When we got back to the house, it was our "turn" for water. In Brigham City, residents still get to turn the irrigation water onto their properties on a strict schedule that allows city residents an amazing amount of cool, clear mountain water for their gardens, ponds, pools or for whatever they'd like to use it. (It's not potable.) The girls especially enjoy this local tradition. V & E made boats out of various natural materials they found in the yard: an overgrown pickling cucumber, sticks, and leaves. As the yard flooded, the girls piled fallen branches from the globe willow tree to create a dry raft seating area. They turned it into their trading post and spent most of the remainder of the evening crafting objects from sticks, and trading them with any family member who happened into the backyard.
Labor Day brought fantastic weather for exploring the area, so the girls and I joined some of the cousins to head out first thing in the morning for Big Rock, a family favorite we all experienced before our great-grandparents' home directly below was sold. From the rock, we could all reflect on the years we spent visiting our great grandparents, riding horses, playing with kittens, playing in the creek, feeding animals, climbing the silo, hiding in the hay barn, fishing in the reservoir. We all had special memories, some of which we shared while relaxing on the the rock.
Brigham City has grown tremendously, even since our last visit two years ago. It's sad to see the farmlands we explored turned into less-than-quarter-acre lots. I know- everyone needs somewhere to live. Still, I'm sure many people who experienced the joy of exploring wide open places see the value there, one that is trampled by overdevelopment.
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