If you stopped by and it seemed a little quiet and we have seemed a little glum in The Bee office this week, it is because one of our office dogs, Starr, is chasing balls and burying bones in the great field in the sky. Starr left us last week, but not before we got to sing her “Happy Birthday.” It was a great 12 years, and we will miss her sprawling on the couch and stopping by the desks for a scratch behind the ears.

NMS teacher Tina Welsh and her son Kevin were so busy with the end of the school year, they a) had to delay Kevin’s birthday celebration and b) forgot that we were going to be down one bakery in town the end of June. It all worked out, though, when they picked June 29 for a belated birthday celebration for Kevin’s 22nd birthday. “I called Andrea’s Bakery at 3:53 pm [on Friday], not realizing it was the last day of business,” Tina tells me. “They were already closed, but allowed us to come and buy the last cake. We didn’t even care what kind it was...but as always, it was delicious. We arrived five minutes after my phone call and escorted the cake home to be devoured in Kevin’s honor.” I’ll bet Tony was pretty pleased to know the last cake out his bakery’s doors was greatly appreciated.

I thought the heat was making me hallucinate one day last week while pussyfooting down Church Hill Road. I looked up and what did I see, but a blimp of all things, traveling above Newtown. I found out later that besides the usual advertising message that the blimp carries, the airship is used as a camera platform for sporting events such as golf tournaments. It kind of made me wish to be floating in the sunny sky. I’ll bet there’s nothing quite like being aboard a blimp for a different perspective of life on Earth.

Goldrush, the cutting edge acoustic country band led by Sandy Hook vocalist Mary Beth Sippin, will be offering a free concert next week. The band will be at The Gate House Café, 1461 South Britain Road (Route 172, on the grounds of Southbury Training School), Southbury, for an outdoor show on Tuesday, July 10. The show will run from 6:30 until 8:30, and you’ll need to bring a blanket or chair for seating. The group offers covers of contemporary favorites like Allison Krauss and The Dixie Chicks as well as their own originals and classic country songs. Food is available at The Gate House Café, which is also a wi-fi hotspot. In the event of light rain, a nearby pavilion will provide cover. Call the Southbury Training School Music Therapy Department for additional information or if there is heavy rain Tuesday.

 “Oh, the fox went out on a chilly night…” Okay. I’ll quit singing. And as it turns out, not one, but seven fox went out on a bright, hot morning. Gary Fafard shared this photo he took last Saturday, of five of seven kits nosing around the shores of Lake Lillinonah (two are hiding in the shadows). Gary says a couple of boats cruised by on the lake, and the fox kits seemed quite unconcerned. There must have been something particularly delicious on that deck.

With the Fourth of July celebrations out of the way, I’m looking forward to celebrating Bastille Day on July 14 — but with some country and bluegrass music, not French chansons. The Pickin’ and Fiddlin’ Contest returns to Roxbury that Saturday. You’ll find me on a blanket, picnic basket filled with Fancy Feast, at Hurlburt Park, 18 Apple Lane, beginning at 2 pm. Performances are expected to run until approximately 9 pm. Admission is $10, with children (and cats) under 10 admitted for free. Free parking is also available. We’re not going to say the “R” word, but if it’s wet, the event is Sunday, July 15, at noon.

Of course, bright and early on the 14th, I’ll be at the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library Annual Book Sale. I hope you’ve been following the stories in The Bee about the incredible offerings this year. It’s just two weeks until the big event, featuring more than 120,000 books, CDs, DVDs, and LPs. This book sale is well regarded by many in the region for its categorization of the books, making it easy to zero in on just the kind of book you are seeking. There is a $5 entry fee on Saturday, July 14, only, with numbered admission tickets going on sale at 7 am, at Reed Intermediate School, on Trades Lane. The sale runs through Wednesday, July 18. Whether you plan to improve your mind through serious reading or are looking for easy beach reads, there’s no place better to find a deal than this sale. See you there!

Not busy enough? On Saturday and Sunday, July 14 and 15, the public is invited to sample life in the times of the Revolutionary War, 10 am to 3 pm, at Putnam Park. the junction of Routes 107 and 58, Redding. Colonial medicine, cooking, and soldiering will be demonstrated by reenactors. There is no cost for the program. For more information, call 203-938-2357.

Ride ‘em, cowboy! Local promoter and event coordinator Mary Fellows is preparing for the first 2GHG Commandant’s Cavalcade, a daylong family event on August 11, with music, food, a vendor’s market, entertainment, and more to celebrate and raise funds supporting the Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard (2GHG). The event will from 11 am to 5 pm, followed by a special performance from 6 to 8 pm with professional stuntman and trainer Tommie Turvey and his horses. In addition to Tommie Turvey, there will be other live equestrian performers and cavalry, including Sheldon’s Horse/The 2nd Continental Light Dragoons. The day will offer a marketplace with nonfood items, breeders, crafters, equipment vendors, and a special area for not-for-profits. To book a marketplace table, advertising space in the 150-page program booklet, or purchase a fence banner, contact Anne Vogel at 203-798-0000 or Mary Fellows at 203-313-9908 or mary.fellows@aol.com.

Just like the postal carriers, neither rain nor heat nor festivals of any kind will stay me from my duties. I’m keeping my ear to the ground, so be sure next week to… Read me again.