February - Is Winter Over?

February has come and gone.  The weather was quite variable.  We actually had two days that were in the 70's and some days that were in the 20-30's.  According to the locals, we have been blessed to have a mild winter.  Our mission covers two summers and one winter so maybe the cold is behind us. In about 4 months we will be wishing for some winter weather.

The crowds were small during the month.  We were lucky to have two very different horse rides during the quite time. The first was a sleigh ride across snow in the cold weather and the second was a ride on the mission limousine carriage during the warm weather.

Valentines's Day was on our Preparation Day during the month.  We were able to take a day trip to St. Louis for a celebration.  St. Louis is a three hour drive from Nauvoo.  It was quite shocking to be in a big city for a few hours with freeways and traffic.  We both love Thai food and have not had any since we left California.  It was a treat to celebrate the day with a Thai food dinner.  I have to admit I don't miss the freeways, traffic and big city.  It was good to drive back into our little town after the day. Unfortunately there are no In-N-Out burgers here in the Midwest.  It looks like that will have to wait until we return home.

One of the special treats for the month was a large migration of bald eagles along the river.  No one ever mentioned to us about the eagles.  They were so exciting to watch.  It was not uncommon to see 10-20 each trip to town.  The town of Keokuk, Iowa which is 20 minutes away, actually has an eagle festival event every February.

Take Off (Photo, Elder Johnson)

Six Eagles on Frozen River (Photo, Elder Johnson)

Snow Geese Arrived for Just a Few Days

Since other news for the month was quite, I thought it would be good to include a section on the animals we see here in Nauvoo.  We are loving the seasons and seeing all of the wild life and mission animals around the grounds of the mission.

Mission Horses

Turtles on River

Cardinal

It is starting to feel like spring is right around the corner.  Our tulips are coming up, the days are getting longer and the first batch of new senior missionaries has arrived for the year.  In three weeks we begin practicing for the summer show Sunset on the Mississippi.  We are excited for the summer because 5 of our 8 kids will be visiting during the Pageants in July this year!

We left home about one year ago.  This mission is a special blessing in our life.  Come and visit us if you get a chance!!

Love to everyone

Elder and Sister Rober