I spent the weekend gazing longingly out the window where a hummingbird vigorously worked the trumpet vine blossoms that clamber up the side of a giant ash tree there. She was flitting high and low, and back and forth in a very taunting manner, I must say. I’m going to enjoy the miniscule bird’s antics while I can, though, as in just a couple of weeks the hummingbirds pack their teeny suitcases and head back to Central America for the cooler months. No wonder she was filling up on high-test nectar; that’s a trip of more than 2,000 miles.

It wasn’t 2,000 miles, but it was a trip…. Who was that town clerk floating by? It resembled Newtown’s own Debbie Aurelia, who took a short break from her busy duties to take a tubing trip down the Farmington River, tagging along as a chaperone with the Park & Rec field trip. She was getting a breather before beginning the long process of notifying eligible voters ahead of the November election. In the coming weeks, her office will be working with the Registrars of Voters to notify military personnel and those residing out of the country about absentee balloting, before turning their attention to voters in town. If I was a better swimmer, or even liked the water for that matter, I might have joined her. But the tubing company apparently isn’t fond of having animals with sharp claws perched on their inflatable tubes — who knew??

I mentioned Kendra Barrow’s trip to Honduras last week and she gave me a ring to say that she wanted to thank everyone who had donated toiletries, toys, and school supplies for her to deliver. Kendra had set up a donation box at Hawley School for the month of June and was overwhelmed by the response. “I had 50 soccer balls donated that I had to deflate in order to pack them, and I actually had to get some extra luggage just to carry all of the donations,” she said. As we speak, some happy kid in Honduras is probably kicking around a new soccer ball right now, thanks to the generosity of Newtown residents.

Seniors have more to do at the Senior Center than shoot the breeze. Now they can shoot pool, too. Senior Center director Marilyn Place told me that the new pool table has been installed this summer and is a big hit, especially with the guys who visit. And who said you’re ever too old to have fun? Mondays and Fridays are the official days for playing Wii video games at the center, but they have been so wildly popular that every day is Wii day, said Marilyn. Whee!

There’s another busy place in town, and that’s the old Eton Center on Queen Street. Board by board, the renovation of Eton Center is taking shape. The beginnings of a new Wachovia Bank can be seen on Church Hill Road, across from Hawley School, and the new Caraluzzi’s Market is shaping up, too. When the shopping center is reopened, the town’s central business district will be a busier place than it’s been in years.

Anyone who saw Australians Graeme and Jeanette Cooper taking photos on Main Street recently might have thought they looked familiar — and for good reason. The Coopers lived in Newtown for four years in the late 1980s while Graeme was a wing commander with the Australian Air Force and involved with the purchase and maintenance of helicopters from Sikorsky. After returning to Australia in 1990, Graeme was promoted to group commander and Jeanette was a teacher of autistic children. To celebrate the Coopers’ return visit to Newtown, Mike and Mary Kelley hosted a pizza party at their home on Bridge End Farm Lane. That’s one area of the town that has changed remarkably, according to the Coopers, with tall trees and lush vegetation covering an area that had been little more than a huge empty field dotted with new houses two decades ago. The Coopers were pleased to see that Newtown’s historic Main Street looked much the same as when they left despite all of the other changes in town. Joining the Coopers during their weeklong reunion here were Thea and Cliff Smith, Steve and Cindy Landin, Elaine McClure, former Newtowners Dan and Mary Beth Scheid, who now live in Philadelphia, and former Bee associate editor Kaaren Valenta and her husband, Jerry, who moved to Florida almost three years ago. Jerry retired this spring and he and Kaaren now are both spending the summers back in Connecticut so you might see them in town, too. Jerry and Chris Locke of Sandy Hook are volunteers who have restored and maintain the clock system at Edmond Town Hall and also restored the master clock that once ran the entire clock system at Fairfield Hills. This summer they have been removing the few remaining clocks and some historical artifacts from buildings slated for demolition on the old hospital grounds.

It was 50 years ago this week — July 29, to be exact — that President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act and established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The act put the US on the path to manned space exploration, the moon landing, and the development of the space station. The initial excitement of probing unexplored planets and black holes seems to have petered out in recent years, though, with barely any public recognition of the ongoing exploration of Mars, Jupiter, and other far away places. There is a plan to return a man to the moon by the year 2018 through NASA’s Vision For Space Exploration program. Maybe the kids in school then will be as excited as we were 39 years ago when Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon. Well, happy birthday to NASA, anyway.

The Newtown police traffic enforcement unit started work on July 1 and its members are using some fancy wheels for their traffic patrol work apprehending speeders, reckless drivers, and distracted drivers. Along with the Harley-Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle, the police now have a snow-white Dodge Charger with blackout trim, plus chrome accents. The car has yet to be rigged for patrol work, but when it’s ready, the police will be traveling in style as they apprehend speeders.

As long as this hot weather continues, the local police don’t have to worry about me speeding anywhere. But don’t let the hazy, lazy days of summer make you too mellow to pick up The Bee next week and …. Read me again.