By Pat Asling Well, it’s been kind of a nothing week, but here we are starting another long weekend, which for retirees is just another week, it seems. August does look like it will be busy, though, for our family, as there are several birthdays again, like last week, when both my sister and brother-in-law celebrated, as did I. This week it is my son and brother! Well-known author and playwright Conrad Boyce celebrated a day after me, but he has a lot of catching up to do! Co

By Patricia Dawson It's going to be so much fun! Bring the family out to Boatapalooza on August 8th, in Bobcaygeon. It is going to have the best-decorated boat contest. Get creative and have fun. This is a fundraising event; proceeds go to support the Bobcaygeon Legion's emergency program. There will also be a barbecue, raffle draws, and a 50/50 draw. There will be lots of vendors. This is an annual event, part of the Water Music Festival, held at the marina on Pigeon Lake, j

by Faye Ashton The month of August has crept up on us as we were looking backward. We have experienced some very warm July days, but with the beauty of the rain which fell, our lawns and garden have survived very well. Don’t talk to me about the Japanese beetles, which are here by the thousands, and I pick twice a day. I sure hope you’re not plagued with them. I am wishing Birthday, Anniversary and any celebration you’re having this month the best of times shared with the one

By Patricia Dawson Bring the whole family out to the Uxbridge Scottish Festival! For 30 years, Scottish culture has been celebrated in Elgin Park, bringing together tradition, music, and community. Join us Friday, July 24th, and Saturday, July 25th, as the Uxbridge Scottish Festival continues this proud tradition with a multi-day event of Scottish Heritage for all ages. Visitors can experience the excitement of the Highland dance competition and the sound of bagpipe performan

by Pat Asling It’s been another strange week weather-wise with the three days of yellow air and terrible air quality. It is hard to imagine what it could be like closer to the fires. Here we are thousands of miles from our burning forests, and it can still be deadly to some people. And what would it have been like for those people whose communities were in the path of the fire and they had to flee, some by boat, some walking from communities with no road access, leaving their

by Patricia Dawson The annual beloved Kite Day returns to Uxbridge Historical Center this July 18th! Bring your own kite, purchase or make one at this exciting event on Quaker Hill while enjoying the best view of Uxbridge. Saturday, July 18th, from noon to 4 p.m., at 7239 Concession 6, in Uxbridge. This is a free event. For more information, call 905-852-5854. Concerts in the park in Bobcaygeon are back. Catch open-air live music at the locks on Wednesday, July 22nd, from 6 t

by Faye Ashton Summer has lived up to its name, hot and even hotter this week, as predicted. We will take it in stride because before long, the cold and snow will change our complaints. Our family had a lovely visit with our brother Jerry’s daughter, Jill Asling and Danny Monk from Lethbridge on Thursday. Although they have many relatives in this area, Danny has a good job to go back to there. Our community is excited to wish a very special Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmot

by Larry Doble The Sunderland and District Historical Society has updated its web site as sunmus.ca. It has many new, easy-to-use features such as a walking Tour of Sunderland, the story of our veterans on the Cenotaph and biographies honouring many Community Heroes. Family tree help is also available from our 62,000-name database, along with property maps for Brock Township. A new feature is the AV history of our railway system, available via a QR code on the display board o

by Pat Asling Well, it is already the middle of July and, as the old song says”the corn is as high as an elephant's eye, or in another case, as high as the waist of the farmer in his field. Other crops are doing well, it seems, and most farmers are bringing in second-cutting hay crops. Rain has been sporadic among the number of very hot days we are experiencing, and I guess it is all good, but when I go out a day later, thinking my pots will not need watering, I find they and

