Steamboat Pilot & Today

Let's shout for joy for the wonderful shower we had last week. Sure made the grass and trees greener, and the forest fire over east is contained. Of course, the flowers are about gone around this neighborhood. There are still some white daisies, and sneezewood and golden glow.

Gail, from up at the Larson house, came by the other day waving a metal wiry stick, looking for another stick she could use for a "witching stick." She was looking for water in the old Mahler spring. You use two strips of metal, cross them, then wave them over sections of ground. When there is water down under, the stick will go down, and that's where you dig.
Did Gail find water? She made a wishing stick of two wire hangers. Lo, and behold, she found a pipe, already in place. Now, we presume all she has to do is put a pump on it. We'll wait and see.

Been trying to catch up with Dan and Shirley Ragan, one of our families that stay year-round, but finally had to go up the hill to Mom and Dad's. When I asked about their winter, Dan said, "Well, this was really a different winter. There wasn't as much snow as usual, but we still had 15 feet in our driveway." Dan couldn't blow that driveway job, because he had severe shoulder problems. So, their neighbor, Dave Erickson, did that job. Their kids, Nathan, 6, and Shannon, 4, really had fun sledding down that 15-foot snowdrift.
Dan didn't deliver much ice last winter because of those shoulders. Shirley still works for Fair and Square Construction. February was so cold, 25 degrees, so they packed up and went to Arizona to visit Dan's parents, Bill and Patti. They didn't tell the folks they were coming, and Patti was so surprised, she suffered shock.

Ron and Jean Higgins, whose cabin is up on Cottonwood, had some more company last week.
Harold Hoffman and wife Diana, who used to live in Craig, and now lives in Grand Junction, were good friends of a lot of us in Craig. Ron and Harold spent most of the time fishing, while the gals stayed at the cabin and just loafed.

Marge Eardsley has a cabin on the east side of Cottonwood. This last weekend, Marge's best friend, Joy Lawrence, and daughter Kim, her son, Charles, and his daughter, J.J., all from Denver, came for a whole week, and especially Jay's birthday last Sunday.

Gold miners Robbie Robertson and Dick Atchley came last week to work their gold pans in the streams. They especially preferred King Solomon Creek.

The hummingbirds are back. The rufous is darting around chasing the others away from the feeder. They have to feed a lot this next month, storing food for the long flight south.

One of the firefighters was here this morning, and he said that the firefighters, including him, were all sent home this morning Tuesday. Hurray!