Ten years ago, I granted a local beekeeper's request to host his hives on my farm. I agreed and we scouted my property to find the most favorable site to locate the colony. Over the three years that he had his hives on my land, I did loads of welcoming things to keep the bees busy.

Mazza's corn is ready in Colchester, blueberry farms are open early, and in Monkton at Norris Berry Farm, owner Norma Norris reported that the conditions this year have been excellent for her strawberry and raspberry fruit production.

Over the last four years, the Shelburne News has encouraged folks in the community to dig in and green up our yards and plant trees.

The most recent loss was a double header on a Saturday. I was away for about four hours and came home to an odd sight. Four feet were sticking up in the air from what I thought was the friendliest coop of the three.

On May 6 of this year, Nick Cowles, owner of Shelburne Orchards, wrote a blog post on the Orchards' website about how beautiful this year's apple blossoms were and that they were a week to 10 days ahead of schedule.

It was always a part of Michelle Holland's long-term plan for her interior design business to someday open a gallery/studio.

Next to the Shelburne Country Store in the former location of Little Luna Blue, is a new store featuring home décor.

All is well on the farm; at least it was when I left for work this morning. As I pulled out of the field access, I waved good-bye to my volunteer for the day who was planting Canada field peas and sunflowers in the two acres he had plowed and harrowed twice earlier in the season. I am thrilled that my brother-in-law Randy loves to drive my tractor, and it is a bonus to me that I can count on him to maintain this Ford as well.

Five years ago, Michele Racine decided that it was time to transform her hobby to a part-time vocation. This change involved taking care of flowering plants in addition to taking care of people as a registered nurse. Now, for half of the year, Racine is a gardener and purveyor of beautiful, colorful flowers and is thrilled with her decision.

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.

Calling all gardeners...As you plant your vegetable gardens this spring be thinking ahead a bit and plant an extra row of veggies. This is the second year that the Shelburne Community School (SCS) FEED Committee is organizing their "grow an extra row" initiative to provide fresh vegetables for families in our community.

The Vermont Quilt Festival has announced the contestants who will be taking part in this annual judged show. Quilts by Hope Johnson and Ruth E Whitaker of Shelburne will be included in this year's festival. Emily Gagnon, age 10, of Shelburne will be exhibiting a quilt in the Youth Contest.

The accidental fire that destroyed a house in Shelburne last week was the result of a barbeque grill located too close to the building and left many in Town concerned and uncertain as to the safety of their grill location. As we enter the summer months that are so conducive to outdoor cooking, it is of vital importance to follow the recommendations of the State Fire Marshall and Dept. of Public Safety for the safe use and placement of outdoor grills.

This Saturday at the first Shelburne Farmer's Market of the season, Wind Ridge Publishing/Shelburne News will again be "greening up" the Town. The feature tree for this year's Plant-a-Tree giveaway will be a silver maple. Just stop by our booth at the Farmers Market this Saturday for your free silver maple sapling.

Ann Roche Casual Furniture is a long-standing business in Shelburne that provides quality outdoor furniture, table umbrellas, an extensive line of Kasazza Kids furniture, privacy screens, and, as Roche herself puts it, "Everything you need to make the summer enjoyable." Almost 30 years ago, Roche offered one line of outdoor furniture: Telescope, and to date, there are now over 30 brands of furniture and more available. Roche says she loves all of the store's lines.

The things my father taught me still resound in so many details of day-to-day life on the farm and in the garden. One of the gems was dealing with firewood, "The more times you move the firewood before you burn it, the more warmth you get from it."

As a whole, our annual edible gardens are made up of cold hardy, moderate, and tender annuals. There are some perennial edibles in the garden such as herbs, rhubarb, horseradish, asparagus, and some others. Some are perennial (if tended to regularly), by the nature of the way they rejuvenate, such as strawberries with over ground runners and raspberries with underground runners or suckers.

Mary Houle, Shelburne News' master gardener and columnist will join the non-profit Square Foot Gardening Foundation (SFGF) at the 2010 World Hunger Symposium as an ambassador and instructor in the SFG "Teaching the Teachers" training program to be held in the Pacific Rim.

Vermont Arbor Day is just around the corner (May 7), marking the beginning of the planting season in the Green Mountain State. Everyone grab a shovel and get ready to start digging! But wait...

The Lighting House, located on Route 7 in Shelburne, opened its doors in 1977. Shelburne resident John Blanchard said the business has survived recessions, a fire, and is still going strong. Last year, he said the business "felt soft" and this year there are "sparks of hope." One of the changes for the business is its expanded customer base.

