Two days before Thanksgiving Day, 2015

             Phee Crosland took some time off to go to Colorado for a visit with daughter Arianna and Ben Hostetter. The arrival of a new baby girl came a bit earlier than expected but help and grandma time was still needed by the family. Knowing how these things go it might be appropriate to call this a “working vacation” for Phee. An added bonus was hanging out with Crosland son, Angelo, who is currently staying with Arianna and Ben.

           Ramona and Jerry Hatchett have returned from a fall trip back to the midwest. They enjoyed taking in some church history spots in Nauvoo, IL as part of their travels. Jerry has many family members in this area. They visited Fairborn, OH, to see family and friends, then Indianapolis, took a trip to the top of the St. Louis Arch in St Louis, MO, visited a special dog museum in Illinois. If you know Ramona you know how she loves dogs. They wore themselves out and are glad to be home.

          We regret the recent passing of Marie Aupperlee. Her funeral was held here last weekend. Marie and her husband Bill chose to locate here more than fifteen years ago. They came from Arizona and Marie, having been raised in Canada, wanted to be somewhere with snow. We have been happily blessed with their decision to choose Mink Creek. Marie's daughter, Sandy Wylie, has been living with Marie for the last year, having moved from Texas. Sandy's children were up for the funeral along with her sister, Marcia and Scott Eisenhower of Roy, UT and their children.

            Doug Bruderer is back with us, after spending several years employed with the oil boom around Williston, ND. Now driving truck in Burley, ID, he gets regular days off to be home with his wife, Beverly, and two families of grandchildren, Avery and Pedro Gomez and Lacey and Kerry Christensen.

           It is just two days before Thanksgiving Day and so the entire community is thinking about their plans for that holiday, either here or traveling to be with others. We still have snow on our highest peaks, the area of the Mink Creek Steeps looks to be frozen already, but no one is attempting to get up there to check it out. Enough winds have come through that the trees are now bare and shivering, leaves spread around their trunks. The evergreens stand out, strong and upright. I walked along a path under a huge cottonwood that harbors a nest of pair of hawks. Those birds were being very vocal, either in argument or complaining about the lack of foliage to protect their home. Perhaps it is moving time for the couple.  Happy Thanksgiving, blog readers, there is much to reflect upon!

Nov 17, 2015

           The community fall social combined with the Halloween trunk-r-treat was a fun evening for adults and children alike. It began with a chili cook-off, plus some other soups. Besides the smiles that accompany full tummies the results were: 1^st place, Dawnell Greene; 2^nd place, Dana Olson; 3^rd place, Mary Ann Jepsen; 4^th place, Marie Keller. Costumes ranged from Hogwarts characters, scarecrows, Crocodile Dundee wannabes, crayons, zombie and ghouls to gypsies, members of the highway crew and Sherlock Holmes and his associate, a big variety. Visitors that have claimed Mink Creek as home in past years attended along with current residents, the recreation hall was full to overflowing.

             Members of the LDS Ward were well instructed by children of the community when they spoke and sang in the Primary Program. Primary president Sherrie Corbett was in charge of the preparations for this event, with assistance from those adults working in that organization. Music was under the direction of Melinda Jepsen and Macy Jepsen. Music touches hearts, particularly the words to “Gethsemane.” Members of the Preston North Stake Primary Board attended.

          Eric and Rexanne Nielsen drove over from Linrose, ID, (Weston). They were soaking up some grandparent time with the three little girls of April and Trevor Rasmussen.

           Jennifer and Jeff Seamons and their family attended a mission report from a nephew, Nathan Erasmus, in Draper, UT. He had served in Toronto, Canada.

           There has been much “finishing up” lately. Hunting season is done, for both deer and elk. Snow has arrived, along with crippling frosts and so canning season is also finished. Homes are stashing their canning kettles, pressure cookers, jars, lids, juicers, all the paraphernalia that goes with the process of preserving foods. All put away to await another season. Even though not every leaf has fallen, most of them are down and we have a golden and brown carpet to enhance our outdoor walks.

           Our local gardeners have reported a bumper crop of pumpkins this year. They were welcome a few weeks ago for the Halloween festivities and recipes abound for varieties of uses now, particularly centered on Thanksgiving come up. Nice to have this bountiful supply.

            Our deer are happily cleaning up any leftovers in gardens or orchards, especially during the nighttime. They love those apples that fell from the trees, worms and bruises are totally overlooked.  They serve as a thorough  cleaning crew, but were absent during the hunting season.  They have us humans figured out!

