“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.

Dean’s List

Two Vineyard students have been named to the dean’s list at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Ga., for spring quarter 2008. They are Tara Reynolds of Edgartown, who is an illustration major, and Alice Hopkins of Vineyard Haven, who is an architecture major.

Domestic Secrets, an exhibition of photographs by Julie Jaffe, opens with a reception this evening, Friday, August 1, from 5 to 6:45 p.m. at the Bank of Martha’s Vineyard in Chilmark, across from the Community Center on State Road.

Skip Petersen sat on the porch of the Midnight Mermaid Tuesday evening with a journal open in her lap. Apparently oblivious to the throng of people in thrift shop attire that surrounded her, she scrawled in the journal her thoughts and blessings to Darlene Kelly and Penny Townes, who were fired from their posts at the Edgartown Second Hand Store in mid July.

“It wasn’t just a store, it was a great pow-pow place,” Ms. Petersen wrote and later showed the reporter. “It will never be the same.”