Word-Wednesday for January 7, 2026

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for January 7, 2026, the first Wednesday of the year, the third Wednesday of winter, the first Wednesday of January, and the seventh day of the year, with three-hundred fifty-eight days remaining.

 
Wannaska Phenology Update for January 7, 2026
Downy Woodpecker
Dryobates pubescents — baapaasens being the general Anishinaabe word for woodpecker — is a familiar sight at Wannaska's backyard feeders and forests, where it joins flocks of chickadees and nuthatches, just barely outsizing them. An acrobatic forager, this black-and-white woodpecker explores tiny branches or balances on slender plant galls, sycamore seed balls, and suet feeders. In winter Downy Woodpeckers are frequent members of mixed species flocks, having to spend less time watching out for predators and better luck finding food from having other birds around. Male and female Downy Woodpeckers divide up where they look for food in winter. Males feed more on small branches and weed stems, and females feed on larger branches and trunks. Males, being males, keep females from foraging in the more productive spots. When researchers have removed males from a woodlot, females have responded by feeding along smaller branches. Downy woodpeckers nest in a tree cavity excavated by the nesting pair in a dead tree or in the siding of your house.

January 7 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special: Potato Dumpling


January 7 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch: Updated daily, occasionally.


Earth/Moon Almanac for January 7, 2026
Sunrise: 8:16am; Sunset: 4:44pm; 1 minutes, 33 seconds more daylight today
Moonrise: 10:17pm; Moonset: 10:40am, waning gibbous, 80% illuminated.


Temperature Almanac for January 7, 2026
                Average            Record              Today
High             12                     42                     30
Low             -6                    -38                     25

The Months
by Sara Coleridge

January brings the snow, 
makes our feet and fingers glow. 

February brings the rain, 
Thaws the frozen lake again. 

March brings breezes loud and shrill, 
stirs the dancing daffodil. 

April brings the primrose sweet, 
Scatters daises at our feet. 

May brings flocks of pretty lambs, 
Skipping by their fleecy damns. 

June brings tulips, lilies, roses, 
Fills the children's hand with posies. 

Hot july brings cooling showers, 
Apricots and gillyflowers. 

August brings the sheaves of corn, 
Then the harvest home is borne. 

Warm september brings the fruit, 
Sportsmen then begin to shoot. 

Fresh October brings the pheasents, 
Then to gather nuts is pleasent. 

Dull November brings the blast, 
Then the leaves are whirling fast. 

Chill December brings the sleet, 
Blazing fire, and Christmas treat.

January 7 Celebrations from National Day Calendar

• National Bobblehead Day
• National Tempura Day
• National Old Rock Day

January 7 Word Pun
Sven just finished his new book, How to Fall Down the Stairs: A Step-by-Step Guide


January 7 Word Riddle
What has a bottom at its top?*


January 7 The Devil’s Dictionary Word-Pram
EMANCIPATION, n., A bondman's change from the tyranny of another to the despotism of himself.

    He was a slave: at word he went and came;
    His iron collar cut him to the bone.
    Then Liberty erased his owner's name,
    Tightened the rivets and inscribed his own.
                        —G.J.


January 7 Etymology Word of the Week
dragoon
/dra-Go͞oN/ n., a member of any of several cavalry regiments in the British army; v., coerce (someone) into doing something, from 1620s, "cavalry soldier carrying firearms," and thus capable of service either on horseback or on foot, from French dragon, probably so called for the guns they carried, from dragon "carbine, musket," because the guns "breathed fire" like dragons (noun), and "to compel by repeated threats or harassment," 1680s, literally "to force by the agency of dragoons", which were used by the French kings to persecute Protestants (verb).


January 7 Historic Events, Literary or Otherwise, from On This Day

• 1610 Galileo Galilei discovers the first three moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa and Ganymede.
• 1714 Typewriter patented by Englishman Henry Mill.
• 1842 Gioachino Rossini's cantata Stabat Mater premieres.
• 1890 African American inventor William Purvis receives a patent for the fountain pen.
• 1893 Hermann Sudermanns' play Heimat premieres.
• 1896 Fannie Farmer publishes her first cookbook The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.
• 1903 Vincent d'Indy's opera L'etranger premieres.
• 1907 Clyde Fitch's play The Truth premieres.
• 1930 Edwin Justus Mayer's Children of Darkness premieres.
• 1930 French physicist Marguerite Perey discovers francium (Fr), the last naturally occurring element to be found.
• 1935 Zoe Akins' Old Maid premieres.
• 1955 Marian Anderson is the first African American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera, singing the role of Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.
• 1962 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to John Hall Wheelock.
• 1969 Dance Theatre of Harlem ballet school opens in a church basement.
• 1973 American poet James Merrill wins Bollingen Prize.
• 1975 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to AR Ammons.
• 1990 Tower of Pisa closed to the public after leaning too far to the right.

