The second annual Vermont Cheesemakers Festival held last Sunday at Shelburne Farms brought together over 1,500 cheese aficionados from throughout the Northeast. Hosted by the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese, Vermont Butter and Cheese Company, and the Vermont Cheese Council, the festival offered the 1,500 people in attendance an opportunity to sample and purchase over 100 types of cheese from more than 40 different cheesemakers.

The 37th season of the Vermont Mozart Festival opened on a beautiful July evening at Shelburne Farms on Sunday. Nothing epitomizes a picture-perfect Shelburne night as much as this: Lake Champlain in the background, the Inn at Shelburne Farms in the foreground, a picnic dinner at your side, and the Vermont Mozart Festival filling the air with classical music as the sun goes down.

The reason for this article's title was my observance of fellow diners at Leunig's last week. It was a heavy couples crowd of all ages.

July seems like a good time to offer a more personal reflection for my monthly column. I also want to report on some of the changes I have observed in our community that appear to be moving us in a positive direction.

Each year we see increasingly more ticks in Vermont. Although disease caused by ticks is much more common in places like Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut we are seeing it in our area. People also travel more with their dogs, which may be contributing to this trend. Most dogs will fight off the disease without ever developing clinical signs, but about 10-15 percent may become sick.

Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery in Shelburne will be showing "Montage: the 18th Annual Summer Group Show" from July 9 - August 10.

Electra Havemeyer Webb was a pioneering collector of folk art at a time when most serious collectors overlooked it entirely. Rutland author Valerie Biebuyck will be at the Flying Pig Bookstore on Thursday, July 15 at 7 p.m. for a talk about Electra and her passion for folk art, collecting, and the museum she created for her treasures.

Bella the bulldog is our Director of Hospitality here at Wind Ridge Publishing, parent company of Shelburne News. She is often seen leisurely strolling around Shelburne, making friends wherever she travels. This summer, benevolent Bella would like to give out some extra Mozart Festival tickets that she has acquired.

As a child, I remember coming back from summer's school break and most of my classmates had exotic tales to report to the teacher and class, but I usually reported that I'd worked on the family farm the entire time.

Every pet owner wants to know that when they go on vacation or when they are at work five days a week that their special cat or dog is well cared for. In Shelburne, Prima Dogga does just that. Liz Weir and Garth Kauffman, husband and wife, purchased the former "O'Neil's Kennels" and reopened its doors anew about one year ago.

Fresh vegetables from Lewis Creek Farm, Leonardo's Gelato, American Flatbread Pizzas, cider from Champlain Orchards, and Alex's spicy pretzels... Although it looks like a list of menu items at one of our local restaurants, it is actually a sampling of the wide array of food choices students have access to in the Redhawk Café, Champlain Valley Union (CVU) high school's cafeteria. When Leo Laforce, CVU's food service director shared the long list of products he and his staff purchase locally for the meal program, my reaction was how fortunate the students are to enjoy good food produced locally.

John Freeman has owned the Small Boat Exchange in Shelburne for 26 years. The small boat dealer sells boats that can fit on a trailer or car top: from sailboats to powerboats, canoes to kayaks, Freeman is an expert in helping his customers pick out the boat that is right for them.

Shelburne Shipyard has been recognized by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as Vermont's First Clean Marina. This recognition is for the marina's ongoing efforts to protect and enhance the quality of Vermont's environment.

Last week Shelburne Vineyard planted five acres of its property with a method only used the second time in Vermont: a state-of-the-art German manufactured laser-guided planting rig.

Shelburne resident Jim Edgerton is the fourth generation in his family featured in a famous Norman Rockwell illustration. The artwork to the far right features young Jim Edgerton as the youngest boyscout. The other three boyscouts are his father, completing the four generations of the Edgerton family posing for Rockwell illustrations and paintings. Rockwell lived next door to Jimmy's father, James "Buddy" Edgerton, and his family in West Arlington, Vt. for 10 years, (1943-1953).

The Shelburne Farmers Market had such a plethora of artisans wishing to ply their wares that Holly Boardman, creative director at Shelburne Art Center (SAC), and Tod Whitaker, president of Shelburne Business and Professional Association (SBPA) and organizer of the Shelburne Farmers Market, got together and decided it was time to give the artisans their own summer market.

Sitting on the veranda of the Inn at Shelburne Farms, overlooking the rolling lawns and shoreline of the lake is in itself something of a magical experience. Couple that with the anticipation of having dinner served in that setting and the effect is wondrously compounded. That feeling was shared among my dining companions the other evening.

Two Shelburne artists will grace the Burlington art scene with their work this summer. Their opening receptions are on the First Friday Art Walk on June 4.

Out of 100 essays from Chittenden County residents, Tom Tucker of Shelburne won third place in a Lawn to Garden contest sponsored by the Lawn to Garden Campaign. The Lawn to Garden Campaign is an Intervale Compost Products initiative in partnership with Chittenden Solid Waste District, Burlington Permaculture, Grow Team O.N.E., Gardener's Supply Company, High Mowing Organic Seeds, and Red Wagon Plants.

