The yellow school bus still makes a
run, but instead of hauling our kids back and forth to school, now it
is bringing lunches to the center of our village, our only public
parking lot. The expression on the children's faces as they see each
other from safe distancing is priceless. Many waves and smiles, a
time of reconnecting, while parents remind them of the quarantine.
We are having the annual “rushing of
the waters.” Mink Creek and all its tributaries are running high
with the melting of the snow on our mountains. The sound of the
swiftly moving water isn't too noticeable during daylight hours when
activity and traffic contribute noise in the air. At night that
same sound is music in the stillness. Bear River seems happy to
receive the extra water and Station Creek adds its share a little
further down the waterway.
College kids are home. Some had chosen
to return nearly a month ago, others were staying in their college
digs, studying online and hoping for a return to 'normal.' That
didn't happen, but the end of their semester has arrived to send them
back to home base, or possibly summer jobs.
Candy Longhurst has been happy to have
daughter McKinley home from ISU. Tiffany L. Wheeler and baby Hudson
have come down from Parma, ID, to add to the ranks. They have been
getting their home grounds ready with garden prep, cleaning out
strawberry plants and raspberry canes, enjoying some warm days
together with all this exercise that is available on their farm. Or
another descriptive word would be 'work.'
Davanie Ostler, daughter of Stuart and
Alona Ostler is an active performer with Cheer Force. This group
went to Portland, OR, over a month ago and they took second place in
their section. They were also awarded a bid to Summit. Summit is the
Olympics version in the cheering world. Unfortunately, due to the
COVID-19 restrictions this event was canceled. That
doesn't stop us from being proud of Davanie's accomplishments.
Our teenage
girls, unable to get together, devised a Cupcake Contest. Each in
their own homes baked and decorated cupcakes. They took pictures of
the results and shared the photos with each other in texts. Just one
more way to stay in touch, and every household benefited with having
a special treat from the young women's efforts.
We
are looking very green with new leaf growth making the trees into
various shades of green lace. Fields are being readied for the season
in one way or another, plowing, or harrowing one that already has
green showing. Of course in Mink Creek there is the forever task of
rock picking. Somehow I don't think James Morgan Keller was
concerned much about rocks on his farm when he founded this place
129 years ago. The instruments of farming of yore weren't as
threatened by those sizey stones as are the machines of today.
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