I hope you’ve been practicing counting backwards from ten. We don’t want any mistakes among the expected throng counting down to the Newtown Christmas Tree lighting in the Ram Pasture this Friday night. The festivities are at 6:30, but arrive early to get a decent parking place and to take in the beauty of all the luminaria lining Main Street and all the approaches to the Ram Pasture.

It’s going to be a great weekend, with lots of events at more than a dozen locations throughout town. There’s going to be another tree lighting in the center of Sandy Hook on Saturday at 6 pm, with lots of things to do in the hours leading up to the event. And be sure to sign up for the house tour on Sunday during the Holiday Festival. Proceeds from the festival go to the Family Counseling Center.

If you haven’t gotten those winter jackets and warm boots out of the back of the closet yet, here’s one good reason to get a move on. Just when December weather begins to get downright cold and nasty, we look forward to the bald eagles coming back to Connecticut from their breeding grounds up north. These magnificent birds have already begun gathering in the pine forests overlooking the Shepaug Dam on both the Newtown and Southbury sides of the Housatonic River. Over the past two decades, they have been coming here because Northeast Generation Services operates a hydroelectric plant at the dam and because throughout the winter they can live off the fish they find in the open water at the foot of the dam.

If you want to watch the eagles diving, feeding, and flying, you’ll have to plan ahead to reserve a place. The number of people allowed at the public viewing area off River Road in Southbury is strictly limited by the utility company for the purpose of protecting the birds. The Shepaug Bald Eagle Observation Area will be open to the public on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from Wednesday, December 28, through Wednesday, March 15, from 9 am to 1 pm. All individuals and groups wishing to visit the site must make a reservation for a particular date. Starting Tuesday, December 7, reservations for the Shepaug Eagle Observation Area can be made every Tuesday through Friday from 9 am to 3 pm by calling 800-368-8954.

For those who want to spend more time watching bald eagles while helping others learn more about them, Connecticut Audubon is coordinating volunteers to help out at the eagle viewing area. Anyone interested may attend a volunteer training session on Saturday, December 3, from 9 am to 1 pm at the Northeast Generation Services office in New Milford. Or call the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point, 203-878-7440, or email curbain@ctaudubon.org.

Caryl Stratton of Woodbury called The Bee this week. Last week’s “Fashion in the Field” article featured two of her ancestors posing with the 1913 girls’ basketball squad. The young woman on the far left of the photo, she said, is her grandmother, Jessie Martha Beers. The young woman in the white shirt, three in from the left, is Sarah Alice Beers, her aunt. There may be Newtowners who remember her as Sarah Mitchell, the librarian for many, many years at the C.H. Booth Library.

Caryl grew up in Newtown in the Beers homestead at the corner of The Boulevard and Church Hill Road, and says she is looking forward to the Heritage Day exhibit this Sunday, December 4, at the Booth Library. She and her cousin Susan McNulty have put together a Beers family exhibit to be displayed there. The Beers settled in Newtown in 1706.

When Putnam Park hosts a December Winter Walk this weekend, one Newtown resident will be leading the way during a historic tour of the 1778 Revolutionary War winter encampment. Who else but Dan Cruson? Our town historian, who has spent plenty of time digging through that park, will tell participants how the mid-18th Century camp was set up and show artifacts from the past year’s digs. The program will run from 11 am until 1 pm at Putnam Park; visitors should plan to meet by the new visitor center, near the main entrance from Routes 58 and 107. Troops from the 5th Connecticut Continental Regiment will also be at the park on Saturday, and visitors can plan to warm up after exploring the outdoors with some of the hot coffee, cider, and snacks that will be offered inside the visitors’ center.

Just talking about all the great stuff to do this weekend has worn me out. I think I better get started on an extended catnap so I stay awake for all the excitement. I’ll be back next week with a full report, so be sure to…

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