Wannaskan Almanac

  Man Betrayed by Cardboard Joe McDonnell, 78 and a resident of Palmville Twp, Minnesota, recently took a tumble as a result of putting his trust in a piece of cardboard. "It was a large piece of cardboard," McDonnell tells the press, "but it was not particularly thick. I was painting some shingles by the front steps and had set the cardboard on the porch to catch any drips. As I focused on my work, I kneeled on an unsupported area of the cardboard which led to a fall down the stairs." McDonnell clarifies there were only two steps where he fell and that he was not injured. "I was glad no one was watching," he adds, "and that my paint can did not tip over." Man Installs Landmark   Joe McDonnell, 78 and an amateur glazier, recently installed the first of nine windows in his remote hermitage. “The windows were picked up over the years for next to nothing at auctions and yard sales," McDonnell tells reporters. "Four were in good condition b...

Hello and welcome to a pensive Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is August 30th. We are on the last Saturday of summer before school starts here in Wannaskaland. Unless you've been off-grid this past week, getting in one last hurrah before school starts - in which case, yay, you - you no doubt have heard about the Minneapolis Catholic school tragedy that occurred. What a devastating kick-off to what's supposed to be a time of new beginnings, optimism, and joy. My heart feels the distress, the grief, and the loss. Not so much because I'm exceptionally empathic (which I'm not), but because this tragedy touched my own circle of community four times, making this particular school shooting pierce my bubble of imperviousness to land its arrow of lesson into my heart. The first touch came through a book coaching call with my client, a professional woman of color. Her colleague, called to the scene to serve in a professional role of support, could only think of he...

     I used to love watching TV shows, but I've gradually lost my taste for them. I don't seem to have the time for it. I go to bed early so there's not much time available between supper and sleep. And it seems terribly wrong to watch television during the day. But living here in the boondocks I feel I need to expose myself to at least one hour of TV while I eat supper to stay in touch with the outside world.    I've given Teresa the difficult job of finding something I can tolerate. I'm fussy. Drama's are too predictable. Mystery shows are illogical and violent. Give me a good reality show. Not something cringe inducing like The Bachelor, but a real competition such as The Great British Baking Show (GBBS ) or even  the fashion competition Project Runway .    I can't do justice to the wonderfulness of GBBS . Over a ten week period twelve amateur bakers from all over Britain gather in a big white tent in the garden of an English manor to compete ...

I tried on over a half dozen totally cool hats,     in what I thought could be in vain                        to appease the need of my 5-year old granddaughter, Ginny,            who needed a pirate hat in the worst way,                 on August 27, 2025.   None would satisfy her discerning eye, not this one nor this one Or even these two, I thought rather suave.       When I stumbled onto this one Grandma Jackie made with Ginny's help.   SHOULD'VE KNOWN IT'S PERFECT!   Who knew?   Images by 'Ginny.' The pirate hat lable says "BONNY." Illustrations by Wannaskawriter   

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for August 27, 2025, the twenty-eighth Wednesday of the year, the tenth Wednesday of summer, the fourth Wednesday of August, and the two-hundred thirty-ninth day of the year, with one-hundred twenty-six days remaining.   Wannaska Phenology Update for August 27, 2025 Achoo! /ä-CHÜ/ interj., used to represent the sound of a sneeze, a common sound around Wannaska this time of year as Goldenrod —  Solidago nemoralis , and especially Ragweed —  Ambrosia psilostachya , reach peak bloom. Ragweed pollen is a common allergen, and a single plant may produce about a billion grains of pollen per season. It causes about half of all cases of pollen-associated allergic rhinitis in Wannaska. Beekeepers are taking honey from their hives, and the geese are already heading south in large numbers. Could be a cold winter. August 27 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special : Potato Dumpling August 27 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch : Updated daily, ...

Chapter 5:  The Cleansing The realization hit Elias with the force of a physical blow. Humans had messed it all up. The altered world was a testament to that fact, a stark and undeniable truth written in the absence of concrete and steel. The vibrant wilderness that had reclaimed Maine was beautiful, yes, but it was also a graveyard of human ambition. The more Elias explored, the more evidence he found of humanity's destructive touch. He walked through forests that had once been scarred by logging, the trees now standing tall and proud, their roots entwined in the earth where factories had once stood. He saw rivers that flowed clear and clean, no longer choked with the runoff of farms and cities. He found meadows teeming with life, where shopping malls and parking lots had once sprawled. Everywhere he looked, he saw the scars of a world that had been wounded, poisoned, and ultimately, transformed. And with every step, the conviction grew stronger within him: he had to use the song....

Hats off to Chairman Joe for building his 12-by-8-foot Cabinet in the woods 347 steps away from it all. Let's hear it for deliberation! I was on a ride with my siblings the other day in eastern Massachusetts, and on our way to Concord to visit our parents' grave, we drove past Walden Pond. It was early afternoon, and rangers were directing visitors to move on because the park had reached capacity for the day. How ironic, I thought to myself. Thoreau's solitary horizon, bounded by woods all to [himself], has become a mecca for mankind's games and amusements . The board and baton nobility of Joe's place - all set off to the side of life's creek - appeals to that part of me that loves respites from life's noise and distractions. Don't we all crave a little alone time?  Although Thoreau had one chair for solitude in his house, he also hosted what he described as a three-chaired society and entertained up to thirty souls at a time at Walden (albeit all standi...

  The Palmville Globe Volume 1 Number 30 Man Gets Scare at Beauty Shop Joe McDonnell, 78 and residing in Palmville Twp, Minnesota, thought his beautician was putting down her scissors for good. “It’s taken me years to find a beautician who makes me look good and who also appears to be interested in my blather,” McDonnell tells the press. “A few months ago my beautician won a large amount of money at the casino and I was worried she wouldn’t need to work anymore. It’s been six months now and she’s still at work. When I hinted about her big win she said she used her winnings to take a trip with her husband, throw a party for her friends, and then divided the rest between her kids and Uncle Sam.” Man Gets New Spider Tool Joe McDonnell, 78 and a fan of spiders, recently removed the card that said “Please lift handle after flushing”, from the top of the toilet after the installation of a new toilet. “The card was redundant,” McDonnell tells reporters, "but I was able to recycle it as p...