It took the weather stations some doing, but they were finally able last Saturday to nail the season’s first storm down to between nothing and a foot. I guess they were accurate, if you take the entire state into account. One of our Bee workers floundered around in a foot of snow in Stamford, while Newtown/Sandy Hook experienced only about half that amount by the time the white stuff quit falling. It was enough, however, to get eager cross-country skiers and snowshoers out onto the town’s open spaces and trails.

We saw a few snowy scenes at #viewfromnewtown, earlier this week. Don’t forget to add your local (tasteful) photos to our online gallery. Someone had fun in the snow — and we captured a photo of this snowman that popped up on the grounds of Middle Gate Elementary School, earlier this week.

The werecat came out in me when the full Wolf Moon rose over the horizon this past Saturday. I just had to join the wolves in a howl-out to the big celestial orb. According to the Old Farmers Almanac, the January full moon gets this nickname from Native American and Colonial times. Hungry wolves prowled and growled outside the door during this cold winter month. I like it better than the other moniker for this big winter moon, the Old Moon. That just sounds all tired out.

A cordial invitation to Newtown residents aged 65 and over is extended by the Newtown Youth Basketball Association and the Newtown High School Athletic Department, to a free dinner provided by the Newtown High School Culinary Department — then stay to watch the Newtown High School Girls Basketball Game. The dinner/game event takes place Tuesday, February 9, at 5:45 for dinner, followed by the 7 pm game against Masuk. Please respond to Kathleen Mulligan at scoreboards67@gmail.com by Friday, February 5.

I put my furry ears to the ground and heard that Ted Welsh is celebrating a significant birthday. (Ted is married to former NMS teacher Christina Welsh, if that last name sounds somewhat familiar to you.) Happy birthday, Ted!

Here’s a chance to play with clay: Thanks to a grant that the Commission on Aging has received from Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut in partnership with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Office of the Arts, members of the Newtown Senior Center will have the opportunity to take part in a yearlong pottery class, beginning March 9, at the Riverside Road facility. Art instructor Lynn Walsh will lead the seniors. This class is open to members of the Senior Center, but new members are always welcome. If you want to join, or find our more about the pottery program, call 203-270-4310.

You missed something if you did not hear this year’s annual talk by our town historian, Dan Cruson, January 11, when he addressed the donation of items owned by Presidents John and John Quincy Adams and family. There is still a chance to take a look at some of these unusual artifacts (a bracelet made of John Adams’ hair, for instance) being exhibited at the C.H. Booth Library, through the end of the month. While the Adams’ descendants do not have a connection to Newtown, the donors liked the idea of the pieces being kept together somewhere in the eastern part of the US, and exhibited on occasion. The Newtown Historical Society fit the bill, so we are the fortunate recipients of this valuable collection. Be sure to stop in and take a look — they will not be exhibited again for a while.

Conversation continues on the proposed Community Center. Public forums are scheduled for Thursday, February 4, and Tuesday, February 9, at 7 pm, in the meeting room of the C.H. Booth Library; Saturday, February 6, at 10 am, in the Senior Center multipurpose building on Riverside Road, and on Saturday, February 13, at 10 am, in the C.H. Booth Library. Bring your ideas and comments to the commission, as it moves forward on plans that will affect the town for a long time going forward. (I’d selfishly suggest an indoor cat park — think soft cushions, a warm hearth, an aquarium, an aviary, and all the catnip toys a few million can buy — but I guess that would really serve just a small slice of the population in town.)

Four cat experts, including Sandy Hook’s Kitten Associates founder Robin Olson, will be part of a panel at “A Cat Lover’s Afternoon,” celebrating the publication of Connecticut author Allia Zobel Nolan’s ninth cat book. Women Who Still Love Cats Too Much is her newest book, coming out just in time for the February National Cat Health Month. The program takes place Saturday, January 30, from 2 to 3 pm, in the McManus Room of the Westport Library. Meet the author, get your book signed, and hear from kitty pros about subjects like declawing (ouch!), spaying and neutering (double ouch!), and kitty communication — because not all cats have their own column. Visit www.westportlibrary.org/events for more information.

Our own C.H. Booth Library is seeking input from the community on how to approach its future. Focus groups begin this week, and continue Tuesday, February 2, at 9 am and noon; and Wednesday, February 3, at 7 pm. Each session runs for 90 minutes. Registration is requested, as the sessions are limited to 12 people in each. Call the library at 203-426-4533 or go to www.chboothlibrary.org to register.

If you’re not a cat, getting in a few servings of vegetables a day is a must. But take care that you don’t have some recalled Dole products on hand. According to the FDA, Dole voluntarily issued a recall on several Dole brand and private brand packaged salads produced in the Springfield, Ohio, plant, some of which were distributed in Connecticut. Other Dole products are not part of this recall. “Products subject to the voluntary withdrawal are identified with a product code beginning with the letter ‘A’ in the upper right-hand corner of the package… Retailers and consumers who have any remaining product with an ‘A’ code should not consume it, and are urged to discard it. Retailer and consumer questions about the voluntary withdrawal should be directed to the Dole Food Company Consumer Response Center at 800-356-3111 (hours are 8 am to 8 pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday).” See more at www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/.

I certainly hope you won’t withdraw from reading this column. I’ll have plenty more to share, next week, if you… Read me again.