It’s April! No fooling!

Month at a glance

Our traditional first-of-the-monthly chronicle from The Stillwater Scouter: “April is Frog Month, International Twit Award Month, National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month, and National Poetry Month.

“Weekly celebrations include The Masters tournament, National Library Week and the Fiddler’s Frolic.

“In theory, a Twit could walk past a frog at The Masters while eating a grilled cheese sandwich and reading a poem about fiddlers from a library book.

“n April 1, 1891, the Wrigley Company was founded in Chicago, Illinois. Chew on that.

“April 5 is Read A Road Map Day.*

“On April 6, 1830, relations with Mexico reached a new low when Mexico would not allow further emigration into Texas by settlers from the United States.

“On April 17, 1810, Lewis M. Norton patented pineapple cheese.

“April 23, 1635, was the day that the first public school building was opened in the United States. It was in Boston.

“The first edition of Peter Roget’s Thesaurus was published April 29, 1852.

“Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia received a patent for the pencil April 30, 1858.

“* The Stillwater Scouter likes road maps. They never tell him ‘In 100 feet, turn right’ . . . into a holding pond.”

Fellow travelers
Photography Division (responsorial)

Aggie Girl: “I must reassure Mounds View Swede [BB, 3/31/2017] that the cherry blossoms were not damaged by the late snow in Washington, D.C. I was there on Tuesday, and as these pictures show, the blooms were gorgeous, at least along the Tidal Basin.”

Belatedly clear on the concept

Doris Day: “Subject: Au Revoir.

“It’s that time of the year again: time to remind myself I am not going on ‘Survivor’; I am going to Florida, where there is a Walgreens or a Walmart on every corner, so no need to pack one of everything I own.”

The sign on the road to the cemetery said “Dead End”
Electronic Board of the Church on Lexington in Shoreview Division

Red’s Offspring, north of St. Paul, writes again: “Subject: A chance for everyone!

“The latest message on the electronic board of the church on Lexington in Shoreview:

“‘God chooses ordinary people

“‘to do extraordinary things!’”

Know thyself!

Al B of Hartland: “At a cafe, a fellow diner, in a remarkable display of Scandinavian optimism, said: ‘It can’t get any worse.’

“The truth was that the food was so good that it could have made a dog break its chain. The cafe didn’t need napkins. It had bread to sop up any spill. Men were eating things that they shouldn’t be eating — a case of delicious mischief.

“‘What can I get you?’ asked the waitress.

“‘Too much,’ I replied.”

The simple pleasures
Including: Everyone’s a (candy) critic! (responsorial) (responsorial)

IGHGrampa: “It’s a good thing I don’t live with Birdwatcher in La Crescent [BB, 3/31/2017]. I’d be into the candy all the time. I love all of that stuff.

“I have some candy ‘hidden’ away from the grandchildren. It’s in a container behind the screen of my laptop on the computer desk. Right now it has some Valentine’s Day candy: a bunch of those little hearts with little endearments printed on them and a couple of types of little gummy hearts.

“I say hidden away, but it didn’t take long for the kids to find them. They’re like bloodhounds drawn to the scent. But I admit that’s my decoy candy. I have the serious, high-caliber stuff hidden away elsewhere.

“If you’re an old candy addict like me, you just learn to take care of yourself.”

Our community of strangers
And: In memoriam

We were terribly sad to have received this email, Thursday — having wondered many times, hopefully, about his whereabouts: “The Old Woodchopper of Eagan died yesterday at 4:30 of metatastic pancreatic cancer. I breathe but can’t catch my breath. One of his greatest joys was writing for BB.

“With Love,

“The Wife of 48 Years”

BULLETIN BOARD SAYS: It was our great joy to be his editor.

Our heartfelt condolences, ma’am, to you, to the rest of your family, and to everyone else who knew The Old Woodchopper. May he rest in peace.

Our theater of seasons
Photography Division

Wayne Nelson of Forest Lake writes: “You know that it is springtime when the bluebirds return. This mating pair have been returning and occupying this same house every year.

“I was able to capture this picture this morning, for the first sighting of the year.”