I can come up with lots of clichés for the heat but I’m too hot to type them, so all I can say is it is hot, hot, hot and we are in desperate need of rain. We are luckier than most in the heat but it is still a bit warm to even be at the beach.

Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week. Big balloons go out to Holden Graczylowski, William Pate and Deborah Silva who celebrated their day August 14; Bethany Cardoza, August 17; and to Harper Neville and Victor Valentim who celebrate their day today August 19.

When you read this Illumination will be over and the lanterns put away for another year, the fireworks will either be shot off tonight in Oak Bluffs or they are being shot off. The fair is in its third day and we will all be wondering where the summer went.

Now is the time you will start to see a little decline in the cars as college kids go off to school. Also, the Olympics will be over and we can go to bed before midnight.

With the Fair here I always have some nostalgia when we were riding. I rode at Featherstone Farm many moons ago and Ann Bannerman was the owner and our mentor. She was fun but strict when it came to our riding and when we had to be home so we would get enough rest for the next day. So on fair week we could play but had to be home and in bed by 10 p.m. at the latest. Most of us stayed at the farm because then we could sleep in till the last minute which was usually 4:30 a.m. as we had to feed and brush and get ready for the long haul to the Fairgrounds.

You see we did not trailer, we rode to the Fair, and in the morning we had to walk most of the way because we were showing in the In Hand class which is showing the horse with no tack on and they had to look their best with no sweat marks etc.

We would start out at 6 a.m. so we could be there by 8 a.m. and the fire lanes were long and endless. We rode in our classes and some of the temperatures were in the 80’s. One show was 100 degrees. Those of us who rode it will never forget it as the judge would not let us show without our jackets of which many were made of soft wool. He was a stickler and it took him a long time to judge the class. That day the show ended at 8 p.m. and, yes, we had to ride home.

We started out with other barns like Sweetened Water and Pondview and wished each other well as we went our separate ways on the road. The fire lanes were dark and we got nervous as we saw headlights coming our way only to find out it was Dixon Renear, Meg Renear’s father, coming to shine the lights for us on our way home.

We had fun but we were all so glad when we were able to trailer the horses to and from the shows. But the memories will go on with the others for a long time.

I wish all the college kids starting their first year a great semester. This is the time when there are lots of empty nesters and mothers who are crying when people are not looking.

Safe travels to those who are on their way home for the kids who start their schools earlier than ours.

Have a great week and keep the home candles burning.

Send Edgartown news to kathleencase@comcast.net.