Spring and all of its harbingers appeared right on schedule, March 20. Tree buds are swollen, doves are cooing, daffodils are in bloom, and yards are alive with flocks of robins. Life is good… although, if it was April 1, I would only think Mother Nature was up to another one of the disastrous weather jokes she has pulled the past year.

It’s not just plants that are growing, though. Danbury Museum & Historical Society will continue its ongoing “Locally Grown Authors & Artists” series next weekend with a program featuring Dan Cruson. Our town historian and longtime archaeologist will offer a program based on his latest book, Putnam’s Revolutionary War Winter Encampment: The History & Archaeology of Putnam Memorial State Park, on Saturday, March 31. The free program will begin at 11 am at the museum, 43 Main Street in Danbury. Dan will have copies of the book available for purchase and to sign. If you would like additional information the museum can be reached at 203-743-5200 or www.DanburyMuseum.org.

My sincere congratulations to the NHS Girls Basketball Team, which took the first state title in its program this past weekend. Playing in front of more than 3,000 excited fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena, the Nighthawks got the job done in the final seconds of the game, winning over Mercy High of Middletown, 44-42. What an accomplishment! I’m all smiles, whiskers to whiskers.

I’m always pleased to hear that cats in need are receiving assistance. Kitten Associates founder, Robin Olson, of Sandy Hook, tells me that thanks to donating her photography skills in January to pet food manufacturer Halo Pet Foods, to document its free kibble donation to animal rescue groups, the pet food company is giving her 2,500 cans of cat food to help her own cat rescue organization.

“This is the single, biggest donation we’ve ever gotten, and because we have a unique policy that requires we do not feed dry food to our foster cats, it will mean we’ll have enough food to last us until next year,” Robin tells me. Her kittens will not be greedy, though. A portion of the free cat food will be passed on to other animal rescue organizations, she says, including her friends at Animals in Distress in Wilton. Robin has promised me a picture of kittens atop the piles of cat food when Halo sends the donation to her. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty anxious to see what 850 delicious pounds of kitty food looks like.

Even though some of the big holidays are behind us for a while, there are always birthdays, confirmations, graduations, and weddings that beg for a novel gift. How about the gift of Newtown? Newtown Bucks are gift certificates that can be used like cash, and are now redeemable at all Chamber of Commerce businesses in town. Anyone can purchase Newtown Bucks, for any amount, in denominations of $10 and $25 at www.newtown-ct.com, or at the chamber office in Edmond Town Hall. You can find a complete listing of chamber members at the website, too.

The Hunger Games is coming to theaters this weekend, and if you don’t know about this event, pull your head out of the sand and get started reading Sandy Hook author Suzanne Collins’ fearsome futuristic trilogy, on which the movie is based. Here’s a tidbit I discovered — Suzanne Collins is one of only 14 Kindle authors who has sold over a million e-books. That’s something to meow about.

Fancy dresses for fancy events can have fancy prices. Members of Newtown Girl Scout Troop 50843 are hoping to be able to provide prom dresses to prom attendees who could use a helping hand. Troop members have been collecting gently used prom dresses as they work toward their Silver Award project, and the Newtown Middle School seventh grade Cadette troop will continue to collect dresses through March 30. Dresses are being accepted at Sabrina Style, 4 Washington Avenue, Sandy Hook, weekdays only, and the store will give a 10 percent discount to those who purchase a dress at the store. Dresses will also be accepted at Queen Street Cleaners in the Big Y Plaza on Queen Street.

Celebrants and congregations of Newtown’s religious communities will join together for an Interfaith Passover Seder meal, at the invitation of Congregation Adath Israel on Huntingtown Road. The second annual event is being planned for Sunday, April 1, at 4:30 pm, and the reservations deadline for the Palm Sunday event is coming up fast. Members of Newtown Clergy Association will present the event, and Donna Monteleone Randle and her “God Squad” of volunteers have been working very hard to coordinate the meal, which they hope will be even more successful than last year’s inaugural event. The Seder is a time for families and communities to give thanks, at a table elegantly set, and with symbolic foods laid out. These foods include bitter herbs, a sweet mixture of fruit and nuts, salt water, matzo bread, a lamb shank, a vegetable, and a hard boiled egg, as well as four cups of wine drunk at specific times during the reading of the Haggadah, the special script for the Seder celebration. Games for the children, songs, and blessings are also part of the Seder meal. The $5 per person cost must be submitted in check form, no later than Sunday, March 25, to Congregation Adath Israel, PO Box 623, Newtown, CT 06470. Seating is limited. For more information (and especially if you are not going to be able to get a check to the synagogue by Saturday’s mail delivery), call Congregation Adath Israel at 203-426-5188.

Rather than schedule a supper on April 7, which is the eve of Easter, organizers of the Newtown United Methodist Church Monthly Pasta Supper (traditionally held the first Saturday of each month) have decided to go instead fire up the oven and stove again on Saturday, March 31. That means a bonus pasta supper next weekend, but none in April, so don’t miss out on the extra serving. Dinner is served continuously from 5 to 7:30 in the church hall, at 92 Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook. Cost is $9 for adults, $8 for senior citizens and $3.50 for children, which gets you a full dinner (including a choice of sauces), beverages and desserts. From 7:45 until 10:30 there is also the NUMC Coffee House, which features live music world champion banjo player Roger Sprung with friends. Cost for this is another $4 for those who have already been at the dinner, or $5 for those who just want to tune in for the music. Refreshments are of course plentiful. If you would like any information, call the church office at 203-426-9998.

I’m on pins and needles to find out what next week brings. Whatever it is, you can be on top of it all if you remember to… Read me again.