The purpose was serious - to create my 2026 work plan - and the experience was rejuvenating, restorative, energizing, and fun. Let's start with the nature. I'm well-versed in the rocky cliffs and crannies of the North Shore, but this South Shore experience of Lake Superior was entirely new. (Check out the view below from my walk along the Brownstone Trail.) It felt both similar and different. Fall is in the air with pleasant 60-degree temps and a show of bright red and yellow leaves amid...

   Before destroying a village in Vietnam, US troops evacuated its citizens. As the helicopter rose above the jungle, the peasants asked what that big body of water was. It was the Pacific Ocean. Though the ocean was only five miles from their home, they had never even been aware of it, let alone visited it. I wonder why I can’t be more like those peasants.     Maybe Americans have restless genes. Our ancestors left their villages to come here. Once established here, they told stories about the old home place. I was curious to see how much I had in common with the  place my grandparents had come from. Not very much it seems. I’m an American now and that’s just fine.     When I looked over my Irish grandparent’s birth certificates, I was surprised to see them listed as citizens of the United Kingdom. I shouldn’t have been surprised because they were born before Ireland gained its independence from Britain in 1922.     We may hav...

   Ula was sittin' there mindin' his own business when the land-line phone rings and he notices it's Sven. "Oh, oh, trouble," he thinks, not wanting to know. So, of course, not thinking, he naturally answers the phone. "Hullo." he sez. "Hi,' Sven sez. "I've lost the keys to your car."      "You're screwed,' Ula sez. "We don't be havin' have a spare key for that car. Where are you then?"      "Deer River, where I spent the night you know, instead of driving in a blizzard,' Sven explained quietly. "Remember I called you guys about 12:30 AM? There's about five inches of snow over here."    "And you lost these keys ... how? ' Ula implored, all the while knowing it's one of those computerized fancy keys that not just anybody can make and wondered where can Sven could go to get another--without the original.       Ula Googled 'Saturn Dealers,' knowing they do...