Newtown husband and wife Bob and Martha LaMarche have doubled up their artistic photography skills and are among the photographers featured in the New Pond Farm Invitational Photography Show, exhibiting now in the Redding learning farm’s gallery, through Saturday, June 9. There is still time to see the LaMarche photos, as well as to see the other photographs showcasing the flora, fauna, buildings, and scenery of New Pond Farm. Gallery hours on Saturday are from 10 am to 5 pm. For more information, visit newpondfarm.org or call 203-938-2117. Martha is better known around town for her oil paintings and sculptures, and lucky us, we don’t have to travel all the way to Redding to take a peek at some of her works. An exhibit of her oil paintings is currently on display in the first selectman’s office at the Newtown Municipal Center at Fairfield Hills, and believe me, you won’t be disappointed.

While you’re checking out Martha’s paintings, don’t forget to stop in at the tax collector’s office and buy Fido’s annual dog license. June is dog license month!

It looks like Sandy Hook is home to a lot of hardworking, determined scholars — and I’m not talking just the high school graduates. I heard it through the grapevine that congratulations are due Sandy Hook residents Greg Pategas, Beth Ann Krause, and Allan Song, all of whom recently passed the Connecticut State Bar Exam. The three new lawyers were honored at a ceremony Monday, June 3, at the Supreme Court of the State of Connecticut in Hartford. Passing the bar exam is no easy feat, so if you run into any of these local lawyers, be sure to give them the thumbs up.

Attention all poets! Newtowner Magazine poetry editor Lisa Schwartz tell me the The Newtowner’s First Annual Poetry Award has been extended to midnight on June 17. The award will be judged by Connecticut’s poet laureate Dick Allen, with the first-place winner receiving a $500 cash prize. Prizes will be awarded at the Newtown Arts Festival on September 15. For entry details www.thenewtownermagazine.com and click on the Competitions page. Good luck!

NHS junior Jill Moller was driving down Toddy Hill Road May 30 when she spotted a tiny fawn along the busy road. She pulled over to protect it, and was soon joined by other concerned NHS students Anthony Maki, Mike Scalzo, Brandon Gonzalez, and Kira Reed and her father, George Reed.  Animal Control Officer Carolee Mason responded to Mr Reed’s phone call, and after attempts to keep it out of the road and attempts later to replace it for the mother to find, it seemed doubtful the fawn and doe would be reunited. She assured the group of Bambi lovers that she would move the fawn to safety in a rehabilitation center, and on Monday, June 4, reported that the fawn was safe in the hands of the Wildlife in Crisis in Weston, and in the company of seven other fawns.  Before you try to rescue any fawns, though, make sure the fawn is truly abandoned. According to the CT DEEP, “Frequently, well-meaning people find a fawn alone in the woods and bring it home without realizing that the doe was nearby all the time. To divert the attention of predators, female deer only visit their fawns three or four times a day, for about 15 minutes per visit, in order to feed them. To assist a fawn that has definitely been abandoned or injured, contact the Wildlife Division for the name of a licensed rehabilitator in your area.”

Carolee says that she and her staff are more than happy to help people monitor any “lost” fawns and to provide information, by calling 203-426-6900. She has noticed that the deer in our area have become so used to people that a number of does are now leaving their fawns close to people’s homes, where the deer apparently feel it is safer from predators, like coyotes. She urges patience when finding a fawn. “It’s not easy to care for a rescued fawn, and there is nothing like its mother,” she said.

 Briana Gaydosh didn’t find a fawn, but she does seem to have found a new friend at the Pleasance. Briana and her grandmother, Lynn Kovac, were visiting the garden this past weekend, in between rain showers.

When Bee Publications A&A staff member Kate Sasanoff’s mom died earlier this year, she received donations in memory of her mother. Those donations have taken root and are in bloom now, in the Pleasance. Kate sent a note thanking everyone for the two rose bushes commemorating Rose Sasanoff that were planted this past weekend, thanks to labor provided by Bee Publisher Scudder Smith, and Kate says four more rose bushes are to come. “She would have thoroughly enjoyed your generosity of spirit and the efforts made,” Kate tells us. 

If you are seeking some inspirational and soothing reading for the summer, I see that Sandy Hook native and 1991 NHS graduate Amy Nawrocki has published another book of poetry. Lune de Miel is a collection of Paris-inspired poems and is available for preorder now at finishinglinepress.com, with shipments beginning August 31. Amy, currently a professor of composition and developmental English at the University of Bridgeport, is also the author of Potato Eaters (2008) and Nomad’s End (2010).

A Newtown cyclist stopped by our office this week, very concerned about the lack of courtesy bicyclists (and walkers and wild life, I might add) are getting from motor vehicles on our local roads. I thought it might be a good time to remind everyone of the rules of the road that Newtown Middle School Resource Officer Lenny Penna shared with Bee reporter Kendra Bobowick last fall. I think most importantly, motor vehicle drivers should know that in a rule that became effective nearly four years ago, when passing cyclists, Connecticut motorists are required to allow at least three feet of separation when overtaking and passing cyclists. Failure to do so could cause motorists to receive a fine. He also told us that bicyclists are allowed to ride two abreast, but not when the road has a lot of traffic. A cyclist making a left turn can also “take the lane” and “act as a vehicle” to signal and make a left hand turn. Cyclists may move in to the travel lane to avoid a pedestrian, parked car, slower bicycles, etc. Cyclists should not carry passengers or any packages that prevent them from using both hands on the handlebars, and cyclists should ride with at least one hand on the bike at all times. With so many roads with blind curves and no shoulders throughout the town, I think it goes without saying that slower on our roads is much better than faster. By the way, Officer Penna reminded bicyclists that anyone under the age of 16 is required to wear a helmet, while others “should.” Following the rules and offering common courtesy can lead to a companionable driver/bicyclist/walker relationship, right?

I’ll be licking lobster off my whiskers this weekend at the SH Volunteer Fire & Rescue Lobsterfest. Maybe I’ll see you there — or maybe you’ll just pick up a paper next week and… Read me again.