Even though spring arrived on the calendar this week, there is still enough snow lurking about in the shadows to keep me a puss ‘n boots at least for another week or two. It’s going to take a lot more than a passing equinox to convince me to surrender the hearthstone for the stone steps in the sunshine out front.

The politically correct Spring Bunny will be at Dickinson Park next weekend to help Newtown Parks & Recreation lead its Spring Egg Hunt Eggstravaganza. I’m not big on eggs, but those of you who are age 8 and under are invited to join the big bunny at the Elm Drive park Saturday, March 31. There will be live music by Music Together, and arrivals can begin as early as 10 am… but the big event starts at 10:30.

The first two book discussions have come and gone, including a great one led by WCSU adjunct professor Julie Stern this past Tuesday morning, but I think I’ll have read enough of To Kill A Mockingbird to put in my two cents worth at the next book discussion, April 10 at 1 pm at the Newtown Senior Center on Riverside Road. Librarian Kim Weber reminded me that I don’t even have to be a senior to attend that discussion — not that I plan to divulge my age. Joanne Rochman will be leading the last book discussion April 24 at 7:30 at the library, so I’m putting an “X” on my calendar to set aside that time, too. Newtown’s young people have been reading Mississippi Trial, 1955, I hope, and are ready to join librarian Margaret Brown for a book discussion April 4 at 4 pm.

Dunkin’ Donuts helped its customers put winter on ice this week. On Wednesday, the official first day of spring, all Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in Connecticut participated in the coffee chain’s first-ever all-day, nationwide “Free Iced Coffee Day.” According to data from The NPD Group, a marketing company headquartered in Port Washington, N.Y. (who gets paid to study these kinds of things), Americans drank more than 450 million servings of iced coffee in restaurants in 2006 — a 16 percent increase from 2005 — and Dunkin’ Donuts sold more than 150 million servings of iced coffee in 2006. Judging from the steady flow of iced coffees of all sizes and flavors that trickle out the door of the Queen Street store, I bet Newtown’s store accounted for a few percentage points of those iced coffees.

Roots For Newtown has launched a new fundraising campaign. Members of the coalition are offering green magnets for a minimum $3 donation to anyone who wants to help the group, whose mission is to educate Newtowners about ecologically fragile areas and ways to protect them. The magnets are 5½ inches in diameter, with the group’s logo of a pine tree with the names of the conservation groups that make up Roots (Newtown Forest Association, Conservation Commission, Trout Unlimited, Newtown Tree Project, Al’s Trail Inc, In-land Wetlands, and Pootatuck Watershed Association). This is the group that, following right behind Grand Marshal Pat Barkman, handed out 3,000 trees during the 2006 Labor Day Parade. Members plan to plant $10,000 worth of trees this year. Magnets are available here at The Bee, and from any member of Roots For Newtown. Every little magnet — er, bit — counts.

Not to toot our horn too much this week, but I’m going to continue with a congratulatory note about John Voket. One of the Bee’s associate editors, John is also a broadcast journalist for WPLR on the weekends. His work during the past year with a radio series about the state of agriculture in Connecticut was noticed by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, who awarded John with a 2007 Connecticut Agricultural Journalism Award on Wednesday at the state capital. John was one of a few state residents who were honored with similar awards for their efforts in providing outstanding coverage of Connecticut agriculture. The awards ceremony was part of Agriculture Day 2007, an annual celebration that showcases the wealth and diversity of the state’s agricultural industries and products that contribute more than $2 billion each year to Connecticut’s economy.

It’s a sure sign of the season when Olga Paproski’s elaborately painted Ukrainian Easter eggs show up in town. The artful eggs are on display this month in the lower lobby case at the C.H. Booth Library. If I were the Easter Bunny, I would certainly wish I could fill my basket with these delicate beauties.

It’s always good to see George Mattegat, and convenient for us when he stops in the office for a visit. George is still collecting tabs from soda and beer cans on behalf of the Shriners, who use those tabs for the Shriners’ Tabs For Tots program. Those little pieces of aluminum are taken to a collection location, and the funds generated from the sale of those tabs to the collection point results in funds for medical and nonmedical equipment at Shriners Hospitals. It took about eight months for Bee employees to fill the latest bin we had, and George didn’t leave us empty-handed when he picked up the full bin. Before we could say, “Here you go, good to see you,” he handed over a brand new bin for us to fill.

It takes me a lot less that eight months to fill this column with information. I’ll be back next week, so be sure to…

Read me again.