Gazing balls were once believed to fend off misfortune and bestow happiness upon the owner; they were commonly given to young women to gaze upon to catch a preternatural glimpse of their future husband. Servants also relied upon them: placed on sideboards in dining rooms, staff could stand outside the dining room to gaze at the ball from a discrete distance to see who needed refills.

The goal of 4-H is to develop citizenship, leadership, and the life skills of youth through mostly experiential learning programs.

Scott Darling from the State of Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and Department of Fish and Wildlife recently gave a presentation at the Pierson Library relating his research and findings about bats and white-nosed syndrome, a fatal fungal disease infecting the bat population in the Green Mountain State, as well as in other areas of the country.

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.

When a plant shows a change of color and starts to yellow or pale, begins to lose leaves, drops buds or blossoms, what is wrong? What is the cause for plant distress? Is it bugged? Is it suffering from too much or too little water? Is there a nutrient deficiency? Is it getting too much or too little sun? Is the soil too rich or too poor? Has there been an injury to the plant or to its roots?

Do you know your plant hardy growing zone? In Vermont, there are some straightforward areas rated at a solid zone 3 or 4, and we have microclimates within these areas as well. Microclimates are the more temperate areas between buildings, close to buildings, or close to the lake that may be rated at zone 5 or 6. The individual zones correlate to an area's temperature in the coldest part of the winter.

CSWD accepts tires and major household appliances for a fee throughout the year at all drop-off centers, but twice a year fees are waived, and residents are welcomed to bring them in for free. This year, non-perishable, unexpired food items are also being collected at the Tire round up as well.

When Mike Gravelin purchased an old 1840s farmhouse on 40-acres in Shelburne about five years ago, he had no inkling that he would find a link with another century.

Shelburne resident Roberta Nubile recently received an energy audit and found ways to save energy and money.

Professor Mark Starrett is our first presenter at this spring's Master Gardener class. His two-week introduction to botany is essentially a crash course on the subject; he admitted that our two- week class covered the first semester of the "real" class he teaches at University of Vermont (UVM).

During February break my youngest daughter and I traveled to Boston to visit family and friends. One of the places we spent one Saturday was the Boston Museum of Science. It was the final day of the Harry Potter exhibit.

Color is a key signature in any home: the notes, the scales, the melody, and the harmony played out in each room. We may not always notice how much color affects us, but nonetheless, it has a profound visual, physiologic, and psychological effect on our bodies, brains, and psyche. Our senses respond in ways similar as to music; surrounded by color we can feel inspired and stimulated, lethargic or restless, alert and contented, or soothed and calm.

For the third year in a row, Branch Out Burlington is offering bare-root trees at unbelievable prices. Trees are 5-6 feet and branched. Order early! These trees have sold out for the past two years.

Okay, Photoshop won't really decorate your home, although it was responsible for creating much of the alien world of Pandora in the blockbuster movie "AVATAR."

Kale, the green used to garnish buffet tables and dinner plates, has a fascinating story and a nutritional profile that many foods would love to have! Kale is a sturdy green that doesn't wilt quickly, making it a great choice for decorating food displays, but you need to eat it to gain the nutritional value it contains.

In an appropriate move, Home Ecology first opened its doors on Shelburne Day (Aug. 15) 2009. Owners Holly Taylor and Anne Taylor (no relation) found a welcoming environment in Shelburne - both from customers and other businesses.

Shelburne's Larry Eisinger has a wealth of knowledge in the world of home building and home repairs. Eisinger, the retired workshop and science editor of Mechanix Illustrated, spearheaded the national "do-it-yourself" (DIY) movement as the editor-in-chief of Fawcett's "How-To" book series and special interest magazines. Eisinger created Fawcett's "Mechanix Illustrated Do-It-Yourself Encyclopedia" and "The Practical Handyman's Encyclopedia," which had combined sales of almost 20 million copies.

Last month's article focused on the COP/15 summit in Copenhagen and noted several positive outcomes from this important event. One such outcome gathering momentum in cities all around the world is the mobilization of grassroots community efforts focused on energy efficiency. What is becoming evident in the places that are furthest along in this process is that people are happy with the results: living environments are more energy efficient and are far less toxic with evident cost savings.

By the way, what do you get a gardener for Christmas? You get them seeds, tools, gardening books, mushroom growing kits, and seed sprouting gear, of course. Whew! I am so glad that it was not a gym membership.