January 7 Author/Artist/Character Birthdays, from On This Day

• 1611 James Harrington, English author.
• 1634 Adam Krieger, German organist and composer.
• 1652 Pavao Vitezovic, Croatian writer.
• 1710 Josef Antonin Sehling, Bohemian violinist and composer.
• 1824 Julia Kavanagh, Irish author.
• 1830 Albert Bierstadt, German-American painter.
• 1842 Johan Lindegren, Swedish composer.
• 1853 Nikolai Arkas, Ukrainian composer.
• 1860 Emanuil Manolov, Bulgarian composer.
• 1865 Ethel Colburn Mayne, Irish writer.
• 1876 William Hurlstone, English composer.
• 1891 Zora Neale Hurston, American writer.
• 1892 Rudolf Moser, Swiss composer.
• 1895 Clara Haskil, Romanian pianist.
• 1898 Gerónimo Baqueiro Foster, Mexican woodwind player, composer.
• 1899 Francis Poulenc, French pianist and composer.
• 1900 John Brownlee, Australian operatic baritone.
• 1903 Albrecht Haushofer, German geographer and writer.
• 1903 Shalva Azmayparashvili, Georgian composer.
• 1903 Vladimir Alexandrovich Vlasov, Russian composer.
• 1907 Nicanor Zabaleta, Spanish harpist.
• 1911 Zdeněk Jirotka, Czech playwright.
• 1912 Charles Addams, American artist and cartoonist.
• 1921 John Lanigan, Australian operatic tenor.
• 1921 Pavel Friedmann, Czech poet.
• 1924 Roloff Beny, Canadian painter and photographer.
• 1925 Gerald Durrell, British naturalist, zoologist and writer.
• 1935 Noam Sheriff, Israeli composer.
• 1936 Chen Mao-shuen, Taiwanese composer.
• 1936 Eldee Young, American jazz upright bassist.
• 1938 Roland Topor, French surrealist illustrator, novelist.
• 1947 David Porcelijn, Dutch composer.
• 1947 Shobha De, Indian columnist and novelist.
• 1951 Frans Kellendonk, Dutch novelist.
• 1957 Katie Couric, American journalist and author.
• 1957 Nicholson Baker, American novelist.
• 1958 Donna Rice Hughes, American author.
• 1959 Kathy Valentine, American bassist.
• 1968 Georgi Gospodinov, Bulgarian writer.
• 1978 Dan Forrest, American classical pianist, composer.

Words-I-Looked-Up-This-Week Writer's Challenge 
Write a story or pram from the following words:

• bloviate: /BLŌ-vē-āt/ v., talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way.
• cilice: /SIL-is/ n., a garment or accessory worn against the skin to cause discomfort, traditionally used as a form of religious discipline or self-denial.
• drookit: /DRo͞o-kət/ adj., SCOTTISH, extremely wet; drenched; soaked to the skin.
• gadroon: /ɡə-DRo͞oN/ n., a decorative edging on metal or wood, typically formed by inverted flutings.
• macedoine: /mas-uh-DWEN/ n., A mixture or medley of fruits or vegetables; by extension, any assorted collection of varied elements.
• opsimathy: /ahp-SIM-uh-thee/ n., learning conducted or acquired late in life; an instance of this.
• shurt: /SHərt/ v., to shorten (something) in length or duration.
• snerdle: /SNəR-dəl/ v., to nestle closely, wrap up cozily in bed, and stay there comfortably, often delaying getting up or facing the day, perfect for a lazy, chilly morning.
• thrid: /thrid/ v., to pass through something narrow like a needle, to find a path through obstacles, or to make one's way through.
• zwodder: /ZWAH-dur/ adj., in a drowsy, stupid, or foolish state of body or mind; n., a drowsy, foolish frame of mind.