The local food movement continues to gain momentum as people become more aware of what they are eating, where it comes from, and the circumstances under which the food was raised or cultivated.

If you have ever wanted your child to get to experience a preschool program before actually enrolling them as a student, here is that chance.

Eighteen-year-old percussionist and Rice Memorial High School senior Nicholas Bonaccio of Shelburne will appear on an upcoming episode of "From the Top," the NPR radio program featuring

Lilac walking tours, lilac planting, and vegetable gardening workshops are just a few of the many fun things to do on May 16 at Shelburne Museum's Lilac and Gardening Sunday.

It was Wednesday night and La Villa was full of locals. Matt and I were joined by friends Robert and Kara Grist of Charlotte for an informal dinner, and La Villa is one of my regular haunts for such an occasion. Owners Jill and Adam Spell were in Florida for a much-needed vacation, but they'll be happy to hear the place ran smoothly in their absence.

Double your Saturday morning pleasure this summer: find locally produced food for the body at the Farmers Market on the Village Green and locally produced "food" for the soul at Shelburne Art Center's (SAC) Courtyard Artists Market.

The poet T.S. Eliot wrote "April is the cruelest month" but on reflection we find it difficult to agree. Yes, there are the warm and sunny days, which tempt us into believing that winter definitely is a memory, and then we wake up to find ice on the birdbath.

The Shelburne Players production of "Born Yesterday" opened this past weekend to enthusiastic audiences. When a character yells, "I'm couther than you!" and the entire audience bursts into laughter, you can count the play a success. When tycoon Harry Brock's former chorus-line girlfriend, Billy Dawn, lets loose with this indignant and flustered response, it seems only fitting when she finally decides to stand up to him.

Shelburne area quilter, Hope Johnson, has been selected as a semifinalist for the 2010 American Quilter's Society (AQS) Quilt Show and Contest, April 21-24 at the Paducah Expo Center in Paducah, Ky.

Earth Day marks its 40th anniversary on April 22. There will be many celebrations and activities happening throughout the country. Thanks to the efforts of our local Natural Resources committee, one of the events taking place in Shelburne is a nature walk on the Shelburne Bay Path trail led by resident and author Marilyn Webb Neagley.

Shelburne entrepreneurs have been busy and are ready for your business. Three Shelburne residents have recently opened three new and different businesses. The businesses run the gamut: a new eatery in Shelburne Bay Plaza, locally designed fashion-forward aprons for the ladies, and a new and improved kennel for canines.

Visiting the new lambs and their moms at Shelburne Farms is a favorite pastime in the spring. And this year there are a lot of lambs to see - more than 100!

"Finding True North: Reclaiming Integrity and Courage in Professional and Public Life" Free public address at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 30, at Saint Michael's College Chapel, Colchester

Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery of Shelburne, will be showing "Wanderings: Photographs by Gary Hall, Lynda Reeves McIntyre, and Asa Sourdiffe" April 23-May 25 with an opening public reception on Friday, April 23, 6-8 p.m.

An exhibit of the photography of Ansel Adams is among new exhibits opening at Shelburne Museum for the 2010 season. "Ansel Adams and Edward Burtynsky: Constructed Landscapes" features over 60 photographs by Ansel Adams, the legendary photographer of the American wilderness.

In February many Vermont riders shipped their horses from Shelburne to Ocala, Fla. to show at a top-rated competition that attracts some of the country's finest riders. Six horses and nine riders from Summerwood Farm located on Dorset Street in Shelburne made the journey south.

Steve Maeck of Shelburne and Sara Bridgman of Charlotte join creative forces and unique individual visions in an exhibit of their works at the JDK Gallery in Burlington. These two Vermont natives, childhood friends, and talented artists, bring their own point of view to specifically chosen and complementary pieces in this exhibition.

CVU students are invited to apply for partial or full scholarships to take part in a special yoga and mindfulness camp for teens to be held at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck N.Y. from August 15-21. Through the Talk about Wellness initiative, five students from three area high schools (CVU, South Burlington, and Burlington High School), will have the opportunity to learn yoga and mindfulness techniques and will have time to relax, swim, dance, and learn Thai massage.

Michael Mauss built Windswept over 30 years ago. He had worked on the property when it was a dairy farm. After the dairy farm burnt down, he purchased the property and built Windswept. About 13 years later, Tina came along, and the pair has continued their coupled passion for horses to the present time. The farm is a full boarding and leasing facility with an indoor and outdoor arena and offers lessons on a regular basis and camps in the summer.

Partners in Adventure Camp, gearing up for its 11th year, will offer newly expanded camper ages this season, serving young people ages eight through 25. This program partners individuals with and without disabilities in four, two-week summer sessions, Partners in Adventure offers a wide variety of enriching programs.

A healthy camp really does start at home. Here are some things you can do to assure your child has a great summer camp experience.