Wannaskan Almanac

The very first edition of the Wannaskan Almanac was introduced on Monday, January 8, 2018.  This was because it took us a week to sober up and realize what we had agreed to after that wild New Year's Eve party.  Now, nearly six years later, it is time for some reflection.   The first thing that I must put to rest is that the second edition of the Almanac was written by yours truly.  I know that must be confusing because it appears that Jack Pine Savage wrote the article.  The disjointed writing and sarcastic humor should have given it away that I was the true author.  Literary forensic investigators are working around the clock to ensure that my claims are true.  Actually, all of the articles written by unknown are actually known to have been written by Mr. Hot Coco.  The only reason they show up as unknown is unknown to me.   A savage mistake The second thing that I need to share with you is that we have not met our goal.  Th...

Poetry Sisters? Joy Harjo & Amanda Bailey Before we share today’s featured poet, Joy Harjo, we want to introduce you to Amanda Bailey who is geographically, considerably closer to Wannaska than Tulsa where Harjo lives. True, Amanda lives in Mankato, Minnesota. But Manitoba. Mankato. Potaaato Potahto, or however it goes. There must be some connection. Geography is one link between Amanda and the author of these Monday poetry posts. Amanda chairs a group called Penned Poets and JackPine Savage (Stenzel) is a regular member of the group which is an offshoot of the League of Minnesota Poets . Both Penned Poets and the League of Minnesota Poets are open to poets in any location.  Penned Poets rotates agendas each month, including workshops, “somebody else’s poem,” performance poetry, and support groups wherein poets bring draft poems for assistance.  Penned Poets Zooms every week on Wednesdays at 7 PM Central Time. If anybody would like to attend, they can send a request to Am...

  When a thing becomes dated, that’s bad If we don’t tear it down Let time bring it round Then the gentry will think that it’s rad The mumble is the ear’s version of the eye’s blur.  Some drinks launched him into the night  But his orbit he failed to get right He fell to the ground And when looking around Found his boosters were empty Bud Lites If the horse had never existed, would man have bred cows to be more svelte?  Democracy’s three checks: courts, congress and president, who in turn rely on the police, Army and Guard to keep in check our passions, as well as their own.  Siri tries her best to find your needle, but the internet is a mighty big haystack.  I enjoy pre-dawn Venus till Big Sol starts throwing his glare around.  Being a recluse has its attractions.  So does being dead. For two introverts to start a conversation, one must be willing to say something which might cause the other to think, “That was stupid, but I’m glad he said it fir...

Hello and welcome to an anniversary Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is September 16th. Happy Anniversary, honey! Last week, I promised "more to come" on our home improvement projects. I've mentioned occasionally that I'm not the most organizationally talented gal living in Wannaska. Granted, I'm not the worst either.... To my credit, I've learned quite a bit about pitching the things that "don't give you joy." Or, in other words, how to Marie Kondo my home , even if I've never read her book. After a summer with lots of rest and restoration, I was ready to embrace my back-to-school theme: "New Year, New You." I even had an exceptional organizational buddy at my side (for a week!) The first room was the living room. I thought it was going to be the kitchen, but I have this new (to me) hutch from my brother. I wanted to put the china that's been stacked in the kitchen cupboards these last 17 years into the hutch - whi...

When I moved to Minnesota in 1973, Teresa and I lived in St. Paul for three years before moving to Wannaska. Every year in late August  Teresa insisted we go to the State Fair. I was an East Coast sophisticate and didn’t properly appreciate the Fair.      One thing I did like was the guy with the tiger. This would never be allowed nowadays but for five dollars the guy would give you a heavy coat and a head start then he let the tiger go. The tiger always won. My strategy would have been to lose the coat for more speed. I was a new husband and Teresa wouldn’t let me try it even though you’d get your five bucks back if you beat the tiger.      Once we moved north, we didn’t get back to the Fair till about ten years ago. I’m enough of a redneck now to think that the Fair is the greatest show on earth.   I’ve noticed some major changes at the Fair over the years. During my earlier visits the only tattooed people were the carnies and military lifers....

  A true story. What a jerk! "Minimalize her feelings. Tell her she's silly, that it won't crawl out from under the back seat. Then grab her leg when she's calmed down a bit. No wonder we weren't married long.

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for September 13, 2023, the thirty-seventh Wednesday of the year, the thirteenth Wednesday of summer, and the two-hundred fifty-sixth day of the year, with one-hundred nine days remaining.   Wannaska Phenology Update for September 13, 2023 Forest Floor Changes Fall starts at the end of the summer on the forest floor. Half of the ferns are already brown, the rose hips are bright red, the blueberry plant leaves are losing their chlorophyll, and there’s not a berry to be found. But beauty emerges. Looking up at night:  Spot the Space Station from Wannaska: 9:32pm tonight appears 10 degrees in the southwest for about two minutes, disappearing over the horizon 25 degrees south. September 13 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special : Potato Dumpling September 13 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch : Updated daily by 11:00am, usually. Earth/Moon Almanac for September 13, 2023 Sunrise: 6:57am; Sunset: 7:43pm; 3 minutes, 32 seconds less daylight...