I have a new neighbor and his name is Roger. He’s medium height and build. He’s very soft. He’s got a great nose and he just so happens to be the rescue pup now keeping Richard Steves company. It was a pleasure to meet him on his first Menemsha walkabout less than 24 hours after his arrival in town.

Greta and Jack Lenkner have returned to their Chilmark home with parents Erin Delaney and Travis by way of a semester-long stay in London where Erin had the opportunity to share her knowledge as a visiting professor at University College London. The kids are a whole lot bigger and Jack’s grin is evolving with the age-appropriate loss of a tooth. There’s been a lot of familial reuniting, especially amongst the youngest layer of the family, with Jack and Greta’s cousin Harriet Robinson in town. I’ve had the pleasure of catching up with her and her always-uplifting mom, Liz Delaney Robinson.

The younger Will Dolan is back in town, bunking with his parents Will and Tory. He recently completed his sophomore year at the University of Alabama and will be working and palling around with friends until mid-August. His sisters Emma and Kate have also had an opportunity to visit from their homes in Boston and Denver.

Suellen Lazarus shares the Chilmark Community Center will host an open house on Sunday, July 23 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. It is an opportunity for the community to see a snapshot of the summer program in operation and to meet the staff and center families along with a chance to participate in free yoga, tennis clinics, games and conversation over coffee and refreshments.

Her entire life wasn’t spent in the fields of Bliss Pond Farm, but fast approaching two decades was. Miniature horse Minnie Whinnie could be seen alongside her best buddy and the first pony of Bella Thorpe, Tupper. She wasn’t always the sweetest and, in fact, she’d been known to nip on occasion. Yet, she was the first horse many Chilmark kids, including Brooks, had an opportunity to feed, brush, groom and sit on. After 23 years, Minnie Whinnie has moved to that lush, green grazing field in the afterlife.

The Chilmark Volunteer Firefighter’s Association Backyard Bash is coming up quickly, so set aside that evening on your calendar for some good, old-fashioned community fun. Wednesday, August 2 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center is the time and place the firefighters will be gathered to wow you with food, T-shirt sales, live entertainment, a raffle, silent auction and who knows what else. It’s a fundraiser for the association so bring a check or some cash to throw their way.

Wayne Iacono traveled to Provincetown with fellow USCG auxiliary member Joe Berini last week to salute former Station Menemsha member Adam Smith as his took command of Station Provincetown. Also joining them was former officer in charge of Menemsha Robert Reimer and crew member Joel Behr. It was a wonderful opportunity for a reunion. Congratulations, Adam.

I had the pleasure of a quick little catch-up with Michael Levin the other day. Rather than make a failed attempt to keep the details of our conversation in my head I asked him to email me the scoop and that he did. His family is back at Book End for their 45th Menemsha season. While here, Michael and Nora Jean will give a multimedia book launch presentation about their new volume Firebird: The Musical Life and Times of Rebecca Burstein-Arber, the classical pianist, on July 29 at 4 p.m. at the Chilmark Library. Michael also has a fourth poetry collection, Watching Bees, on advance sale through July 26 at Finishing Line Press.

Meanwhile, their son Jeremy and his wife Michelle are eating everything delicious in reach and grandsons Caden and Benjamin are playing tennis at the CCC, where Caden is also a counselor in training.

I experienced a first the other day. About a year ago, the man I now refer to as “New Jersey’s Dan Ryan” returned for his annual visit and sat a spell on Squid Row. I’d finally learned his name the year prior. New Jersey’s Dan Ryan returned once again this past week and with him was a copy of the September 15, 2022 edition of the Vineyard Gazette. He opened it to the page where my column sat — his name mentioned in the fourth paragraph — and asked me to autograph it.

I probably should have had some witty little narrative prepared and I probably should have written with a black Sharpie rather than a blue ballpoint pen, but I had a star-struck moment and didn’t think it through. Next time, Dan.