For my first Barn Raiser’s Ball here on the Vineyard, I took the “ball” to heart. I walked into the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Hall carrying my dessert contribution to the potluck wearing a red tutu-like skirt, a black lace long sleeve top, a heavy silver belt and red cowboy boots. I was met with a sea of flannel, muck boots, clogs, a range of denim and Carhartts. The tunes of Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish seemed to dim as heads turned and I thought — what have I gotten myself into now?

“I remember that outfit,” a friend of mine said to me recently.

An orchestrated commotion runs the length of Circuit avenue playing the music of summer. Strolling clusters of tourists plan their days as they negotiate the narrow sidewalks, crowd open-air eateries and ice cream shops, hold debates over T-shirts and people-watch from storefront benches. All the while cars crawl up the street stopping and starting.

She is a modern-day Aphrodite. Maternity nurse, wife, Chappaquiddicker and open land advocate, Nancy Hugger has designed and lives a life dedicated to fostering nature and beauty.

On most summer days, Nancy begins her mornings in her large Chappaquiddick garden where she grows everything from lettuce and borage to peaches and plums. This particularly hot summer day is no different. She has spent the morning alternating between weeding lettuce beds and tending 120 or so new asparagus plants and cooling off in the heart-shaped pond her husband Skip Bettencourt made for her.

Save the date for Tivoli Day, arriving in Oak Bluffs for the 36th year on Saturday, Sept. 14. The celebration of summer’s end, or the beginning of the shoulder season, is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and takes place all along Circuit avenue, which is closed to traffic for the event.

The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard says goodbye with gratitude to all the summer visitors who visited our residents, walked the dogs, cuddled the cats, walked in the pet parade, came to the events and gave a donation. The shelter stays open all year round for the benefit of any and all animals who need care. Donations for that purpose are always welcome.