When Bee Associate Editor John Voket sat down to interview Bluegrass legend Del McCoury ahead of an upcoming New Haven appearance, he casually mentioned that the interview was originating in the hometown of another great Bluegrass pioneer, Roger Sprung. With that, McCoury insisted John make contact with Roger to convey greetings and well wishes from Sprung's long-lost musician friend. Then McCoury proceeded to recount a number of showcases and concerts the two played together in the mid to late 1960s. Upon contacting Roger at his Sandy Hook studio to pass on the salutations from McCoury, Roger detailed a few of his own recollections from back in the day - before inviting John to bring a favorite instrument and stop in to the house to play a little bit, or to join him for the next NUMC Bluegrass jam, scheduled at the Methodist Church, following the first Saturday of the month Pasta Dinner, March 5. Too bad McCoury won't be in the area to sit in for that show - but maybe a reunion could happen when McCoury returns to Connecticut for this summer's Podunk Bluegrass Festival, August 13, in East Hartford.The Newtown Bee took a little field trip recently, too. Terry Hennessey sends this photo of herself, left, with family Chelsea, Andrea, Stephen and Christian Sayegh atop the mountains in Machu Picchu, in Peru, holding a copy of The Newtown Bee.Newtown Bee intern Jim Dietter seems to have tossed aside journalism for acting. After appearing last fall in the Sherman Playhouse production of Rocky Horror Picture Show, he returns to the stage this weekend in the TheatreWorks New Milford comedy Seminar. Of course, he does play an aspiring novelist, so maybe he's just doing undercover work… Seminar runs the next four weekends. You'll find more information at theatreworks.us.The Newtown Bee website has been updated recently? Be sure to visit newtownbee.com and take a look. You'll find our most recent news, features (such as Top of the Mountain), the calendar, and lots of other stories that make The Bee as much fun to read online as it is laying on the floor with the broadsheet spread out in front of you. If you are searching for information from our archives, though, I suggest that you go directly to our website and search there, as Google is still behind in indexing our entire archive. You'll need to be patient if you plan to search via Google.

Sue and Jim Shpunt of Sandy Hook had their latest vacation cut short. They were among the approximately 6,000 people onboard Anthem of the Seas, the Royal Caribbean ship that went through a miserable storm last week. Sue checked in last Friday, once she and Jim were safely back home, and called the experience "terrifying." For roughly 12 hours early last week, according to CNN, passengers were in their cabins while the captain of Anthem of the Seas faced rough seas fired up by 125-mile per hour winds. The ship suffered "superficial damage," according to Royal Caribbean, and was already scheduled to return to its schedule this week. The Shpunts had quite a ride, but it won't be their last on a cruise ship. "We've already booked another," Sue said. "Lightning can't strike twice."

After being postponed last month due to the first snow of the new year, the second program of Sophfronia Scott's Connecticut Authors Reading Series will take place this weekend. The Sandy Hook resident - and author herself - will host readings of published works and works in progress by Sandra Rodriguez Barron, Elizabeth Hilts, Sonya Huber, and Heather Webb, all Connecticut-based writers. A Q&A on the craft of writing will follow the reading. The program will take place Sunday afternoon, from 2 to 4 pm, in the lower meeting room of Booth Library on Main Street.

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Gardeners itching to get at it will be interested to know that The Victory Garden of Newtown, supporting Newtown's food pantries, is holding a hands-on workshop in fruit tree pruning. The class will be held at The Victory Garden, located in Fairfield Hills Campus (off Mile Hill Road, across from Reed Intermediate School). Class starts at 10 am, Saturday, March 5, and runs for about an hour. Dan Dalton, a Newtown resident and licensed arborist, will be teaching the class. Meet at The Victory Garden for the free workshop, which is open to the general public. There are 50 dwarf and espaliered fruit trees to prune, and all students will have a hands-on pruning experience. Bring pruning hand clippers, preferably bypass-style pruners, not anvil style pruners. For more information call 203-241-0301.

Blame it on the Monday holiday and the erratic winter weather the early part of the week, but Newtown did lag a little in lowering the flag to half-staff this week in honor of the late Judge Anthony Scalia. The President ordered flags lowered after Judge Scalia's unexpected death last Saturday, until the funeral on February 20. Newtown's centrally located flag, however, did not make it down the pole until Wednesday of this week.

Brutally cold weather over the long holiday weekend had us all hunkered down and praying pipes didn't burst. Then on Tuesday, springlike temperatures returned along with springlike rain to wash away the latest snowfall. The C.H. Booth Library managed to get by with no frozen pipes for the first time in three years (so far), but a lingering roof problem did cause some dripping in the third floor Reference Department on Tuesday. What's in store the rest of the winter? Well, The Old Farmer's Almanac predicts mild weather with periods of showers - some with snow - as we finish out February and move toward the first day of spring. I wouldn't be surprised to see some crocus adding color to the landscape any day now.

I don't have any color to add, but I'll have plenty more words to add to this column next week. Promise that you'll… Read me again.