August 22, 2012

Weddings  came in pairs this week.   The first was that of Heidi Free and Brendan Brown.  Heidi’s parents, Richard and Vickie Free, celebrated with a big party at the Mink Creek Park for friends and family.  It had a western flair and the food and dancing fit perfectly.

Mallory McKay and Jacob Linderman tied the knot and were presented as Mr. and Mrs. L on the evening of their wedding day at the home of Jake’s parents, Dan and Pam Keller, in Preston.  Mallory is the daughter of LuJean Jensen and Lin and Sharla McKay.  This new couple have some Mink Creek connections on both sides.

The Mink Creek LDS Ward members viewed the Preston North Stake Conference this past weekend in the Riverdale Ward church house.  These two wards trade locations, back and forth for the conferences.  Meeting in Riverdale was certainly the best on this occasion since the Mink Creek parking lot is still in a state of disrepair.

Ben and Arianna Hostetter and their little ones have enjoyed having some summer time in these western states.    They have had some Mink Creek time, done a little living up in the northwest for an internship, managed to get a little relaxation along the way. Arianna is the daughter of Robet and Phee Crosland, doing her growing up in Mink Creek.  Now the family is going back to their current reality which is more school and classes, taking place in  Jacksonville, FL.

Our chokecherries are “just right,” black and glistening, ready for juicing to fill jars with jelly or syrup.  Reports are that this has been a good year in the chokecherry department.  Even though the season has been extremely dry the trees are heavy laden with fruit.   This has not been the case with raspberries, there has barely been enough for those with perennial patches.

            We have had a new source of smoke in our atmosphere.  A fire, this time near Soda Springs.  The smoke was sufficiently dense in our community that one could not see our northern most mountains from the lower reaches of Mink Creek. 

            More canning is underway---we are that sort of community.  Another item is that of sharing garden produce.  Unknown individuals have contributed corn on the cob and summer squash to my available produce.  Tomatoes are ripening and that makes for smiles.  There is no comparison to a garden-grown tomato and those red orbs one buys at the grocery store.

            I, Claudia Erickson, have just returned from a fun trip to Cedar City, UT, and the Shakespeare Festival.  My friend and I managed to soak up three productions while there and were wishing we had time for more.  We were able to spend time visiting relatives, Sarah Westerberg and Judy and Ervin Larsen and enjoying the hospitality of their home.