Today is the beginning of the Columbus Day holiday weekend and the end of the extended shoulder season for the tourists. Town buildings, schools, library and post office will be closed on Monday. The last farmers’ market and artisans festival of the season will be held this weekend at the Grange Hall. Linda Alley reports that the first fall market will be held at the agricultural hall on Oct. 20!

Well, tomorrow is the first day of the fall season and we are thankful for all of our summer memories as September is slipping away as quick as you can say Jack Frost!

Today is the start of the long holiday weekend. Labor Day is on Monday and the end of the high summer season. All municipal buildings and the post office will be closed. The VTA buses begin their fall schedule on Tuesday and the SSA schedule changes on Thursday. We have had excellent weather, but, sadly, all good things must come to an end, as school starts on Thursday. Many other school systems in the commonwealth opened last week. There were several end-of-the-season parties last weekend and a few more are planned over the holiday weekend. If you have to go downtown you will immediately notice the drop in the volume of automobile traffic and you might even find a parking place. It is time to bid farewell to all of our August visitors. We hope you enjoyed yourselves and will come back again next year.

Well, the weather bureau reports that July was hottest month on record in the contiguous U.S. since record keeping began in 1895 and you won’t find any argument here. Last Friday a tornado watch was listed for this area. I don’t recall that ever happening before. We had some torrential downpours over the weekend, all much needed for the gardens.