By Lloyd Garrison

As Star Childs writes in “It’s Only Natural,” it has been a weird winter. December was the warmest on record. It then turned very cold, then very hot, with nothing temperate in between. Just as the traditional maple-sugaring season came to a close, we learn from Sally Quale’s report that half the commercial producers in the area declined to tap a single tree. That’s scary.

Other surprises had nothing to do with the weather. Just when everyone thought the foreclosure sale of the Greenwoods Building put it firmly in the hands of Dan Hincks, the Burlington businessman, the sale is being appealed yet again in state court.

But there has also been some unexpected good news. When the Norfolk Tea and Trading Co. closed its half of 6 Station Place, some doubted whether anyone would take its place. Indeed, it was thought likely that Ersebet Black, who owns Carnegie Hill Antiques in the other half of the building, also would pull out when her lease expired. Instead, she has decided to expand her business into the space just vacated.

Another surprise: remember the storefront that was formerly the home of Mizza’s Pizza on John J. Curtiss Road? It has been empty for years. But artist Ruthann Olsson, who until now has worked out of her home on Mountain Road, plans to turn it into a studio.

Then there is Norfolk’s ranking as the best small town in the state by Connecticut Magazine. No surprise here: our town has been number one for three years in a row. But in reading the Lakeville Journal, Norfolk’s Don Tobias got all the way through a front page article about the rankings without seeing any mention of Norfolk. Tobias fired off a letter to Executive Editor Cynthia Hochswender, whose byline was on the piece. She printed the letter with a brief explanation stating that Norfolk’s top standing had been “inadvertently edited out” of the article.

On our letters page you will find excerpts of Tobias’ letter to the Journal and Hochswender’s reply. There is also a second letter sent to Norfolk Now by Sally Quale. She writes that in the Journal’s coverage of the state’s campaign to get 10 percent of residents in each town to sign up for clean energy, there was no mention that Norfolk was the first in Connecticut to meet the state’s goal.

Neglect of Norfolk in the neighboring media may well continue, as will the extremes in the weather and the ups and downs in the Greenwoods saga. What matters is that the center of town is holding its own, that Norfolk has an uncanny ability to adapt to change, and we can bask for a moment in the town’s latest accomplishments, even if nobody else notices.

matter have come as a surprise to Quale and Tobias, but what really matters is that Norfolk’s accomplishments appear to be more and more routine.

Tolbias’ letter must have hit home, because soon afterwards Hochswender called Norfolk Now and asked if the paper would be interested in sharing some of its stories with the Journal, even before appearing to readers here. The paper’s board of directors considered the offer and declined.

There was also the news there were fears that the Greenwoods Building foreclosure sale might result in the town having to take it over. But when Farmington businessman Dan Hincks emerged the new owner, everyone assumed that the drama was over. Not so. The sale is being contested in Appellate Court, postponing yet again a final decision in the case.

As the Greenwoods foreclosure approached, there were real fears that the town might have to take over the building if there were no buyers. Didn’t happen. , As the Greenwoods foreclosure approached, there were real fears that the town might have to take over the building if there were no buyers. Didn’t happen.