Bees with the blues? Honeybee response “has more in common with that of vertebrates than previously thought,” write Newcastle University researchers Melissa Bateson and Jeri Wright in their bee study, published June 2, in Current Biology. Their research suggests “that honeybees could be regarded as exhibiting emotions.” The researchers experimented with their bees to show whether animals are, like humans, capable of interpreting ambiguous information in a negative way.

Newtown Bee education reporter Eliza Hallabeck apparently weaves a magical “happy” spell over bees she encounters. I learned recently that — even though she has covered numerous outside school events — she has never been stung. And that’s nothing to be blue about.

Talk about weaving a happy spell: there is one mother in Newtown pretty happy that Parks and Rec lifeguard Patrick Stein was on hand at Eichler’s Cove last Wednesday when her young daughter swam a little too far out from shore. Patrick noticed the little girl bobbing up and down in a distressed manner, leapt into the water, and towed her to shore. So the next time you think those lifeguards are daydreaming up there in those tall chairs, take another look behind the sunglasses: they are watching with eagle eyes. Thanks, Patrick. I’m sure that this calls for a Good Egg Award for you!

 I understand that two Newtown High School entrepreneurs are underway in a new business. Chris Nuelle (2006) and Mike Rambone (2005) have opened Lakeside Watersports LLC at the Pocono Point Marina on Candlewood Lake in Danbury. The water sports school offers personal or group lessons in everything from wakeboarding to tubing, to patrons of all skill levels. The details can be found at LakesideWatersports.com. Congratulations, and good luck, guys!

I wasn’t sure what I had stumbled upon Tuesday afternoon when I took a stroll down to Treadwell Park. The soccer field and pavilion were swarming with kids in neon green, pink, yellow, and orange T-shirts, creating an amazingly colorful scene. I thought perhaps it was some sort of wild Summer Solstice celebration. Turns out, Sandy Hook School held its end of the year picnic there, with clusters of school kids identified according to T-shirt color.

If you know how to get in touch with any of the grand marshals or Labor Day Parade organizers of past years, please contact the parade committee at PO Box 746, Newtown CT 06470, or call Steve Bigham at 203-426-5252. The committee is hoping to honor the grand marshals of the past, and invite any who wish to participate in this year’s 50th anniversary parade.

You never know what’s going to happen on the last day of school. For 12-year-old Bradley Capeci the surprises started even before he got on the bus. Bradley was waiting for the bus to come outside his house on Bear Hills Road with his mom, Tanya, Wednesday morning when he spotted a black bear crossing the road, heading in the direction of Lantern Drive. “Hey Mom, there’s a bear,” Bradley alerted his mother. Notwithstanding the name of their road, bears aren’t regular visitors in the area near the Monroe border, according to Tanya. Both mother and son decided to move inside and watch the bear’s progress from a safe distance until he disappeared from view. Bradley then headed off for the last day of school with a pretty good story to tell.

The youth group from Grace Christian Fellowship will run a car wash on Saturday, June 25. Young adults and the Reverend Adam Fredericks, the church’s children’s and youth pastor as well as the youth group coordinator, will offer car washes in exchange for donations of any size. They will be at Amaral Motors, 41 South Main Street, from 9 am until 2 pm. The teens are working as a group to raise $1,500 per person to help cover the costs of this summer’s mission trip to Tecate, Mexico, where they will help one family build a new home.

If just the sight of a book makes your mouth water, the C.H. Booth Library has just the event for you coming up this summer. Contestants are asked to create an edible representation of a book, characters, a pun on the title, or a re-creation of the book itself for the July 16 Edible Book Contest. Use any food items to make your contest entry — cake, cookies, candy, fruits, vegetables, or whatever suits your fancy. Then bring your entry to the library at 10 am, July 16. Preregistration is required, and forms are available at the main circulation desk. Call the library at 203-426-4533 for more information, and then, get cooking. You can have your book, and eat it, too.

If the shoe fits.... Judy Craven, one of the volunteers for Newtown Congregational Church’s thrift shop, called Wednesday morning. “We have received a very unusual donation,” she said. “We have a great big black bag of unmatched shoes.” Judy and the other volunteers said there were about 25 shoes, men’s and women’s, of varying sizes. There were left shoes and right shoes, but none matched each other. “Maybe someone just forgot to give us the second bag they were supposed to drop off,” Judy said hopefully. “We’d love to have the rest of this donation, if the shoes are available.”

I’ll take any four rain boots that the Cornerstone might have on hand, matched or not. Showery weather the next few days means that I’ll be sloshing through puddles as I track down Newtown’s newsiest news, all to give you good reason to... Read me again.