Is it my imagination, or does it seem a whole lot darker now that we’ve gone back to Eastern Standard Time? While craving sweet treats, I’ve been feeling more and more lethargic lately, leading to long evenings spent curled up on my pillow. Now that the sun sets a little after 4:30 pm and there are only ten hours of daylight, I have to be sure to get outside for my requisite 15 minutes of sunlight to ward off the effects of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). If you think cats can’t get SAD, you’re sadly mistaken. We felines are very sensitive to our surroundings.

Luckily, Bee reporter John Voket had no trouble navigating in the darkness on Monday night as he photographed hundreds of Halloween trick-or-treaters trundling up and down Main Street. “It was a crush what with their bulky costumes, bags of candy, and flashlights,” said John, but he enjoyed all the festivity and got a lot of great shots. “There must have been six or seven Batmen with Robins,” John remarked, adding that one Batman was dressed in a very professional-looking, tight-fitting rubberized suit and mask that seemed altogether too real for comfort.

One bat couple hailing from Newtown were Charles Soto, 6, of Sandy Hook dressed as Robin, accompanied by his Uncle Frank Maher as Batman. They were photographed and identified by Meg Soto at the Soldiers & Sailors Monument. But who were all those other Batman and Robin pairs? Will the real Bruce Wayne please come forward? And where is Gotham City, anyway?

A recent Field Notes column mentioned the return of the charcoal gray, sparrow-sized juncos heralding the onset of winter. After reading the column, Bardi McLennan of Dodgingtown wrote The Bee to report seeing her own little flock of juncos in her Poor House Road backyard. “Last year during a bad snowstorm, I threw bird seed beneath the deck. The idea was so well received, particularly by the juncos, that I kept it up for the rest of the winter. Now here’s the weird part. Two weeks ago the first juncos returned, and where did they go? Right under the deck! No seed was there, so they eventually they went under the feeder, but they keep checking under the deck,” Bardi said. Obviously, those juncos have long memories and they won’t give up until Bardi gets the hint. “So I’m going to toss some seed out there under the deck again,” she said.

Newtown residents Diane and Scott Orlando wanted to take their sombreros off to the good spirited staff at El Coyote Restaurant in Sand Hill Plaza who provided them with an entertaining meal last Friday night. They commented that the entire staff was dressed up for the Halloween season. As they munched on tacos and fajitas their waiter Melchor was dressed as a skeleton, in full mask and was still able to pour margaritas extraordinaire. They noticed another waiter dressed as a bottle of tequila going about serving customers as if it were any ordinary day.

Actually, there were costumes in businesses all over town. The “Lexington Ladies” at Lexington Gardens were among my favorites.

Edward Anthony Nole, former assistant manager at Lloyds Lumber, is trying to organize a get-together of all former Lloyd Lumber and Lloyd Home and Building employees from the Newtown, Waterbury, Fairfield, and Norwalk stores. The Lloyd’s Lumber store on Commerce Road in Newtown burned down in 1985. For information about the reunion, call 203-723-1180 or email m.s.support@snet.net.

Nunnawauk Meadows resident Roxie Define said that an article in The Bee in August worked wonders in getting enough money for new lights for the outdoor Christmas tree at the elderly housing complex. They even had $11 left over. But now they need someone with a cherry picker to help put the lights on the tree because it has grown so much that a ladder won’t do it. If anyone can help, call Susan Cummings at 426-1989 at Nunnawauk Meadows.

Sydney Eddison is scheduled to speak about her latest gardening book in a program sponsored by the Garden Club of Newtown at 2:30 pm on Sunday, November 13, at the Booth Library. After her talk, everyone is going to the Dana Holcombe House for tea, marking the 50th anniversary of the Garden Club. Tickets are $20. Checks must be received by November 11 by Paula Stephan, 65 Elizabeth Circle, Sandy Hook CT 06482. For more information call 270-3774.

Don’t forget to vote on Tuesday. The polls are open from 6 am to 8 pm. First Selectman Herb Rosenthal is out and about complimenting voters on their wise choice two years ago. He doesn’t have an opponent this year, but who knows… there could be a dark horse out there preparing a write-in campaign. A dark horse, or maybe even a black cat. One sure way to find out is to…

Read me again.