February 20, 2018

          Thank you to those who commented.  Now I know that someone really does read it.  I often think I should quit doing it, so this will provide a feeling that it does have a purpose.

          Bill and Myrna Despain are enjoying a visit from Myrna's son, Dan Jolley and his wife Nina. The Jolleys live in Flagstaff, AZ, so their winters are generally a little different from ours, but not so much this year.

           The Gurney's Seed Catalog has arrived in the mail. Let the planning and dreaming of the growing season begin. Such beautiful pictures of perfect produce, herbs, trees. No shoveling or weeding required. This is an activity that can be enjoyed by a warm fireplace while the cold winds outside play about.

           Bob and Claudia Erickson drove to Pocatello and the Holt Arena to watch their grandson, Aidan Nielsen, son of Carla and Mark Nielsen of American Fork, UT, run in the 1600 meter preliminaries. This young man is a junior in high school and has discovered a love of running and participates in the American Fork High School track program along with indoor track in a club program. While at the Mini Dome the Ericksons noticed how involved was Tyson Gunter, one of the guest Olympians, who is married to Mink Creek's MaKenzie Wilcox. Ty has been part of the Simplot Games since his own high school days and as a student at Idaho State University.

          These clear skies and dry days have brought back our migrating geese. The V patterns can be both seen and heard as they make their way northward. The Mink Creek area has several spots where they regularly have a layover enroute.

          Irrigation plans are way earlier than usual, but with this year's weather it makes sense. There is water cascading down the Twin Lakes Canal spillway into the Bear River at the lower end of our community. It always looks so white and clean as it drops into the river below. The equipment and crew that has been at work on this top section of the canal has moved to a lower region.

           Our winter arrived on Sunday, and spent most of the day sending snow. It was a super wet, soggy storm and we need it all. It has stayed cold since, with a flurryof snow now and again. We can't brag about how deep the snow is, but we got 'some,' and we are not complaining.

          The LDS Ward meets at 9am on Sundays and those attending went in with bare, brown hills as their surroundings. When they left at noon to go home the entire world was covered with soft white, from the banks of Mink Creek at the base of our valley, all the way up to the tops of our mountains, treee limbs reaching down, heavy with a blanket of snow. Totally nice!

February 13, 2018

         Happy Valentine's Day. Thank you for reading this. Please feel free to comment, it would be most helpful.

           Kent and ReNae Egley have managed to get some winter fun snowmobiling in the area around Henry's Lake. They have been soaking up the beautiful snowy forest scenery and wishing they could bring some home to Mink Creek.

            Giovanni and Kristina Crosland and their four children were here for a weekend. Gio is still in his doctor's residency at the hospital in Blackfoot, ID. At the present time he is assigned for a few weeks to a hospital in Layton, UT.

           Still much evidence of the wreckage our terrain suffered from storms from 2017 Spring. There were some serious slides of earth during those wet months. Scars of red brown streaks are evident from the top, yard upon yard as it slid down to the base of the hill or into the creek which ever was first. The color of the scars vary, some are nearly black.

         Larry and Lillian Hansen and some of their family were up from Utah to see how the Mink Creek winter was progressing. It is a good thing they weren't planning a sledding party.

           We have two young ladies, students at Preston High, who are cheerleaders: McKinley Longhurst, daughter of Sheldon and Candy Longhurst, and Hayden Egley, daughter of Jared and Juli Egley. They keep pretty busy this time of year between all the winter sports: boys basketball, girls basketball, wrestling, plus their own cheer competitions. They have recently been participating in the Cupid's Challenge at Highland High School in Pocatello. This activity requires such perfectly synchronized movement with the entire team.

          A crew from the Twin Lakes Canal company are working on their winter maintenance of this part of the canal, where it begins. They are shoring up the banks. This is a regular procedure prior to the arrival of the irrigating season when the waters are turned into the canal from its supplier, Mink Creek.

           Adding to that last paragraph:there has been trucks, backhoes, a huge track-hoe all occupied in this endeavor. Now they have diverted water from the creek to the canal to test the situation before moving to another section further down the route.

            It is a strange year. We keep hoping for moisture, barring that, that it can remain cold to discourage the spring growth, the fruit trees and all such from getting a headstart that most likely end in a good freeze. Proper timing is an important thing, and something over which there is no control.

February 6, 2018

          The bird residents of this area change with the seasons. Our starling population certainly hasn't migrated anywhere for this winter. The birds line up, side by side, on the electric wires between the power poles in huge bunches. Don't think you could fit a slip of paper between them. Favorite spots are the poles located close to a farm feeding lot. They seem to know the food schedule and, using a good viewing point, are waiting for the snacks to be set out for the cows.

          The turkeys are in great numbers right now, particularly at “Lella's Curve” on the highway through upper Riverdale. Many a car has had to slam on the brakes when they come to that spot on the road only to discover a parade of turkeys high-stepping it across the highway in one direction or the other. If traveling this direction make sure the brakes on your outfit work. Between the deer and the turkeys there is a real need.

          Joe and Kathy Jarvis drove down to Draper, UT, for the blessing of their first great-grandson, the child of their granddaughter Shelby and Tim Purdue. The baby was named Theodore Leon Purdue. Jennifer and Jeff Seamons and their boys were also part of this celebration, the infant being the child of Jennifer's niece.

          Devin and Maria Flake and their son Jude came up from Saratoga Springs, UT, to spend Maria's birthday with her mother, Lana and Ivan McCracken. Jude has a spot all his own in that grandma's heart, and the feeling is mutual.

           We have had several residents with hospital stays over the past month. Jeannine Iverson, Sandra Wylie and Layne Erickson all spent some time in the FCMC. Others are home dealing with this wicked flu that has visited the area this winter and seems to be making return visits.

           The much acclaimed night for viewing the super-blue-moon and its eclipse didn't work very well around here. Those that planned ahead and made the effort of readiness awoke to find a very cloudy sky that canceled their hopes. We are assuming that the event still happened as there has been no report to the contrary.

          Groundhog Day, in our neck of the woods it depended on what time of day the critter decided to surface. Some cloudiness, some sunniness, not great forecasting weather.

           Would you believe that just down in the valley the tulips are starting to poke through the earth for the sun? Truth! An eye witness account, no fake news. If a person is connected to the business of farming this has not been a “good winter!” I like being excited for spring to come, not dreading the extreme likelihood of frozen fruit blossoms, or not enough water to last the irrigating season.