THE BLESSING OF MOISTURE

Dear Family,

We went up to Bear Lake again this weekend. It has always seemed to be an ordeal to drive up there but maybe because it was. We always went up in the big red pickup with the big diesel engine always pulling a double axle trailer hauling up cars, washers, driers, supplies, bikes and a lot of stuff. This time Mom and I decided to drive up in a car by ourselves , without a trailer, and it was pretty easy.

We got there and it was really overcast. The picture is a double rainbow at Bear Lake when we went up with Mike. There was no rainbow this time as there was no sun. It started to sprinkle.

They do not talk of rain up in Southern Idaho; they talk of "moisture". When there is a draught and things are very dry, the members of the Montpelier Stake are told to fast and pray for "The Blessing of Moisture". This is then discussed in Sacrament Meeting. Water is such an important thing in this usually arid climate, the person who regulates the time and amount of irrigation water is called the Water Master.

I heard a talk once in the St. Charles ward given by a High Councilman on "Why People do not Like Coming to Church". (I love those meetings). Reason #1, he said, was "Because they hate the Bishop!" and then went on to say that "That makes as much sense as saying you would not take water (for your fields) because you dislike the Water Master!" I thought that was pretty good!

Well it was totally clouded over, the wind was blowing and it was 39 degrees. I got the John Deere riding mower going and started on the front lawn which was high and thick. It came out in windrows and I could have baled it. Got pretty wet and went into the house. The repairman assured me that they had summer for at least a month at Bear Lake.

I put on my Carehart bib overalls, my oilskin Australian drover slicker and my cowboy hat that had never seen a drop of water and attacked the back lawn in the rain. Got pretty wet and when I learned that the next day was to be worse we packed up and drove back home in the pouring rain all in the same day.

As we drove we noticed how the wide open spaces of Wyoming desert was so green. It was like there had been a shift in longitude as this was something we saw in Germany, New England and the lush climate of Michigan. Here the foothills are green and the Wasatch mountains are green with snow still in the tops. It looks like the Bavarian Alps. The farmers should had a great hay crop this year and everywhere we drove, we marvelled of the "Blessing of Moisture"

Get ready for the reunion, love, Dad