Well, The Old Farmer’s Almanac is out and it is predicting a cold, snowy winter. Hmmm.

I get it! I think I know how this prediction thing works. Let me see, now… I predict that it will be dark tonight with light returning tomorrow morning. I predict that when the boss opens his mouth, words will come out, and I predict that no matter what comes out of the boss’s mouth, I will say, “Hey, that’s a great idea!”

One thing that I never would have predicted, however, is that the Farmer’s Almanac would have a podcast. But that’s exactly what has happened. You can find it a Almanac.com/podcast. The almanac doesn’t say, however, how to put a hole in your iPod so you can hang it in the outhouse.

Newtowners Karen and Kevin MacKnight and Tracy VanBuskirk are teaming up with other runners from around New England this weekend to once again take part in the Reach The Beach event, an annual fundraiser for the New Hampshire state parks. Their team will cover 200 miles from Bretton Woods, N.H., to Hampton Beach, N.H., running in shifts over the course of three days. What some people will do to have fun….

Mae Schmidle has been so busy running around getting ready for Saturday’s Great American Health and Safety Fair that she barely had time to pin on the 2006 Congressional Medal of Distinction, which was presented by Congressman Tom Reynolds earlier this week. While this cat never discusses politics or religion (except for right here, between you and me) there’s no denying Mae has been a lifelong advocate for the GOP locally, in Hartford, and in Washington, D.C. Congressman Reynolds, who is also chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Mae was very deserving of the recognition thanks to her work as honorary chairman of the regional Business Advisory Council.

Blue, the Sheltie who lived a life on the run for almost three years until she was caught last spring, has found a home. Karlyn Sturmer, a volunteer with Animal Center of Newtown who rescued Blue, has adopted the wayward pup.

More than 400 kids showed up for this year’s daylong youth rally at St Rose Church, which was held a few weekends ago during a very rainy Saturday. “More Jesus: John 3:30” was set to take place on August 26. Jean Conover, a member of St Rose, mentioned during last week’s Church Women United meeting that thanks to their advance planning, organizers were able to put a “huge” tent up on the Church Hill Road parish grounds, which gave the kids somewhere to gather while listening to the music. Bishop William Lori provided the day’s concluding event, a celebration of Mass. Coordinated by St Rose Youth Minister Rodd Blessey, the 2006 Joyful Noise Rally attracted guests from 31 parishes including the Diocese of Norwalk, Archdiocese of Hartford, and even groups coming in from New York.

With gas prices sky high, Newtown resident Tina Welsh is feeling pretty good about her commute to work this fall. Tina, who has taught computer science in Norwalk for several years, is the new computer technology teacher at Newtown Middle School, just a hop, skip, and a jump from her home. I wonder who’s going to walk her home after school?

While the Newtown Labor Day Parade left us with happy memories — if not a little flinchy from all those reenactor rifle volleys — the event also left Newtown Police officers holding on to a number of valuable found items, including a Pacific Scorpio bicycle, two Razor scooters, a pair of reading glasses, and a Nikon CoolPix camera. Officers also picked up a cordless saw on Route 25 a few days before the parade. If you can identify any of these items as your own, please call Sgt Froelich at 426-5841.

Everyone forgets where they leave things every now and again. That is normal and quite OK. It is not OK, however, to forget to…

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