Wannaskan Almanac

     After our five day walk to the source of the Thames River 185 miles west of London, we planned to be driven around Wales on a small bus for four days. We were almost in Wales when we finished our walk but our bus was leaving London next morning and there was no way we could get back to London in time to catch it.    Teresa had called the tour company and asked if we could catch up with the tour on Day Two of the tour in Wales itself. Yes we could. But it would involve catching four trains to the coastal town of Aberystwyth. As our tour bus was leaving London, we were catching a train from Kemble to Swindon. It was a 14 minute ride and we only had 8 minutes to meet our next train. We were told that would not be a problem. I got a little nervous as our train sat in the Kemble station while the seconds ticked by. When we got to Swindon we looked for the platform for the next train. There always seemed to be lots of employees to tell us where to go.   ...

Mickinock Creek / Beaver Dam: A Journal 1987   June 6, 1987       "If its true that fathers are prone to " ... rectitude and sobriety, and a decent regard for the sanctity of life after witnessing the birth of their children," (Lake Wobegon Days/ Garrison Keillor.") I guess I'm just one of the crowd after all.       "It's almost depressing to ponder that as I thought I was entertaining some real inner transition upon becoming a father (in January that year). I thought that something had affected me,  particularly , and here I find out that, very possibly, a real majority of new fathers have felt the same way since the beginning of time . Nuts.       "Letting go of all the originality then I concede to the gravity of real responsibility. I relinquish the idea that I am different from the others -- and admit 'ere so slowly and reluctantly that I'm just one of the whole realm of new fathers past, present, and future. ...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for October 29, 2025, the twentieth Wednesday of the year, the sixth Wednesday of fall, the fifth Wednesday of October, and the three-hundred second day of the year, with sixty-three days remaining.   Wannaska Phenology Update for October 29, 2025 Woollybear Caterpillar  Pyrrharctia isabella , miishijiizimwaabigweshi in Anishinaabe, can now be found throughout Wannaska as they leave their food plants — grasses, plantain, dandelion, and nettles — in search of a sheltered spot where they can hibernate for the winter. Each fuzzy (miishijiizim) 1.5-inch long woollybear eventually wakes up on a spring day and continues to feed before forming a cocoon. In about two weeks, a golden-orange, two-inch moth emerges, with three rows of black dots on its abdomen. These Isabella Tiger Moths are active at night during summer. Some folklore says that a woollybear's color band can help us predict the upcoming winter’s severity, but colorin...

 Seven Reasons the ACA Should Be Retired The Affordable Care Act was supposed to be the Swiss Army knife of health reform: sleek, versatile, and ready for anything. Instead, it’s more like a government-issued spork—technically functional, but nobody’s thrilled to use it. After more than a decade of duct tape fixes and political CPR, maybe it’s time we let this thing go gently into the legislative night. Here are seven reasons why: 1.  It’s Affordable in Name Only Calling it the “Affordable” Care Act is like naming your cat “Dog.” Premiums have ballooned, deductibles are Everest-high, and the average American is left wondering if they’re paying for insurance or sponsoring a small country. Affordability shouldn’t require a second mortgage. 2.  Choice Has Been Juiced Out Remember when health insurance was a marketplace? Now it’s more like a vending machine with one stale granola bar. In many regions, there’s only one provider left. Monopoly may be a fun board game, but it’s ...

Originally published April 20, 2020... Whether in dreams or waking, if you have an aversion to reptiles, especially snakes, you may want to skip this segment. If not, you will meet another Dragon – this time who can communicate with the main character. Argose continues as the faithful canine companion, participating every step of the way. Our travelers have reached a place on the river that has sandy shores and a surprise. At this point, the river is wide and deep enough to float large ships, and the explorers encounter one along their way. The segment begins with a dream full of metaphors and symbolism. Perhaps, this dream is one of the most gripping so far. You be the judge if you have read the other dreams. I’ve fallen hard on the rocky bottom a long, hollow shaft of stone dripping cold with stained rivulets trickling down damp sides a nearly round well echoing profound every drop plopping onto the floor’s circle Faintest light filters down the maw above I hear something alive s...

