The Dipper

Dipper?  Who knows what a dipper is?  Some one skinny dipping?  A particular congregation of stars?  A bird?  Someone who dips snuff?

When I was younger, many homes had a dipper.  A tin-cup with a long handle used to retrieve a drink of refreshing water from a spring, a bucket, hand pump or spicket.  You could even find them at the local hardware stores.

Gratefully my parents continue to use a dipper.  It hangs on the cabinet beside their sink.  They get water from an indoor faucet but the water comes from their spring house in the back yard.

Now, I know that dippers are not considered sanitary by our standards today but nothing is as refreshing as a cool drink of spring water from a dipper on a hot day.

Springs are a flow of water from the ground.  Sort of like an underground branch that surfaces.  The water is a tad warmer in the winter than well water and a tad cooler in the summer.  Spring water is clear, clean and has a slight sweet taste to it. Yum!

If you have never drank spring water from a dipper, I encourage you to visit our beautiful mountains and find an approved spring house and try it.

Disclaimer:  Avoid drinking from branches and creeks without first boiling the water for 1 minute.  If you don't, you can get a type of stomach germ that gives you "Beaver Fever".  The water is no longer safe in these areas because our wildlife have access to "use" streams as their bath or toilet, depending on what day it is. Not to mention human trash.  But! If you are dealing with a true mountain spring, you shouldn't have any issues.