First snow for the season, 2015

            Mary Jean and Larry Rasmussen have had the fun of welcoming home a missionary grandson. Kenneth Carr, son of Hayes and Terry Carr of Centerville, UT, recently returned from serving in the California, Riverside, Mission. Mary Jean and Larry were able to be at the airport on his arrival, and again in Centerville to hear his report to his LDS Ward.

            Talk about a vacation, Kent and ReNae Egley have been touring the Atlantic Coast for several weeks! This was timed to enjoy the beauty of New England in the fall season and it lived up to its reputation. Breathtaking loveliness and all sorts of history! To name a few of their stops: New York City, Newport, RI; Massachusetts, Maine, and Canada. Canada deserves a whole chapter by itself: St. Johns Bay in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia with its lighthouses and historical Halifax, Quebec, a place much heard of with Montreal and Quebec City (the nest door neighbor of the Egleys was born in Montreal), then to the Atlanta International Airport where they connected with their pilot son, Jared Egley, for a quick visit before he went to his flight and they headed home to the Salt Lake City Airport.

           Austin Jones is enduring a session of home-bound recuperation. He broke his leg in a fall from a roof while working at his talent of construction. The inactivity was not part of the plan.

           Election day was wet and blustery. There were moments when the wind was sufficiently strong that it took extra strength to pull open the entry door. Rain fell the day long. Regardless there was a good turnout, particularly for such a small amount of candidates on our fire commissioner ballot. Over fifty percent of the ballots given were used by our citizens. We appreciate the opportunity to vote.

          I just don't have enough newspaper space for the activities lately, I am falling behind. We had our community fall social/trunk or treat, but that needs to be in the printed page, not on the blog. The Primary program meets the same qualifications. I guess I know what needs to start off the next column.

          This morning we awoke to a white world. The flakes started falling last night, the big feathery kind that just floated down and kept coming until the blanket was lain. Hopefully things will dry out again so that some of that carpet of fallen leaves can be raked and hauled off to a burn pile.

          The work on the bridge over Mink Creek by the ballpark is still going on. The workers are bundled up against the cold. One lane appears completed but it is still slowing up the traffic with their stop light. There should be a big party when this project gets wrapped up.

Nov 2, 2015

           Daylight Savings Time, over and done with for another season. Adjusting of households takes place again. School buses will be arriving in daylight, both morning and afternoon. Meal preparation has to be stepped up because darkness comes earlier now. Usually it takes about a week or two to get back into the preferred routine for families.

           Giovanni and Kristine Crosland and their family are now living in Blackfoot, ID. Gio is doing his medical residency at the Bingham Memorial Hospital, a residency in internal medicine. The Croslands have three children. Both sets of grandparents, Robert and Phee Crosland of Mink Creek and David and Sherrie Rawlinson of Franklin, ID, are happy to have this bunch a little closer to home.

           Ted Janke, a brother of Jody Janke, spent a few days at the home of Jody and Laural and their family. Ted lives in Ottawa, IL, and his job of supervising construction takes him all over the nation. This time he is assigned to work on a project taking place in Boise, ID. Jody's family is excited to do some visiting back and forth during the time of this assignment for Ted. They are doing their best to get him thoroughly acquainted with the beauties of Franklin County.

           During the absence of her husband, MaKenzie Gunter of Pocatello, came to see her parents, Eldon and Danita Wilcox, for a few days. Her husband, Tyson Gunter, has been legally blind since birth but doesn't let that stop him. Tyson has been clear across the world, competing in track events in Doha, Qatar, for the International Paralypic Athletic World Championships. He participated in the 100 meter and 200 meter races and the long jump. Athletes are judged by skill, fitness, power, endurance, tactical ability and mental focus, the same factors that account for success in sports for able bodied athletes.

         As October closes there is no question as to whether or not to expect a night frost. The other morning I enjoyed watching the frost line rise, bit by bit, as the morning air warmed. It started as a silver sheet laying over the fields, then it rose a few feet, a wispy white slice of crystal. Pause, then up a few feet again, another pause, until it was high enough to catch some horizontal movement that helped to lift it off our valley. Wish you could have been here, the words just don't seem adequate but I wanted to share with the readers who get pangs of Mink Creek homesickness.

         Snow is predicted before the week is gone. In the meantime we are having off and on rain. The smoke columns rise from our chimneys on such days. Still, we are greener than I have ever seen it for this time of year—that is fifty-three years worth.