The Cyrenius H. Booth Library’s Facebook page shared a number of photos on Monday, April 6, of poetry shared on a magnetic poetry board set up there. My favorite? A cat poem, of course. “I have my face in a pillow & my kitty is mean fat and crazy, she always scratches.”

Newtown resident Mary Thomas received an unexpected surprise in the mail last week. A Maine artist, identified as “Janyce,” sent her a card. Inside the card is an original piece of artwork, and a note explaining why Mary has received it. Janyce’s grandmother, who died at the age of 101, was named Mary Thomas. To honor her grandmother, Janyce is sending out original art to anyone she can find who is also named Mary Thomas. She plans to send one card a day, until she reaches 101 “Mary Thomas” recipients. I caught Newtown’s Mary Thomas sharing her special card (number 88 of 101) with friends at the recent Garden Club shindig. To find out more about this artist visit www.pineconeandsparrow.com.

The Ragnar Relay Cape Cod is coming up, May 8 and 9, and amazingly enough, even more Newtown teams are registered to run the nearly 200-mile relay to support Dylan’s Wings of Change, than the past two years. Runner Jonathan Gamble tells me that from one team in 2013, to five teams in 2014, this year nine teams are running to honor the memory of Dylan Hockley, one of 20 children killed 12/14, and to support the foundation set up by his parents. The foundation is devoted to children with autism. Two of the teams are “ultra” teams, meaning that only six runners will share the mileage, rather than the 12 runners on each of the regular teams. Interestingly, Jonathan’s son, Chris, a NHS senior and captain of the long distance high school team, is on one of the ultra teams — along with five women. To support the teams and Dylan’s Wings of Change, visit www.crowdrise.com/CapeCodRagnarRelay2015.

If driving is more of interest to you than running, there are opportunities galore here in town to put those skills to work. FISH, the Newtown volunteer medical transport organization, is in need of drivers who have availability anytime Monday through Thursday to assist Newtown residents needing a ride to doctors’ appointments. Call Colleen Honan at 203-426-0714 or Elaine Landau at 203-364-1152 for information on volunteering for FISH. Colleen is also the contact person for Newtown Meals On Wheels drivers, and guess what? MOW is also in need of drivers to bring meals to shut-ins. The commitment is not great for either of these groups, but the “feel good” reward is magnificent.

As Friends of the C.H. Booth Library volunteer Toni Earnshaw points out, “The birds are singing, the library has had another flood, and that means it’s time for Spring Donation Day.” It’s a win-win situation for everyone when you clean out your unwanted books, CDs, DVDs, LPs, puzzles, and board games and donate them to the Friends. Donations will support the Annual Book Sale in July, the Friends’ biggest fundraiser each year. Volunteers will be on hand to unload donations, in the rear parking lot of the library, Sunday, April 19, between noon and 5 pm, and tax receipts are available upon request. Declutter and declare yourself a friend of the Friends, and the C.H. Booth Library. Donation Day takes place rain or shine.

Spring is bustin’ out all over, and the Newtown Bridge Club is bursting at the seams, too, I hear. After seven years at the Hawleyville firehouse, the club has had to move its games to larger quarters. Susan Fronapfel, director of the local club, wants everyone to know that games are now being played at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street, four times each week: Mondays starting at 1 pm, Tuesdays at 10 am and 7 pm, and Wednesdays at 10 am. As of May 4, the club will be meeting in the Alexandria Room. During April, daytime games will be in the gymnasium and the Tuesday, 7 pm game will be in the Lower Level Meeting Room. “We’re still the same friendly club,” she promises, “just with more tables.” Cost is still the same ($9 per session, $7 for members), and players of all levels are welcome. Check the club’s website, newtownbridge.org, for additional information including special sessions for those who want to learn or improve their games. Players come in from all over the region, and workshops are offered regularly.

Newtown potter Karen Pinto is one of the artists taking part in the Gallery 25 “Spring At Last” art show, which opens this Saturday, April 11. The co-op art gallery, sponsored by the New Milford Commission on the Arts, is at 25 Church Street in New Milford. Artwork by the 22 artists taking part includes oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, photography, sculpture, glasswork, wood, jewelry, and of course, the creative pottery by Karen. An opening reception is scheduled for April 11, from 3 to 5 pm, at the gallery. The exhibit runs through May 31, in case you can’t make it this weekend.

Congratulations to Tracy Mulholland, who was able to more than fill her budget bucket last month. The Newtown native, who these days calls Los Angeles home (parents Linda Dale and Bob are still here in Newtown), is working on her first film project and was able to raise more than $13,000 through an Indiegogo campaign. Tracy has written and will be acting in Grace Note, a film about recurring dreams she had of a musician, from her childhood while growing up in Newtown. She had actors and a director lined up last month when she began her campaign, hoping to raise $12,000. She finished with $13,875, fulfilling 114 percent of her budget. We’ll have to keep an eye out now for the opening date for Grace Note.

Gardeners are eager to get their hoes out and prepare for another growing season, and The Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard (2GHG), 4 Wildlife Drive on the Fairfield Hills Campus, is happy to lend a helping… hoof. The Horse Guard will hold its annual compost drive beginning this Saturday, April 11, continuing on April 18 and 25. Volunteers from the Friends of 2GHG Inc will assist in collecting compost from 9 am to noon on those days. Bring your own bags, pails, tubs, and containers to fill up and take home to your lawn and garden. For more information, visit www.thehorseguard.org or call 203-426-9046.

I might not be digging around in the garden, but I will be digging around for news next week. Be sure to… Read me again.