There is a cartoon on FaceBook, about the Zeus “Cat in the Hat”, in which he says “Will it rain, will it snow? I live in Canada, I do not know.” This pretty well describes our past week as far as the weather goes. Bur since most of us, my age at least, are inside for much of the time, it hardly matters. There have been a few breaks in the cold, snow, and rain, so I took advantage of it and cleaned up many of my flowerbeds, better than they usually are. I think others are the same, and more people have time to think about planting. The birds are moving back. My first female red-winged blackbird arrived on Friday, 5 weeks after I saw the first male, but there are many of them now. As Leonard Cohen said in his song, “Anthem”: The birds they sang, at the break of day Start again I heard them say Don’t dwell on what has passed away Or what is yet to be. Our farming friends and relatives have started cleaning up from last year, cultivating, and seeding. Calves are being born in goodly numbers and I expect lambs and kids are coming too. Children are busy doing their homework, and I suspect many are having trouble. Several of them do not have the same electronic tools at home as they did in school, perhaps because their parents can no longer afford wifi at home. For others it may be that parents are also working from home and need their computers for that work. Perhaps students will appreciate classroom lessons more when they do resume normal teaching. There are a few birthdays to celebrate this week. The first was Suzi Stanley, better known to us as Suzi Hilts whose family farmed close to Sandford for many years. The older folks will remember Stan Painter. Stan married Ruth Prentice, and they lived in the Guelph area. Ruth passed away a year or so ago but Stan is still here and healthy. Andrea Arkell had a few things to celebrate besides her birthday as she was instrumental in getting her parents, Erwin and Cheryl Hinzel, home from Australia, when they had to cut their vacation short. Sandra Nielsen, with her husband Steve and two children, lived in Sandford for a number of years, after moving from Ottawa, but now live in Alberta and BC. Always nice to see them. Shirley Hewlett, and her husband Don, were longtime residents and farmers in Zephyr, and still support the church activities. Shirley hit an enviable milestone birthday! Speaking of celebrations, Brad and Marcie Clark enjoyed their 13th anniversary, with their girls on Clarklynd Farm, owned by Brad’s family for over 100 years now. Congratulations to all these folks, and anyone else with birthdays and anniversaries. Annabell Jones, a longtime and loved member of the Sandford community, the church and the teaching groups left to our church a nice sum of money, which we are putting to partial use by replacing the windows in the Friendship Hall and updating the outdoor lighting system for better safety for our older eyes. She will still and always be part of us. Once again this week we have to thank Rev. Diane Bennett-Jones, and Carol O’Neil, for sending us their services. Diane also has a video from Lansing Church. Other local services online are the Epsom and Utica, and Seagrave-Greenbank church services. I also watched the one from Grace Hanover as that is my brother’s church. There are many others, including out of country ones, so you can get a worldwide worship flavour! Here are lyrics to get your started: Ring the bells (ring the bells) that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything (there is a crack in everything) That’s how the light gets in.