It was a little chilly on Monday, but members of the Town and Country Garden Club were out “prettifying” the traffic islands around town anyway. I was glad to see motorists slowing down as they took the corners where work was going on. It’s no fun to plant when you have to dodge cars that cut the corner too closely. When those plants burst into bloom this summer, send a silent thank you out to the dedicated gardeners who work to keep it Nicer in Newtown.

Then I walked into the town clerk’s office at Edmond Town Hall this week, looked at the fancy new gear, and thought I was on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. The counter at the town clerk’s office is now equipped with a sophisticated electronic cash register, receipt printer, labeler, and computer monitor designed to better track the transactions involving public records that occur there. I half-expected Captain Kirk to pop out from behind the computer.

There is nothing I like better than a little stalking of birds, but this is more bird than I would care to take on — Lauren Mattegat spotted a fine peacock sauntering along Sealand Drive last week. Here’s what Lauren tells me: “After a long day of work I stood outside to catch a breath of fresh air. What appeared next I thought to be in my imagination. A peacock came strolling up the street slowly and gracefully. I quickly ran in the house to get my camera and some bread. He came walking closer to me as I threw little balls of Wonder Bread toward him until he decided he had enough and kept walking up the street. Pea, as we soon called him, disappeared and the magic was over.” Well, Lauren, the magic may have moved on to Main Street, where Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps members had to navigate the ambulance around a saucy peacock crossing outside the crosswalks Monday evening. Anybody missing a big blue bird?

The Newtown High School spring varsity sports teams can do a little preening, too. They should be as proud as, well, peacocks, over their school record this spring. The baseball, softball, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls track, boys golf, and boys and girls tennis teams combined for more than 100 regular season wins between them. The regular season ended for most of the teams last week, but a couple of remaining golf matches and a baseball game or two could jack that number up even higher. Congratulations to all of the team members and coaches on a great season, and good luck — South-West Conference Tournament action gets underway this week.

Some strong arms and backs can help make short work of a big project this weekend. American Friends of Kenya is moving boxes of books into a shipping container for direct shipment to Africa on Saturday, May 24, from 8 to 10 am, at 83 Toddy Hill Road in Sandy Hook. Any help — wagons, hand trucks, and garden carts to assist — would be greatly appreciated. More than 1,000 boxes of books (80,000-plus books) have been donated by local libraries, schools, and individuals in the last year for this shipment. Visit the website at www.afkinc.org or call 470-4084 or 270-9507 for more information.

Trinity Episcopal Church is still accepting members for its Trinity Torchbearers, the team the church will be putting into this year’s Relay For Life at Newtown High School. If you’ve missed all the stories in The Bee and the notices around town, the relay is coming up on the overnight of June 7 to 8 at the high school track. If you’re interested in joining that group call 426-9070 or send an email to laerhardt@aol.com.

If you were driving through the center of town last Thursday around noon and found yourself mentally recapping recent news to try to figure out why the flag was being lowered, you weren’t alone. I was about to turn from West Street onto Main Street and saw the guys from Hook & Ladder lowering the flag to half-staff. Why? I couldn’t think of anyone who had died recently, and hadn’t heard anything about flags being lowered for the tragedies in China or even Myanmar a week earlier, so I did what all good reporter-cats should do: I meandered over and asked what was up. Turns out Thursday was Peace Officers Memorial Day, but the request to lower the flag was delayed by a few hours. Two days later, of course, the fire department was back at the flagpole for another round of flag duty, this time with members of Newtown Lions Club helping. It’s that time of the year: the winter flag, which measures a “mere” 12 by 18 feet, came off the pole on Saturday and was replaced by the 20-by-30-foot summer flag, which will remain flying until after Labor Day. This week’s weather may have us feeling otherwise, but that’s one sign that summer is certainly on its way.

All this up and down with the flag reminds me: American Legion Auxiliary Unit president Alice Saxton has been involved in the American Legion Department of Connecticut Healing Field display of more than 800 American flags that will fly over Bushnell Park in Hartford from June 13 to 15. Sponsoring a flag for as little as $30 will honor you very own “Hometown Hero,” living or dead. “It’s a very unique way of honoring or memorializing a service person,” Alice says, and urges Newtown residents to take advantage of the extended deadline of May 31 to sponsor a flag. Not only those who have served or are serving in the military can be honored with a flag. Firefighters, police officers, EMTs, teachers, family members, friends, or volunteers who help in times of trouble and whom you consider to be a true hero or heroine can be flagged as such.

Contact Alice at 426-7728 or 304-3383 and she will set you up with the forms you need, or visit HealingField.org. At the conclusion of the display on June 15, sponsors can take home the flags to continue flying them in tribute to the person or persons they have selected.

I went to jump up into my cozy chair in front of the computer on Monday, and was surprised to find it occupied. Eliza Hallabeck has joined the editorial staff at The Bee as the new education reporter. Eliza is a Hawley School alumni, and a NHS and recent college graduate, so residents can be sure she knows her way around our lovely village and will keep a good eye on the school happenings. If you see her out and about doing Bee Lines, make sure you give her your best smile. It looks like I’m going to have to find a new chair in which to curl up now, though.

Make sure that next week you don’t forget to curl up in your favorite chair and… Read me again.