January 7, 2026 Word-Wednesday Feature
Transition Words for the New Year
In the first place, coupled with otherwise conversely and especially unimportant transitions, not to mention, by the same token in the hope to clarify another key point often overlooked because the new year is upon us, similarly explicit beginnings expressly, and in the long run, allow a writer to run on and on and on and on, in other words, excessively connect first, second, third, and almost innumerable extended thoughts in like manner, to say nothing of conclusivity, as in this sentence, by all means unsurprisingly but above all, compellingly pedantic, and for this reason accordingly deployed by politicians to make too many — generally speaking — final analysands that as shown above, and by and large and on the whole obviously, ultimately, definitely on balance, if not in fact, amount to a hill of wordy beans. As an additional writer's challenge this week, write your own extended sentence or pram using common transitional words or phrases.

Agreement / Addition / Similarity
in the first place, not only ..., but also, as a matter of fact, in like manner, in addition, coupled with, in the same fashion / way, first, second, third, in the light of, not to mention, to say nothing of, equally important, by the same token, again, to, and, also, then, equally, identically, uniquely, like, as, too, moreover, as well as, together with, of course, likewise, comparatively, correspondingly, similarly, furthermore, additionally.

Opposition / Limitation / Contradiction
although this may be true, in contrast, different from, of course ..., but, on the other hand, on the contrary, at the same time, in spite of, even so / though, be that as it may, then again, above all, in reality, after all, but, (and) still, unlike, or, (and) yet, while, albeit, besides, as much as, even though, although, instead, whereas, despite, conversely, otherwise, however, rather, nevertheless, nonetheless, regardless, notwithstanding.

Cause / Condition / Purpose
in the event that, granted (that), as / so long as, on (the) condition (that), for the purpose of, with this intention, with this in mind, in the hope that, to the end that, for fear that, in order to, seeing / being that, in view of, If ... then, unless, when, whenever, while, because of, as, since, while, lest.

Examples / Support / Emphasis
in other words, to put it differently, for one thing, as an illustration, in this case, for this reason, to put it another way, that is to say, with attention to, by all means, important to realize, another key point, first thing to remember, most compelling evidence, must be remembered, point often overlooked, to point out, on the positive side, on the negative side, with this in mind, notably, including, like, to be sure, namely, chiefly, truly, indeed, certainly, surely, markedly, such as, especially, explicitly, specifically, expressly, surprisingly, frequently, significantly, particularly, in fact, in general, in particular, in detail, for example, for instance, to demonstrate, to emphasize, to repeat, to clarify, to explain, to enumerate.

Effect / Consequence / Result
as a result, under those circumstances, in that case, for this reason, in effect, for, thus, because the, then, hence, consequently, therefore, thereupon, forthwith, accordingly, henceforth.

Conclusion / Summary / Restatement
as can be seen, generally speaking, in the final analysis, all things considered, as shown above, in the long run, given these points, as has been noted, in a word, for the most part, after all, in fact, in summary, in conclusion, in short, in brief, in essence, to summarize, on balance, altogether, overall, ordinarily, usually, by and large, to sum up, on the whole, in any event, in either case, all in all, Obviously, Ultimately, Definitely.

Time / Chronology / Sequence
at the present time, from time to time, sooner or later, at the same time, up to the present time, to begin with, in due time, as soon as, as long as, in the meantime, in a moment, without delay, in the first place, all of a sudden, at this instant, first, second, immediately, quickly, finally, after, later, last, until, till, since, then, before, hence, since, when, once, about, next, now, formerly, suddenly, shortly, henceforth, whenever, eventually, meanwhile, further, during, in time, prior to, forthwith, straightaway, by the time, until now, now that, instantly, presently, occasionally, whenever.


From A Year with Rilke, January 7 Entry
The Vastness of Connection, from Uncollected Prams

Bereft of knowledge before the heavens of my life,
I stand astonished. Oh the great stars.
Their rising and their setting. How quiet.
As if I did not exist. Am I taking part? Do I discount
their pure power? Does it rule the movement
of my blood? I will yearn for no closer connections
and accustom my heart to its farthest reaches.
Better it live with the spine-chilling stars
than with the pretense of some protection hovering near.

Palestine - The Heat and the Donkey
by Leonid Pasternak

Be better than yesterday, 
learn a new word today, 
try to stay out of trouble — at least until tomorrow, 
and write when you have the time.






*Your leg.