Wannaskan Almanac

Hello and Happy New Year on the first Saturday of 2025 here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is January 4th. It's been a most blessed whirlwind of family togetherness this past two weeks, and, now, the exodus is in full swing. College Kid 2.0 was the first to leave, having taken up seasonal employment elsewhere before making his 3rd annual January trip to the Czech Republic. College Kid 3.0 leaves tomorrow (weather pending) to pick up his life in his second quarter of college, where, I imagine, the novelty of college will begin to wear off and be replaced by an increasing feeling of normalcy which both comforts and, to an extent, disappoints. College Kid 1.0 leaves Tuesday morning -and this will be the most bittersweet parting of them all. The Oldest has been a tremendous help around the house, but more than that, she has been a tremendous presence of love for her siblings. She introduced Stardew Valley , Neko Atsume: Kitty Collectors , and Castle Crashers to the still homebound ki...

      Pezzi e cianfrusaglie-  That's how the Italians say bits and pieces. And that's what I have for this post about Italy. I've already posted a chronological description of our November tour, but I have some bits and pieces that I'd like to display.     Before Venice, we had been in Amsterdam. I wondered if anyone swam in the canals there. Swimming is forbidden in most canals for safety reasons, but there are a few designated swimming areas in the canal system. The canals occasionally freeze so there's hockey too.      Swimming is forbidden in the Venice canals because the canals are part of the sewerage system. Also, you might get hit by a motorboat. But I can imagine a drunk tourist late at night risking the $500 fine.     When we arrived in Florence, our bus dropped us off by a little park with a statue of Savonarola. I had a vague memory that Savonarola had been a bad dude. Sabra, our tour director, said that Savonarola was t...

    I was at an impasse to know what I was going to write for this post, until I read Woe Wednesday's post:  https://wannaskanalmanac.blogspot.com/2025/01/word-wednesday-for-january-1-2025.html and his feature        “January 1 Historic Events, Literary or Otherwise, from On This Day” 1960: Johnny Cash plays the first of many free concerts behind bars at San Quentin Prison.     Well, that caught my eye, so I googled “Johnny Cash concert San Quentin.”   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e2B-thaJG0. Of course, that video lead to Johnny Cash and June Carter   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypH4xH8fjA0 and without a doubt: “Ghost Riders in The Sky” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeD7-_E2QHw.     I got to remembering that on New Year’s Eve 2024, I had told Catherine (Jackpine Savage) that back in 2000, I think it was, I had attended a Bluegrass Festival in Morden, Manitoba, Canada, with Chairman Joe, ...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for January 1, 2025, the first Wednesday of the year, the second Wednesday of winter, the first Wednesday of January, and the first day of the year, with three-hundred sixty-four days remaining.   Wannaska Phenology Update for January 1, 2025 Rime Ice With all the excess fog moisture and freezing temperatures lately, Wannaska has become a winter wonderland. The dazzling display of long, crystalline spikes on ground plants, tree branches, pine needles, and automobile antennae is called soft rime ice: supercooled droplets from fog frozen and attached onto an exposed surface. On days with stronger winds, the crystalline formations grow more globular and appear as flocking. With recent gentle winds from the northwest, our recent rime ice grew on the southeast side of exposed surfaces. January 1 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special : Potato Dumpling January 1 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch : Updated daily, occasionally. Earth/Moon Almana...