Wannaskan Almanac

     I was around for the Kennedy vs Nixon election in 1960. I was too young to vote but I did follow the election closely since Kennedy was a fellow Bay Stater. One of the arguments against Kennedy was that as a Catholic, he would be under the thumb of the pope. That was ludicrous, but back in the Middle Ages it would have been a legitimate concern.   Look at Pope Boniface VIII. In 1302 he declared you couldn’t even get into Heaven unless you did everything he said. It hadn’t always been like that. The first few popes were saintly men who avoided politics. They ministered to their flock while trying to avoid state persecution. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century and the money and perks began to flow, everything changed.   By the eighth century various kings and emperors began donating parcels of land to the church for political reasons, and the Pope eventually became a major player in European affairs. The Po...

The Best Hunting Season Yet . (Warning: This post contains possibly disturbing deer hunting images for some readers.) Hunters in the distance on previous days     On November 15th, we got up from our nap about 3 pm. We had hunted that forenoon, then came in for lunch to regroup, nap, and speculate about what had happened to all the fresh deer sign and tracks we had seen the day before.     This left John and I to fill our two leftover licenses, a task we were capable of filling should things play out in our favor. I had shot a buck ten days earlier, the evening of November 5th; then a doe a few nights later. Son, John, followed up with a doe a day after that, so the hunt was still on. I had shot a buck ten days earlier in the late afternoon of November 5th.          The afternoon of November 15th, we were sitting in the living room overlooking Mikinaak Creek when John suddenly shouted    “LOOK! DEER!”  ...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for November 16, 2022, the forty-sixth Wednesday of the year, the eighth Wednesday of fall, and the 320th day of the year, with 45 days remaining.   Wannaska Phenology Update for November 16, 2022 Cold Conifers While we’ve already turned on our furnaces, added layers to our clothing, conifers make changes for the winter, too. Conifers go dormant in cold weather, slowing their metabolism to conserve water when the ground is frozen. Similarly, since conifers don’t drop leaves like deciduous trees, conifers coat their evergreen needles with a waxy coating to reduce water loss. Sartorially speaking, conifer bark contains many air pockets to provide insulation and prevent freezing and cracking. Sap provides further freezing and cracking prevention by working as antifreeze with a much lower freezing point, where conifers concentrate their winter sap especially high. And conifers have an additional trick up their sleeves. Because wint...

What is your song?  My song is probably one you have never heard of.  Whenever I am down, or tired, or frustrated I pull up the song "Frames Without Photographs" by a little known band called the 77's.  Like the Psalmist in Psalm 40, I often find myself feeling a little empty and waiting for something more. Some songs don't quite mean what we think they do.  For instance, the song Jump by Van Halen is not an exercise promotion.  Apparently it was written because of someone standing on a ledge of a building threatening to jump.  David Lee Roth apparently didn't like the fact that people were being put on the news and not actually killing themselves.  The song encourages the ledge stander that they "might as well jump".  Kind of a dark meaning behind a fan favorite, upbeat song. Another song that has a strange meaning is 99 Luftballons by Nena.  It kind of seems like a wistful dance tune, but the reality of the song is much darker.  W...

Check. Check. And Check Again Have you ever wondered why in the movies (and in reality) the pilot always answers some disembodied voice calling out a litany of plane-speech? (Ha!) And even in the not-so-modern movies and stories, the pilot answers, “Check!”  Like this abbreviated set:  Ignition         Check Contact Contact Clear Clear The person outside the diminutive plane, e.g. Aeronca Champion, would then hand prop the little workhorse and “. . . off they’d go into the wild blue yonder!” (Yes, there is an art to propping a plane, no matter how small. It’s like dancing with a velociraptor.) Aeronica Champion I’ll explain momentarily, but first a preview of today’s poems. What’s Up Today? (Ha!) The second half of “Remembering Flight” is the last poem of the set. I’ll remind you, if you didn’t read last week’s post where the first half appeared, that my Father, the center of this poem, is my HERO for many reasons – and certainly not because of...

  Being in the present moment all of the time seems like such a waste of time <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> You may be a spendthrift when you know the Amazon driver better than your mailman.  <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> People pay a hundred dollars to go to a concert in order to share the energy of the crowd and for the thrill of knowing that something horrible might happen.  <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> LP records have endured because their mechanism is visual, while that of tapes and CDs is not. The best sound though is on the completely invisible streaming sites.  <><><><>...

Hello and welcome to a snow-deep Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is November 12th. Today's blog post is an exciting feature from our Wannaskan Almanac Kid Writer-in-Residence. This is a tale of love. For context, you're welcome to read my August 2019 blog post: My Jalopia . Hi. It’s been a while.  The last time I wrote on this lovely blog there was still warm sunshine, green grass, and clear blue skies. But now… there's still (some) sunshine, but definitely not warmth anymore. There’s no more grass, and I guess the sky will be clear once these dull gray clouds eventually clear out. But enough talking about the weather, and on to the current mystery on our hands. What has the WAKWIR been doing these past 4 months? Loads. Including my hairstyle :) Just to name a few things: I got my driver's license, started my junior year, got a job, ran a Cross Country season, and resurrected a car from the dead. Now, many people might not know this, but I’m actually quit...