By Patricia Dawson Bring the kids to Carissa Settlers Village, where they will be showing movies on July 5th and July 22nd. Join us every Wednesday at 7 p.m., beginning July 8th, for a fun evening under the beams of the barn. Bring your own lawn chairs, blankets, or anything else you need to create the perfect cozy movie spot. Admission is by donation, and our Snack Shack will be open with your favourite movie-theatre treats: popcorn, candy, and drinks. We can't wait to see y

by Faye Ashton June left us very hot! Our July first celebrations were disrupted in the late afternoon by very strong winds and a downpour. Our hydro stayed on, but many surrounding areas were left without hydro for some time until trees and large branches were removed. Well, this heat really did make things grow, and the weeds in my garden took advantage of the ideal weather too. Again, Gremlins got the dates wrong in last week's news. It should have been Tuesday the 30th an

by Pat Asling Well, it’s July, and the celebrations are over! I understand there was plenty to do in Uxbridge to celebrate July 1st, though the storms likely cancelled many of the planned events. Out in the country, the only fireworks came from the sudden, widespread wind, thunder, and lightning storm, which took out a great number of trees and caused many power outages. The whole of Sandford Road, the village and other areas were without power for hours. The Sandford Road ou

by Pat Asling “Summer time, and the living is easy,” says an old song. Well, for some, like a lot of kids, now school is out, that is true, but certainly not for most people, farmers especially. Haying in many versions is keeping them busy, trying to interpret the weather forecast, about which there are many complaints; they get it wrong. Well, rain was forecast, some got it, others didn’t, and we didn’t, and surprisingly, the ground is very dry. Wasn’t that a banger the othe

By Patricia Dawson For the week of July 5th, families in Lindsay can enjoy free outdoor concerts in the park series at the Frank Banks gazebo, in Victoria Park. Pack a lawn chair or blanket and catch light performances by local artists throughout the summer. Catch a performance by Ge's on Sunday, July 5th, from 2 to 4 p.m. Later in the week, the Brian Ride Trio plays on Wednesday, July 8th, from 6 to 8 p.m. Bring the family to a pet and paint event. Head to Silver Huron Farm

by Faye Ashton The June full moon (flower) on Tuesday the 29th will light up the evening sky, adding greater brightness to our Canada Day fireworks celebration on July 1st. This week is predicted to be quite warm, giving the corn an extra jump to be all knee-high by the first of July. As I think of Epsom Church celebrating 155 years, we know the public school also has 1876 as its birth year. So many young lives have been challenged to go out into the world, become excellent w

by Faye Ashton It’s Sunday, June 21st, the longest day of the year. It was beautiful, minus the strong winds we have experienced lately, sunshine and no prediction of rain even. The farmers went full tilt with three clear days without rain. Hope it holds a bit longer. There are many graduation ceremonies as students of all ages move on to the next class or higher education. Nothing can top little 4-year-olds moving from pre-school to junior kindergarten, so small, so excited

By Patricia Dawson Free board game day in Bobcaygeon invites you to have fun and challenge your brain. Come to the Kawartha Lakes Public Library, 123 East Street South, Bobcaygeon, for free board gaming and a chance to meet new people and make friends. This will take place Saturday, June 27th, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This family-friendly drop-in is geared towards adults. Bring your own games, or learn from others. Now that the kids are out of school, why not enroll them

by Pat Asling Sunday was also the first day of summer. We hailed the first day of spring not long ago and now it’s gone, not having lived up to its promise so we can only hope that summer brings a bit more of the things we think of as summer. My friends in Belize are suffering through days of 97 degree heat and humidity. We don’t want that, believe me. Sunday, June 21st, had a multiplicity of special days assigned to it, but Father's Day is the one most people know. I hope al

by Pat Asling We are finally getting the rain we needed! How quickly things change, and we are either complaining about too much of a good thing or wishing for more. I understand, though. The town of Uxbridge is not too happy because they got a downpour on Saturday, and I assume more today, possibly washing out many of the planned activities of the Springtime Music Festival! One which couldn’t be washed out was the performance by Robin Ottolini at Second Wedge, at least I ass

by Patricia Dawson Bring the family out to a free community movie night on Friday, June 19th, at the Sunderland town hall for a fun evening with the new Super Mario Galaxy movie. It’s a great chance to relax and enjoy the movies. The location is Sunderland Town Hall, 120 River Street. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the movie begins at 7 p.m. Chairs will be set up, so please arrive early to secure a great seat. Admission is completely free, and everyone is welcome to bring their