Mark your calendar because the Friends of the 2nd Company Governor’s Horse Guard (2GHG) is set to hold its annual compost drive on several upcoming April Saturdays starting April 2, with no drive on April 16. “Organic compost helps to replenish nutrients to gardens, and the compost drive is a way for our (2GHG) horses to contribute to local gardens,” notes Lieutenant Karen DeFreese, an active member of 2GHG, who along with her husband, Lieutenant Colonel DeFreese, were instrumental in starting the compost drive in 2015. Volunteers will be on the site, 21 Old Farm Road, immediately behind the Newtown Dog Park, from 9 am to 1 pm on the scheduled dates. Suggested donations of $10 to $20 will support the care and feeding of the 2GHG horses.

I know March is more than half over, but if you are looking for your next read, C.H. Booth Library’s “location” for its Arm Chair Travel Reading Challenge for Adults for March is Northern Europe. Readers can pick up a reading log at the circulation or reference desk, print one out online, or request one via curbside and commit to reading one book related to the destination of the month. Audiobooks, e-books, & DVDs count too. Then bring the log back to the library when done to earn a stamp on your “passport.”

A Drop of The Pure — a band of Newtown natives building a following for their performances of Irish folk songs, sea shanties, and drinking songs — will help those who want to continue their St Patrick’s Day celebrations this weekend. The band will be at Newsylum, 36 Keating Farms Ave, Friday night, March 18. Dan Dalton, Patrick Dalton, Greg Mayer and Tucker Smiley have a 6-9 pm set scheduled. There’s no cover, and the brewery will have its taps and ovens running. Cheers!

We offer a Good Egg this week to Trent Harrison, who recently did something very nice for strangers who turned around and made a donation to Newtown High School as a way of thanks. Trent and his wife Cindy were on the Taconic Parkway a few weekends ago, on their way home from Lake George, when they got stuck in traffic after a crash. They sat on the parkway for an hour, according to Cindy, before police were able to reroute them around the accident scene. Like many others who had been stuck on the highway for so long, the Harrisons needed to pull off for fuel once they got moving. At the gas station, Trent noticed an elderly couple sitting in a car with a flat tire. “That’s when Trent put on his Boy Scout cap and went over to do his good deed of the day,” Cindy shared. The couple didn’t know how to change the tire, and were distraught. Trent helped them out, and then refused their offer of money, saying he hoped that if someone in his family found themselves in the same position, someone like him would help. Flash forward a few days later and Trent, an Earth Science teacher at the high school, was called to the principal’s office. “If you know my husband, you know that he is a bit of a chatterbox,” Cindy said. While changing the tire for the couple, Trent must have shared his name and where he works, because after being summoned by Dr Kimberly Longobucco, the principal surprised him, twice. First she asked what he was doing on the Taconic Parkway a few days earlier. Then she told him that she had received a letter from the couple he had helped, along with a generous donation for the school to use as it wanted. Considering the circumstances of where the funds originated, Trent thought the most appropriate use would be in the Auto Shop. Well done indeed Trent! Your good egg is for a very good deed, and your sense of humor.

Congratulations too, to our new Democratic Town Committee executive board! Looking forward to all the good work moving forward to help make it nicer in Newtown. The new executive board members are Chair Rebekah Harriman, Vice President Alison Plante, Secretary Clint DePaolo, and Treasurer John Fletcher.

The Society of the Creative Arts of Newtown (SCAN) is sorry to announce that Karen Israel’s art demonstration scheduled for March 23, and a one-day pastel workshop scheduled for April 9, both at Newtown Meeting House, are being postponed until further notice due to a boiler issue at the historic Main Street location. SCAN will keep readers informed of the continuing boiler situation and resolution.

Speaking of “creative,” the creative minds at 5 Church Hill Road are getting ready for the 2022 Peeps Diorama Contest. Bragging rights will be up for grabs again come Good Friday, and we are hoping once again to have a good response for The Peep-le’s Choice Award. Employees will be constructing dioramas featuring scenes of their choice, with two simple rules: use at least one Peeps chick or rabbit to create their scene, and be original with their work (contestants are encouraged to create their own scene, not re-create something found online). In-house and online voting will all be taking place the morning of Friday, April 15 — the perfect antidote to Tax Day. We’ll share photos of each entry on our Facebook page, and all are invited to vote for their diorama of choice.

While March weather has shown some signs of spring, I’ve got April showers on my mind, and so does Aquarion Water Company, which shared in a recent announcement that it is offering 60-gallon rain barrels to its customers for $75. The retail price is $125. The rain barrels can be positioned to catch runoff from a roof. They are all recycled and can provide water for a 100-square-foot garden all summer long. Customers can reserve a barrel now for pickup in May in locations in Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, Litchfield, Simsbury, Stonington, or Trumbull. Learn more at aquarionwater.com/rainbarrels.

The Annual Daniel Barden Mudfest is back with main sponsor Pepsico, after two years without a full-scale official event due to the pandemic. I hear it will be muddier than ever. The event is set for Saturday, April 23 at MKJ Farm in Deansboro, N.Y. According to an announcement, Mudfest — officially dubbed “The Boilermaker’s Dirty Little Brother” — is a rough-and-tumble mud run obstacle course that offers something for everyone. For competitive obstacle course runners, there is a timed 5-mile run, or a timed 5K. For the less competitive runners who still want a muddy challenge, there is an untimed 5K. There is also a Kids’ Fun Run for ages 5 to 11, so runners can get the whole family involved. Plus, hot showers are available to all after the run, meaning no messy cars on the drive home. This year’s event will feature brand new obstacles, in addition to some returning favorites. Each obstacle is uniquely designed and hand-built by the Mudfest masterminds to challenge runners in ways they never imagined. Proceeds from DBM will benefit the Daniel Barden Adventure Scholarship, which selects students for an all-expenses-paid 10-day canoe and camping adventure through the Adirondacks in July in order to instill perseverance, team work, physical fitness, and mental wellness. Winners are chosen based on a series of essay questions they submit to apply. As an added bonus, the winners get to designate a charity of their choice to equally fund with DBM proceeds. Find out more, including how to become a sponsor and how to sign up, at bardenmudfest.org.

This cat promises to travel through rain and mud if I must to bring you this column as long as you promise next week to ... Read me again.