I’m always curious as a cat, and I love a little gossip, so with Presidents’ Day coming up on February 20, I can’t resist sharing a few of the 99 interesting facts about our US presidents that I found at randomhistory.com. It’s nice to know, they’re only human…

Lincoln Logs are named after Abraham Lincoln and the log cabin where he was born. John Lloyd Wright, son of famous architect Francis Lloyd Wright, invented them. Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911–2004) won the Most Nearly Perfect Male Figure Award from the University of California in 1940. After the first President Bush vomited on the Japanese Prime Minister, a new word entered the Japanese language. Bushusuru means “to do the Bush thing,” or to publicly vomit.

Every member of Teddy Roosevelt’s family owned a pair of stilts, including the first lady. When Martin Van Buren wrote his autobiography after serving as president from 1837 to 1841, he didn’t mention his wife of 12 years. Not even once. William McKinley was the first to ride in a self-propelled vehicle — the electric ambulance that took him to the hospital after he had been shot.

And my personal favorite: Herbert Clark Hoover gave his White House servants strict orders to hide from him whenever he passed by. Those who failed to do so were at risk of being fired.

On to the presidents’ pets! At factmonster.com, I discovered that the majority of presidents have loved pets — cats, dogs, and lots of other animals. But three in particular stand out. According to this website, Theodore Roosevelt owned Sailor Boy, a Chesapeake Bay retriever; Manchu, a Pekingese; Skip, a mutt; terriers named Jack and Pete; cats named Tom Quartz and Slippers; Josiah the badger; Algonquin the pony; Eli the macaw; Jonathan the piebald rat; Emily Spinach, a garter snake; twelve horses; five bears; five guinea pigs; other snakes; two kangaroo rats; lizards; roosters; an owl; a flying squirrel; a raccoon; a coyote; a lion; a hyena; and a zebra. Calvin Coolidge was the owner of Peter Pan, a terrier; Paul Pry (née Laddie Buck), an Airedale; Calamity Jane, a sheepdog; Boston Beans, a bulldog; King Cole, a shepherd; Palo Alto, a birder; collies named Rob Roy (née Oshkosh), Prudence Prim, Ruby Rough, and Bessie; chows named Blackberry and Tiny Tim; canaries named Nip, Tuck, and Snowflake; cats named Bounder, Tiger, and Blacky; raccoons named Rebecca and Horace; Ebeneezer, a donkey; Smokey, a bobcat; Old Bill, a thrush; Enoch, a goose; a mockingbird; a bear; an antelope; a wallaby; a pygmy hippo; and some lion cubs. Then there was JFK, with Tom Kitten, the cat; Robin, the canary; Zsa Zsa, the rabbit; Sardar, the horse; ponies named Macaroni, Tex, and Leprechaun; parakeets named Bluebell and Marybelle; hamsters named Debbie and Billie; Charlie, a Welsh terrier, plus dogs named Pushinka, Shannon, Wolf, and Clipper, plus Pushinka and Charlie’s pups, Blackie, Butterfly, Streaker, and White Tips. I’m thinking that they didn’t own all of these pets at one time, unless there was some kind of White House pet stipend?

I was skulking around the NHS Animal Concerns Club meeting this past Monday — no big surprise — and my ears pricked up at something guest speaker Cathy Lent, Danbury Animal Welfare Society outreach coordinator, told the group. A warm winter, such as the one we are now experiencing, leads to an early kitten season. That means that there could be a glut of kittens in need of homes in just a few weeks. I certainly hope that there will be an equal glut of residents seeking to add a cuddly kitty (or two) to their families. I could go on and on about the joys of cat ownership, but no doubt you are already aware of the rewards. Keep this in mind, will you? I hate to think of homeless cats and overtaxed animal shelters. I suppose I ought to mention, too, that if you do have a cat that is not neutered, now might be the time to consider doing so. According to the ASPCS, between 5 and 7 million pets end up in shelters each year, and seven out of ten cats in shelters end up euthanized, with no one to adopt them. The Spay And Neuter Association of Newtown (SNAN) can assist if neutering your pet is too costly. For more information, call 203-426-5730 and leave a message and they will call you back.

It’s never too early to get in the mood for next month’s Irish celebrations. Presenting the proud musical heritage of East Clare, the trio of guitarist, singer, and fiddler Ged Foley, fiddler Orla Harrington, and accordionist Andrew Mac Namara will bring their February-March 2012 tour to Newtown Meeting House on Friday, February 24, for an 8 pm show. The discovery of a reel to reel tape recorder and tapes in the attic of the Harrington household in south east Clare was the inspiration for the new album Flagstone Memories, and will no doubt be part of the set list in a few weeks. Tickets are $20 for adults, $5 for children, and are available through The Shamrock Traditional Irish Music Society, Inc at www.ShamrockIrishMusic.org or by calling 203-254-1271. Reservations are strongly recommended. STIMS concerts at the meeting house, 31 Main Street in Newtown, have traditionally been performed for capacity audiences.

If you have skeins that are going unused, or have completed a project and have more yarn than your cat can play with, please consider donating it to the Senior Center. Drop off your yarn donations at the Riverside Road complex during regular center hours. It will be put to good use. Speaking of the Senior Center, don’t forget that in honor of Presidents’ Day, this coming Monday, the space will be closed.

I’m always spinning a yarn or two, and next week will be no different. Be sure to… Read me again.