  Man Solves Tire Riddle  Joe McDonnell, 78 and a resident of Palmville Twp, Minnesota, recently replaced two tires on the right side of his truck. “I jacked up the rear tire and replaced it with the spare,” he tells the press. “Then I jacked up the front tire, removed it and then brought the two tires to the shop for replacement. I wanted both new tires on the front and it took some mental gymnastics to get this done expeditiously. First I put a block of wood under the front end of the truck so I could remove the jack. Next I jacked up and removed the left front tire and replaced it with one of the new tires.    I swapped out the old front tire for the spare mentioned previously as being in the right rear spot and put the spare away. Finally I jacked up the right front side, removed the block of wood and installed the new tire.” McDonnell says as a youth he used to work on riddles like the one about a man trying to cross the river with a fox, a chicken and a bag of ...

Hello and welcome to a gorgeous fall-colors Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is October 25th and the LAST Saturday of October. Yep, this time next week it'll be November. A few weeks ago, I saw a terrifically fantastic post about a cheery fellow on a bike dispensing unusually specific, yet poignant, compliments to strangers. I reached out to my friend who shared the post and asked if I could share it here in Wannaska. She said yes, then let me know it was not an original post - she herself hadn't had the encounter described - but had taken it from elsewhere on the internet. Here's that source:  ArgyleWerewolf. “The Compliment Guerrilla.” Reddit , 2023, https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/14xjzv3/wp_for_three_thursdays_in_a_row_something. It turns out it's a work of fiction, but I share it with you today because I love the piece. I love the quirky cyclist; I love the pedestrian who felt compelled to sign up for field agentry. I love - and believ...

     Yesterday, Day 3 of our five day walk to the source of the Thames River in England, had been rainy and we had gotten soaked. But the new day had dawned bright and sunny and our clothes were dry after a night on the room radiators. A rainy day is often followed by a cold front and that's what we were having. England is famous for the strength and perseverance of its southwest winds.     Our 10.7 mile walk this day from Lechlade to Cricklade was mainly to the west. The wind was indeed strong, but at least it was sunny. There was only a 10% chance of rain predicted. Soon my right eye was running copiously from the sharp wind. I put on sunglasses but what I needed was goggles. We did get relief from the wind in the wooded stretches which alternated with open pastures and fields all day.     We saw on our map that Castle Eaton was six miles distant and resolved to stop at the Red Lion Inn for a break. Ann, our fellow walker who we had met at ...

Mikinaak Creek had just enough water in it on October 23, 2025 to cast a reflection of the white spruce trees across the creek that a friend and I planted in 1974. The ongoing drought in Palmville Township, in the NW part of the state, has taken its toll here. The creek banks are 4-5 feet high as a result. This portion of the creek is often a lake. Recent rains of two inches total barely made a dent. This is an old almanac post of several years ago. Please bear with me. Thank you.     Ever try to boil two frozen lobsters on a barbecue grill in your backyard?  I use an old two-burner utilitarian barbecue grill, several times a week, but I never have attempted boiling lobster on it until just the other day.    The frozen lobsters lay in a dish on top of the outside central air conditioner hoping for rescue by a fox or large rodent bent on a sea food dinner. They had been in our freezer amid an unchanging landscape of frozen loaves of bread, venison sausage, three ...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for October 22, 2025, the nineteenth Wednesday of the year, the fifth Wednesday of fall, the fourth Wednesday of October, and the two-hundred ninety-fifth day of the year, with seventy days remaining.   Wannaska Phenology Update for October 22, 2025 Yellow-Rumped Warbler      The last of the yellow-rumped warbler, Setophaga coronata  — ginjibagwesiwag in Anishinaabe — depart their Wannaskan breeding grounds this month, migrating southwards to southern North and Central America in the winter. It generally prefers coniferous forests or mixed coniferous-deciduous forests as its breeding habitat, while during the winter it can be found inhabiting more open areas such as shrublands that offer food resources. The yellow-rumped warbler was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla coronata . The specific epith...