There was plenty going on at Middletown High School today to keep the town busy. While a meet was taking place just outside the school at its track field, indoors a four-part community event was taking place. The vocational agriculture department at the school played host to a pet adopt, a dog washing, a Girl Scout cookie sale and a plant sale, which took place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

I should mention something off the bat: I have never been to Middletown High School. I got the address from our community calendar and popped it into my GPS. Not recognized? What? I then tried to find it on Google Maps, my tried and true friend. No luck. I was able to find some directions on the Middletown Public Schools website, but I was afraid I was going to have to call my work buddy and Middletown native Cathy Avalone to get some directions if I got lost! Take my advice: If you're heading to MHS any time soon, ask a friend for directions.

I was able to find my way though, but I still had the task of finding the vo ag department. After asking a group of teens, I found I had parked on the opposite side of the building. I walked until I saw -- wait, was it really, oh yes, it was -- a horse. And a donkey. I couldn't help but be surprised. Back home, my daily commute involved passing at least a handful of cows in a field,

but since I've moved to the East Coast, I've hardly seen any livestock. But there they were, and I was thus pretty sure I had arrived.

I first made my way over to the room where the pet adoption was taking place. There I saw three little puffballs who were stealing the show. They were three 8-week-old kittens who were put up for adoption by Nancy Newman, of Middletown. The mother cat, a feline Newman rescued named Boots, gave birth to four kittens that Newman brought to the high school for adoption. By the time I had arrived, Newman had given a female kitten, who will be named Maggie, to a family, and Jacob Myjak, 14, would be taking home a

male cat as a Mother's Day gift. I'm sure his mom will be thrilled! These kittens were beyond words adorable, and I had to have proof -- especially because our editor, Viktoria Sundqvist, is a big fan of cats. Myjak and fellow MHS vo-ag student Nick Fullam, 14, were kind enough to bring all of the kittens out of their carrier and let them play while I snapped some photos.

There were two adults cats for adoption as well, and I got to speak with Amanda Thompson, MHS animal sciences teachers, and Debbie Bagley, a representative from Connecticut Association to Assure Love and End Suffering, or CATALES. CATALES is a non-profit organization that helps find homes for cats in need, and they were hoping to place two of their cats at the event. I was able to better acquaint myself with Wilson, a 2-year-old cat who recently had a large tumor removed from his side. According to Bagley, someone had expressed interest in adopting Wilson, and I was glad. Bagley said that the older animals aren't often adopted, which is awfully sad.

I did, however, hear a great story about an older animal being rescued when I met Brad Gould, of Middletown, and his sons Ben, 13, and Alex, 17. They brought their pup Margo, a four-year-old, to the event to be washed. The family had rescued Margo from Southern Hope Animal Rescue League in Roswell, Ga. According to Brad Gould, the dog wasn't adopted because it was an older dog and had a lazy eye. Good to know Margo has a happy home now! And my, what a mild-mannered dog. She didn't fuss at all as Thompson clipped her nails and vo ag students Elizabeth Giguere, 16, Dimitria Gomes, 15, and Kristen McQuillen, 17, gave her a bath.

I made my way past the Girl Scout cookie booth -- trying to resist my ever-present urge to buy a box of those delicious thin mints -- and tried to find my way to the plant sale. My, what a big high school! I figured I'd ask for directions before I lost my way, and so I met Kadijah Smallwood, 15, a vo ag student, who not only showed me to the plant sale, but gave me a tour of the department.

I then met Nan O'Brien and Darlene Przekopski, who were helping to man the sale. Przekopski said that last year, the sale made $4,000, but they were on track to net more than that. "This year seems to be much better," Przekopski said.

I also met Lisa Schuerholz-Winters who, along with co-president Jan Cooke, run the MHS PTA/Partnership. According to Schuerholz-Winters, this is the PTA's only fundraiser. They use the money collected to fund many endeavors in the school, including giving mini-grants to teachers for educational projects and putting photo banners throughout the school.

"We have a brand new high school," said Schuerholz-Winters, "There's lots of space to fill."

While the plant sale funded the PTA and vo ag department, the dog wash funded the vo ag department alone. I asked those volunteering at the event how long the plant sale had been going on, but no one seemed to know when it began because it had been going on for so long. They were able to trace it back to 1999 for certain, but said that it could possibly have been going on long before that.

I also got to speak to Rebecca Isaacson, a plant sciences teacher at MHS, who told me a bit more about the sale and the program. The vo ag program is divided into four parts -- plant sciences, animal sciences, natural resources and agricultural mechanics. There are 120 students in the program, and about 20 students were on hand helping out that day.

Apparently, of the many plants available for sale, MHS students grew 60 percent of them. The rest of the plants were brought in from Pine Ledge Gardens in Portland. According to Isaacson, the grower there is a graduate of the MHS vo ag program, which I thought was pretty cool.

These plants were impressive, too, and selling like hotcakes. I spoke with Allison Young and her niece, Olivia Watson, 6, who were shopping for Mother's Day plants. I asked Olivia which was her favorite, and after little deliberation, she pointed to a bright pink flower with a deep red center. She helped her aunt pick out more plants and the duo filled a large tray of flowers.

I asked if there were any houseplants available and, much to my chagrin, there were none. Sorry apartment, now flowers for you! To be honest, I almost doubled back to ask after one of those adorable kittens, but I'm not sure hubby would have been too happy with me if I had. I didn't leave empty handed, though, because I took with me some great pictures and, as always, a story to tell.