March 20, 2013

         The deer seem to have multiplied with the coming of warmer weather.  On one hillside field it looked like the owner had planted deer seed, so many were nibbling away  where the snow had vacated.  Across the Bear River at the Gilbert place turkeys in large numbers were enjoying the growth exposed.

          Jeff and Camille Knudson had family company.  Their son Tony and his wife Camille (yes, that is two Camille Knudsons) were up from Stansbury Park, UT, for a change of scenery.

          Both Mink Creek Ward basketball teams, girls and boys, had a fun season, under the coaching of Kerry Christensen.  Both teams played for Preston North Stake championship.  Both found themselves playing opposing teams from the same ward, Winder.  Our girls came out the winners, champions of 2013 season.  The boys lost to Winder , getting second place. 

           Chance and Dakota Hatch, twin sons of Katie and Sam Hatch, were ordained to the office of teachers in the LDS Ward.  They also received copies of contracts made with their stake president.  Identical in appearance, Chance is the oldest by just a few minutes.

            The Relief Society celebrated their March birthday with a light dinner and a program.  The multipurpose room was redolent with beautiful white roses in crystal vases on each table.  A scattering of pastel Jordan almonds added a hint of spring. Kathy Jarvis and Jennifer Seamons, a mother/daughter team,  were responsible for the decorations.  Dixie Rasmussen, Beverly Bruderer and Cathy Seamons prepared croissants filled with a yummy chicken almond mix, mini cheese kabobs, pickles and carrot cake cupcakes topped with cream cheese icing.  Tammy Coleman presented a video based on a book authored by Jennifer Phelps, encouraging all to see beauty within as well as without.  As the story unfolded there were vocal songs to add to the message.   These were provided by McKenna and Melinda Jepsen, Liesa Baird, Sharla McKay and Candy Longhurst.

            It is baseball and softball time at Preston High. The season is just getting underway.  Muddy , torn up practice fields are a challenge.  On the softball team one young lady that is fun to watch is Mink Creek’s own Tawni Hall.  It isn’t hard to tell that she comes from a family with two hard-hitting brothers in this sport.  Her biggest fans are her parents, Kristi and Brett Hall.

            We have had some days that taste of spring, but we are still getting days of gloom and storm.  Mink Creek community is not at its usual beautiful state.  Mud season has to come before the greening and with it is the dirty, crusted snow that is slowly receding, the bleak hills and fields with only shades of dry growth and earth.  However, this has happened before and all know that it won’t be long before happy changes will take place.  If things warm up too fast the water in the heights will fade too quickly and that is never good.

March 13, 2013

            Remember that we have two holidays in March this year.  Generally our mental timetable registers with St. Patrick’s Day on the 17^th , but Easter has moved into the last Sunday of March in 2013.  It is a tad early, but will get back on the normal schedule in 2014.  March is usually a pretty staid month but this go-around includes the move to Daylight Savings Time as well.  That always shakes things up a bit and takes some adjusting.

We have had some days with temperatures high enough to start the melting that needs to come before spring arrives.  The ice and snow are slowly creeping backwards.  The constantly dripping water of the daytime hours turns to sheet ice at night, but it does run off during the next day. All this is encouraging.

Aaron Wilde, son of Judy and David Wilde, came home on Feb. 27^th.  He has been serving in the Family & Church History Mission that is headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT.  His interest in genealogical work has really grown in the two years he has spent there.

Tammy Beardall enjoyed some vacation in time with her sister and mother.   Tammy and her mother flew to Dallas, TX, picked up a sister there, and then on to Galveston to set off on a Caribbean cruise.  Their ship made some stops along the eastern Mexican coast and toured Grand Cayman island. The temperatures were at least warmer than Idaho.

Dr. Kerry Jepsen’s work as an orthopedic surgeon takes him to many places.  Among these spots is Tupelo, MS.  Recently Kerry was in that area over a weekend and was attending church in a ward. Elder Cody McKay, who is now laboring in Starkville, happened to be there at the same time. What a surprise! It was a nice reunion with someone from home, Mink Creek, for Elder McKay.

Five days after that first report of dripping, we have now had several days running of melting temperatures.  Ice and snow are sliding off the roofs so watch out overhead!  This is causing a need for shoveling the  sudden excess, but who cares, it is warming up!  I have heard geese honking overhead.  None have settled on our icy pond yet, but I am expecting the usual group to gather before long.  I wouldn’t want to put my toes in that water right now.

Elder Leon and  Sister Katherine Noorda, are winding up their time of serving a humanitarian mission in Thailand.  On their way back to the United States they hope to have a few days to visit friends in Indonesia, at Surabaya, where they labored during a past mission experience.

Elder Jimmie and Sister Anna Beth Olson, now serving missions in England, report the fun of celebrating the Chinese New Year with friends.  This happens to be the year of the snake and fireworks and dragon parades, along with special Chinese treats were part of the event.

March 6, 2013

Winter has felt rather lengthy this year.  The calendar proclaims that March has arrived, yet the ground is still covered with a heavy blanket of snow, and more predicted.  People are talking about starting seedlings in personal greenhouses, and the desire to leaf through seed catalogs that arrive in the mail.  Let’s hope that March brings some spring with it.  If it comes in like a lion, it is supposed to go out like a lamb, well, we shall see if that is true this year.

            Alexis Iverson, the daughter of Kurt and Margret Iverson spoke in the LDS Ward prior to leaving for her service in the Texas, San Antonio, Mission.   Both sets of grandparents were present, Walter and Sharon Knapp of Cub River, and Johnny and Jeannine Iverson of Mink Creek.  In addition there were lots of relatives from both sides, plus roommates and friends.

A wasp that had awakened early with the bright winter sun caused some concern, dipping and diving in the Iverson meeting.  Thanks to the expertise of Clay Jepsen it was batted down and peace reigned once again.   Kyle Christensen, son of Phillip and Krysta Christensen, received a plaque of commitment to serve a LDS mission from the Preston North Stake.

Eldon and Danita Wilcox traveled to Bozeman, MT, to watch their daughter MaKenzie Gunter participate in track events at the Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships. MaKenzie is a sophomore at Idaho State University.  When all was said and done she placed 12^th in the Triple Jump and 7^th in the High Jump.  Twelve colleges were represented.   So pleased for this young athlete!

Elaine and JR Rasmussen visited his parents, Mary Jean and Larry Rasmussen for a weekend.  Their little boys, William and Luke, had a great time. Grandma Mary Jean always makes sure of that. The young Rasmussen family lives in Riverdale, UT.

The Scouts spent their Mutual activity shoveling snow around the community.  Leader Paul McKay divided the boys into teams and they split up to do their thing.  Three homes benefited from this:  Karl Haws’ deck, Arden Rasmussen’s driveway, and the entry and drive of Jim Harrison’s home.  Cheers for great service rendered!!

           

            Up and down our community there has been the need to shovel snow off roofs of homes and sheds.  The weight of several inches of snow can be threatening to a roof.  Some of us have gone to metal to replace shingles just because the snow slides off a little better.

A small herd of cows were out on the highway on a cold night this past week.  An unsuspecting pickup plowed into them, killing one, injuring two more.  It was a hit-n-run situation and the next vehicle that came onto the scene were the ones that reported it to our county sheriff’s office.  The animals were cleared off and traffic could move safely.

            Our local basketball teams are having fun and will be moving into tournament play this week.  Games will take place at the Preston North Stake building.  We have both a girls team and a boys team, and in each there are players from age 12 up to Seniors in high school.  Lots of diversity to add to the fun.