Friday, July 25: Heavy rain overnight. The landscape is dripping wet from a night of thunderstorms. More storms in the afternoon. Loud rumbling thunder echoes through the streets of Vineyard Haven. Large puddles slow nightlife traffic in Oak Bluffs.

Della Hardman, an artist, educator, writer and columnist, was a pillar of service in the Vineyard community.

She died in December of 2005, but not before enjoying Oak Bluffs’ first Della Brown Hardman Day in July of that year.

“We didn’t realize it would be her last year,” Ms. Hardman’s daughter, Andrea Taylor, said of the first event. “It was a wonderful celebration. A great way for her to look back on her career.”

Long before dawn, you can hear the soft munching of hay and quiet nickering of horses at Pond View Farm as Sarah Doyle prepares for another 6 a.m. trip off-Island to a horse show.

Sarah moved to the Island in 1986 and began teaching riding lessons at Arrowhead Farm in West Tisbury. She began living on the Vineyard year-round after she took a job with the late Anne and Tony Fisher. She currently lives in Chilmark with her husband, Bret Stearns, and three kids, Jeff, 19, Ava, 6, and Graham, 4.

“They are cute!” exclaimed four-year-old Liam Rust, an alpaca enthusiast. It’s hard not to become one after seeing the herd at Island Alpaca. The animals graze in a nine-and-a-half-acre gold and green field in front of a Pennsylvania barn that’s nearing the end of its second century.

On a recent summer afternoon, Heather Welch, a 16-year-old caretaker, stood before the barn and sprayed down the alpacas, trying to keep them cool and clean.

By LISA VANDERHOOP

Ah, the dog days of summer. It’s an often used term, part of our vernacular, bringing to mind the hottest, most sultry days of the year. But where the did the phrase come from?

You don’t need to surf to be a professional beach bum; if you get good enough, you can travel the world carving sandcastles with a palette knife and an ice cream scoop. That’s what Lucinda “Sandy Feet” Wierenga does. Ms. Wierenga was this year’s winner of the Travel Channel’s Sand Blasters competition. She’s in Italy now, giving castle-building demonstrations. And Ms Wierenga will be here from 2 to 5 p.m.

Receives Degree

Zachary Townes of Edgartown graduated from Castleton State College in Castleton, Vt., in May with a bachelor of arts degree.

Dean’s List

Duncan Pickard of Edgartown recently was named to the dean’s list for the spring 2008 semester at Tufts University.

Dean’s List

Morning Star Tarter of Oak Bluffs, a nursing major at Simmons College in Boston, recently was named to the dean’s list for the spring 2008 semester.

Dean’s List

Three Vineyard students were named to the dean’s list for the spring 2008 semester at Bridgewater State College. They are Jai L. Berger and Dawne M. Charters-Nelson of Vineyard Haven and Michael C. Pachico of Chilmark.