By Pat Asling Another interesting week and one which showed us we are definitely moving into the autumn season! A couple of really cool nights, and some people in town reported they had frost, but fortunately not here. Uxbridge is in a hollow and often gets frost before we do on the higher levels.
Gardens are nearing or past their peak, and now the question is, what to do with all that produce? Which is why I am sticking more to flowers these years. After the Fair, the pressure is off, and you can enjoy your flowers without worrying that those darned Japanese beetles are going to riddle them.
It would seem my hummingbirds have flown off to the south, as I haven’t seen them since at least last Tuesday. A friend in Belize actually had a male butterfly in his garden several weeks ago as they go first, but I saw both a male and female last weekend.
Birds are not coming to the feeders like they were either, but I think that is because of the abundance of natural food available for them just now: insects, seeds, etc.
While the birds and animals are slowing down and preparing for winter, humans are gearing up for a busy few months, and all the groups are now in full swing. The Uxbridge Horticultural Group met last Wednesday for a very informative talk and slide show about using African Violets in a terrarium, perhaps an easier way to care for them. The next meeting will be on October 11th, with Vikki Whitney of Griffen Greenhouses, talking about putting together container gardens for the summer; a little something to keep you thinking over those long winter months.
The Uxbridge Genealogy Group meets at the library on Thursday, September 21st, at 7 p.m., or you can go online and get the link to take part virtually. Memberships are now being sold at $25 for the year. This meeting will focus on identifying links which members have found to be very helpful in their research.
The North Durham Nature group will meet on Tuesday, September 26th, at the Scugog library at 7 p.m. The speaker will talk about the forecast for the arrival of winter finches. These birds are ones which don’t always come to our part of the country, depending on the weather and the abundance of food in the north. It will be interesting to hear what the forecast will be and see how it works out over the snowy months.
The Friday Nights at the Foster are soon coming to a close. On September 8th, we listened to some beautiful music by Linda Dempster and Laura Heighway. Most of the songs and their music were written by Linda and a few by Laura, two very talented ladies. Sadly, the crowd was small as it was Tractor Pull night at the Fair! The following week, Scott Benson and Susan entertained with flute and guitar, and this Friday, Andrew Heathcote, another who performs for us each year, will bring original songs from the past and present. On the final evening, Friday, September 29th, Mike Burns once more brings his great music to the Foster to close out the Foster Fridays with a bang. Be sure to come and listen.
On November 11th, the Foster will be part of the Christmas House tour, and the regular Pearls and Lace Craft show will be held at Goodwood Hall. Also, in November, Ladies of the Foster will put on their theatrical production.
Happy anniversary to John and Jackie Leppard, who celebrated their 28th year of marriage, working the local farm and raising two sons, one of whom went off to college a couple of weeks ago. A big congratulations to Cheryl and Erwin Hinzel, who celebrated 45 years of wedded bliss and celebrated big time with a tour to Greece and other fantastic localities.
Happy birthday, wishes go out to Fire Chief Mike MacDonald, a new grandfather, a piper and father of another firefighter as well. Best wishes also to Alex Lubinsky. Alex’s father, Alex, was the former owner of my property, owned before him by his father, Alex. This Alex was only a toddler when the family moved from here, first to a farm on the 6th, then to Greenbank and later further afield.
Deborah and Dwight Clements have had a very busy summer, doing some travelling around Ontario, welcoming a new baby granddaughter and housing her and her mother for a couple of weeks, then getting them installed in their new home and finally having a long session of camping, just to relax.
Cor and Jennie VanMaurik also travelled for a few days up around Manitoulin to enjoy the sights of the coming autumn colours. These colours are becoming more evident, even around here, in the last week or so. This past weekend, “Art On the Fringe” was held at the Uxbridge Scott Museum. Saturday was a gorgeous day, and many of the vendors commented on how beautiful it was, up on the hill looking into the valleys and beyond. A couple of very young ladies I talked to were showing their craft for the first time; others had been there three or four times before, and one lady said she had been to every one of them. It seemed to me there were more vendors than usual, although I know some were missing. Sunday was not such a great day, weather–wise but at least the rain held off until late in the afternoon and was not heavy.
Church today was at the Sandford United Church, with Rev. Martha Reynolds and Adele Boy conducting the service, which centred around the situation between Israel and Palestine. A Communion was also served. Next week, we will learn some more about the Canadian Food Grain Bank from Rob Ashton. Please join with us. Donations for this worthy cause would be appreciated. In October, services will be held in Zephyr.