I hope everyone had a safe and happy Fourth of July. From the top of Castle Hill, Monday night, some of the best home fireworks shows were visible, capping off a very pleasant day of picnics and barbeques. I heard that Justin Scott and Amber Edwards had plans to wield some mean mallets against friends at a croquet party at their home, the afternoon of the Fourth, but so far, I haven’t had a report of the results.

It is pretty clumsy work trying to operate a camera when you only have fuzzy paws, but even the best sometimes need some helpful tips. William and Marleen Cafarelli of Photo Art Works spent a lot of time in recent weeks helping one Bee photographer improve her work. A well-placed umbrella flash puts a gleam in this cat’s eye, it turns out. A sample of Marleen and William’s work is on display at the downstairs entrance to Newtown Savings Bank, on Main Street, in case you’re as curious a cat as am I about great photo techniques. I might saunter over there to take a look — after a nap.

Someone else has been sauntering around town, and has left some artistically enhanced stone faces on the doorstep of The Bee. These stony visages were accompanied by a mysterious note: “If you think I’m alone, you’re wrong. Look at all the major landscapes in Newtown and you’ll find my friends. : ) LMK 2011.” Rest assured. We will leave no stone unturned to find out who is delivering altered rocks. And I think it is kind of nice to have a couple of happy faces greeting our many visitors.

You’d have to be under a rock (with or without a face) not to have heard by now, but this weekend is the huge, annual book sale sponsored by the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library. The doors open at Reed Intermediate School at 9 am on Saturday, numbered tickets go on sale at 7 am, for a small fee (Saturday only), and the sale runs through Wednesday, July 13. It is a book lover’s heaven, in case you have not yet experienced a library book sale in Newtown. More than 100,000 categorized books are sold at bargain prices, as well as DVDs, CDs, games, puzzles, sheet music, and rare and collectible books. Visit boothbooksale.org for details.

I hear that NHS grads Stephen Ashbolt and Kevin Hoyt have been buddying up for some muddy business again. Last month, the two Newtowners headed up to Buffalo, N.Y., to compete in their third Muddy Buddy race, a bike and run obstacle course that culminates with a commando crawl through slick mud. (Why wouldn’t you do this year in and year out?) I think they have it down to a science now. Kevin and Stephen came in second in the male group, and placed third overall. The Buffalo Muddy Buddy course was laid out on a ski slope, adding quite a challenge to the racers. This gives new meaning to “Shuffle Off to Buffalo,” I think.

Single stream, curbside recycling has come to Newtown, as of July 1. All recyclables — paper milk, juice, and egg cartons, cereal and cracker boxes, glass bottles and jars, steel, tin, and aluminum cans, office paper, folders, greeting cards, phone books, paperback books (only the ones not in good enough condition to donate to the annual book sale, of course), cardboard, paper bags, newspapers, junk mail, and plastic bottles, jugs, and jars numbered 1–7 — can now be placed all in one bin for pick up by the town. Paper items need to be kept dry, though, so if rain is on the way on your scheduled pickup day, be sure to enclose any paper recyclables in a clear plastic bag. Lot of electronics can now be recycled at the Ethan Allen Road transfer station, too. Questions? Visit newtown-ct.gov or call 203-270-4307.

Newtown resident Terry Laszlo is raving about a film that is scheduled to open at Bethel Cinema shortly. Buck is the story of the original “horse whisperer,” Buck Brannaman, and is the first film for filmmaker Cindy Meehl of Redding. Terry has been helping with publicity for the film and highly recommends it. Buck has already won several awards, including Audience Appreciation at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. “I’ve been working on this for almost three years,” says Terry. “It has been absolutely fascinating to watch it all come together. Even knowing what it was all about, and seeing all the clips, and news articles, when we saw it on a big screen, it was stunning!” she exclaimed. Find info on this film at buckthefilm.com.

My dog friend, Lilith, has found out about taxation, the hard way. She let June slip through her paws without getting a dog license, and when she hustled down to Newtown Municipal Center this week, she found that the town clerks were still happy to provide her with a lovely purple tag — but it cost $1 more than it did in June. The cost for dog licenses goes up one dollar each month that passes, so Lilith warns any of her unregistered canine pals that the July fee will be a bargain when August, September, October… roll around. Be sure to bring proof of rabies vaccination and neutering along, if this is the first time registering in Newtown. A spayed or neutered dog will spend just $9 (this month) on a license. Dogs that are not neutered have to dig a little deeper, for $19.

You can take a little sting out of a trip to the Municipal Center to pay taxes this month, though. SCAN artists have the summer show on display all along the main hallway. It’s a refreshing pause in the day to admire the talent of the many acrylic, watercolor, oil, and mixed media artists that are in our community.

It seems I have to dig a little deeper every week for the hot topics around town, but have no fear. I’ll uncover the news, wherever it is; so plan to… Read me again.