Columbus Day, 2016

        I hope you all know who Columbus is and why we should recognize his contribution to the world, as well as this nation.  It was a big day in school rooms of the past, but no longer.  Happy Columbus Day yesterday.   I had some friends remind me that it was the Canadian Thanksgiving, but no one mentioned Columbus.

          It is the time of year, just before Daylight Savings Time shuts down, that our children are getting on the morning school bus while it is dark. The return trip deposits them at their various stops while is is still light, at least for now. Our thanks to Mink Creek's two bus drivers for this school year, Shelly Bray and Glen Smedley.

         Ivan and Lana McCracken took a drive to Burley, ID, for some family celebrations. Ivan's grandson, Dallyn McCracken is leaving to serve on an LDS Mission in an Argentine area at the tip of South America, Terra del Fuego. He will be speaking the Spanish language. This area is mountainous and has a subpolar oceanic climate situated so closely to Antarctica. Chances are, Dallyn won't be warm again until he is back in the United States.

         Bill and Myrna Despain traveled to Colorado to see multiple family members in several different locations. One objective of the trip was to help Bill's brother finish building his garage. Another was to attend the open house of the LDS Temple in Ft Collins, CO. Both were accomplished along with much visiting.

         Sherrie Corbett and Melida Jepsen have returned from an adventure in New York. They were running in a relay race, such a challenge to run fourteen miles over a period of 48 hours. Lots of fun things came up on their agenda, such as sleeping in a barn, a tour of downtown New York City, beautiful countryside, congested populations. Just naming a few, but so proud of these two friends meeting this undertaking together.

          We had three days of rain and cold. The night with the most wind must have been frightening to our wildlife as well as to our residents. There were branches blown out of the trees, even the evergreens. Three deer were hit and killed along the highway during the storm that night.

          Hunting Fever has hit this area. Both  the hunters and the deer are feeling the pressure of the opening of the season. By this coming weekend this little valley will likely sound like a battleground from the past.

          Two other types of wildlife are putting in an appearance now that the weather is changing. The turkeys have dropped back down to the easier feeding grounds of farmer's fields. The pesty box elder bugs are accumulating in numbers, on outside walls, around doorways, windows. The people residents are doing their best to reduce the bug population.