Zephyr & Sandford News

by Pat Asling

Autumn has officially arrived! Some unusual birds, or rather not often seen, at the feeders are in particular the hairy woodpecker pair and the downy pair. The hairy in particular is very particular, flicking half a dozen seeds out before finding the perfect ones. The flickers are back searching the lawn for those juicy bugs the skunks are digging up!

Several folks have birthdays including Shirley Baster, Joyce Brown, our fantastic pianist Ruth Baker, and our lovely young lady Grace Risebrough. Best wishes for another great and successful year. Ron and MaryAnne Herrema spent two weeks visiting relatives in the Netherlands. I am sure it was a great trip. It was good to see workmen on the Library Clock Tower, getting it fixed after the lightning strike.

Next Sunday Dr. Rev. William Fritz will be leading worship at Sandford United Church. Serving Communion will be part of the service.

We are standing on the doorstep of October, hard to believe. October- Thanksgiving, changing colours, migrating birds, goldenrod and asters, the sumacs on all the hills turning their reds to redder and several kinds of shrubs looking like Christmas decorations as their berries become a dazzling scarlet. And then, of course, there are all the fruits, many species of apples, pears, plums, various berries etc. and the harvest from the gardens, if not your own, the many markets can certainly supply your tastes, both gastronomic and beautiful. Of course, you will have noticed that the mornings have become considerably cooler. I did a double take last week when my thermometer read +5 at 7 a.m. Days have alternated between cool and moderately warm. I am not a fan of cold weather so am not looking forward to what we know is coming, maybe slower than usual if forecasts are accurate.

Bird life is changing too. Although the grackles no longer invade the feeders (thank heavens), I saw a large number in the trees the other day, interspersed with red wing blackbirds. Redwings do come but not in great numbers and the females may already be headed south. A pair of great blue herons like to preen and survey from the roof of the gazebo. I thought my purple finch had gone but I did have that one male who came for a few day and now I have a number of very stripped birds, some still very fuzzy which I think are female and baby finches. They obviously can fly but still sport many tufts of fuzz. Then there are the goldfinch. Lots of baby goldfinch, some covered with down still. Goldfinch are late nesters and stay around all winter. One strange sight was an adult male changing from his deep gold and black suit to a much drabber winter outfit.

On the evening of 15th the Uxbridge Horseshoe Pitching Tournament took place at the Uxbridge Museum grounds. Winners of the a Kirvan Cup were Ted Eng and Tim Thomson. Winners of the Ken and Irene Watts cup was Murray Smith and Lloyd Weiler. Lloyd will soon become 99 and so dedicated is he that he built a pitch in his back yard on which to practice. That’s dedication. Play continues into October.

Art on the Fringe took place on Saturday at the Museum grounds. The Tour of Art at various studios was also that same day. The Genealogy Group met Thursday, in person and zoom and members continued their discussion about local Bernardo children (British Home Children) they knew of or had researched. There were quite a few sent to the Uxbridge area, mostly to farms.

On Thursday, September 24th the long awaited Bethesda W.I. Dessert and fashion show, featuring a delicious variety of desserts and local retailers showing off their fashions by local models. To see if tickets are still available. Phone 905-852-3925 or 905-852-5284. Tickets are $25. The Zephyr Scott Lions club will hold a Fall Vendors market at the Zephyr Hall on Saturday, November 7th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Crafts, baking, art of various types, woodworking etc.

Fred Wilson celebrated a special birthday as he reached 94. The family had a gathering in his honour. There were quite a few males siblings (no female) in the Wilson family and I think Fred is the only survivor now. But there are certainly a great many Wilson’s around our countryside. Best wishes to Fred and many more great years. Birthday Wishes also went out to our Fire Chief Mike MacDonald but his days were tempered by the passing of his father so we also send our deepest sympathy. Other birthdays include Mike Risebrough who runs a very successful farming operation on the longtime family farm on Davis Dr. Best wishes also to our lovely Tanis Pottage Smith. When Bruce picked Tanis he picked a winner, as did she. Best wishes also to Donnie Ross who almost shared a birthday with mom Laura.

There will be an autumn service at the Pine Grove Heritage Church on Sunday, October 4th, at 3 p.m. Rev. Sandra Farrol of the Goodwood Claremont charge will be leading worship. All are welcome to attend.

Church service at Sandford this week was led by Adele Boy with emphasize on what is happening to the children of the world.