Happy New Year to all! Mother Nature did her best to give us a taste of winter by the year’s end. Tuesday’s storm left little besides a sloppy mess in Newtown, with sleet and snow quickly turning to a cold rain. With temperatures over the Christmas weekend making Connecticut feel more like the Southeast than the Northeast, I have to wonder what surprises the weather holds for the rest of these winter months.

 So, how long has that New Year’s Eve Times Square thing been going on? The first end of the year party in Times Square took place in 1904, to commemorate the opening of the new New York Times headquarters there. The all-day hoopla ended with fireworks shot off from the base of the Times Tower (an idea nixed two years later), and attracted about 200,000 people. It was not until 1906, though, when the first ball, a 700-pound iron and wood sphere, dropped down the tower flagpole to mark the midnight hour. A million people cheering on that dropping ball and counting down is mighty impressive, but another billion watch the event, as well, on television every New Year’s Eve. Whew. Now that’s a party.

South Main Street resident Kathy Gadoci had a Christmas morning visit from a sharp shin hawk. It looks to me like he was keeping a sharp eye, not a sharp shin, out for a holiday feast. (Who even knew that birds have shins?)

The Newtown Bee is seeking Newtown’s First Baby of 2016. The winning parents will be the ones who send the earliest birth date (and time, if necessary, to break a tie) to The Newtown Bee by noon, Tuesday, January 5. Parents must be Newtown/Sandy Hook residents, and will need to submit the exact time and date of the child’s birth; their name and address; and the place of birth, gender, weight, and name of the newborn. The First Baby will win for his or her family everything from baked goods and champagne to savings bonds, multiple dining opportunities, and even automotive services — courtesy of local businesses. You can help too: Make sure the parents of any Newtown newborns know about this honorary title and all the prizes that come with it. Contact Newtown Bee Associate Editor Shannon Hicks at 203-426-3141, or shannon@thebee.com with this information. The winner will be notified the evening of January 5, and will hopefully be available for an interview in time for the January 8 issue of The Newtown Bee.

The Animal Center has had marvelous luck in placing three kittens with special needs, in recent weeks. But don’t forget, there are lots of other dogs and cats at The Brian Silverlieb Animal Shelter, on Old Farm Road, who are hoping for forever homes this year. If you are thinking about adding to your furry family, please call 203-426-6900 and make an appointment to meet some of the animals there.

Speaking of animals, a number of bears, bobcats, deer, coyotes (or coy-dogs), fox, squirrels, and bunnies populated this column in 2015, not to mention hawks and bluebirds. As a matter of fact, Lee Brownell of Alpine Circle snapped a picture this week as a bear ripped the suet feeder off the deck. I love hearing about the amazing wildlife in Newtown (and their antics), so please continue to share your tales with us in 2016.

Did I mention how much I love to give out the Good Egg Award? It has been a while since anyone has submitted a suggestion for someone who should be the Good Egg. If you know someone who is rarely recognized for their good works, please feel free to let me know at nancy@thebee.com, and we will see that this person is honored for those efforts.

The Downton Abbey Tea at the library got “rained out” by flooding a couple of years ago, but this year I’m betting my whiskers there will be no such problem. Join the library staff for a special Downton Abbey Tea on Sunday, January 3, at 2 pm. The popular PBS television show returns for its final season that evening at 9 pm, EST. There will be a lecture during the tea on the Downton period costumes, beginning at 2:30 pm. If you feel moved to dress up for the occasion, please do so — or come as you are. Reservations are requested, please, by calling 203-426-4533.

Still in the holiday spirit? Newtown Choral Society will present its winter concert, Sunday, January 17, at Newtown Meeting House on Main Street, at 3:30 pm. There’ll be a little holiday music to bring back fond memories of just a few weeks past, and plenty of world music. Even if you don’t speak (or sing) French, Swahili, Russian, Yiddish, or any other world language, I think you’ll understand the messages these songs carry, just fine. Tickets at the door are $10.

I’m done with the fa-la-la-la-laing for this season, but I’m ready to sing out next week’s news, if you promise to… Read me again.