Bub Pierce trims the mane of a Belgian at McGee Stables in West Gardiner on Wednesday. The farm manager prepped three teams to enter the ring at the Pittston Fair Friday and Saturday. The pulls attract competitors from across the United States, Pierce said.

Ben Willoughby of China drives his team of oxen Thursday during the scoots on the first day of the Pittston Fair. Pulls, equestrian competitions and a dance concert were planned during the opening day of the agricultural exhibition that continues through Sunday.

Pittston Fair Strawberry Queen contestants adorn Jenna Dumont, 4, of Augusta, with a crown on Thursday during the oxen scoots on the first day of the Pittston Fair. The Strawberry Pageant Coronation will be held Sunday, the last day of the fair.

A boat passes a swimmer Tuesday on Cobbossee Stream in West Gardiner. People are flocking to cool watering spots this week as temperatures remain in the 80s.

Maynard Whitten, 81, tends hay Monday at his family farm in Manchester. A mixture of moisture and sun has made it challenging to get the first cut up this year for himself and his neighbors, Whitten said. Rain is forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.

CAP.cutline_standalone:Logan Johnston stacks bales with a tractor Wednesday at Oaklands Farm in Gardiner. Farmers across the state were busy collecting silage in 90 degree temperatures before thunderstorms roll in the evening. Johnston feeds the hay to beef critters raised at the farm.

Willy Ellis loads a one cylinder Robertson engine into the bed of a truck at his Farmingdale farm on Tuesday. Ellis was loading up several old engines he’s conserved and restored for an exhibition by the Maine Antique Power Association to be held this weekend in Elliott. The Roberston was built in 1916, Ellis believes, to power a saw mill.

Gavin Sinclair reaches up to grab a water rocket in midair as Josiah Bloom powers it with a garden hose on a hot day Tuesday, July 22, 2014 in Waterville.

Staff photo by David Leaming Gene Kent works on the top of a chimney at an apartment building in Waterville on Sunday, a summer day when the last thing most people wanted to think about was heat.

Tim McGowan paints the fountain in Castonguay Square in Waterville on Monday under direction of instructor Amy Cyrway.

Brendan Palmer, 17, leaps in to the Messalonskee Stream from the bridge that connects Mayflower Hill Drive and Gilman Street in Waterville Wednesday.

Workers with Essex Power Services stand on scaffolding over water and use a cutting saw to cut into concrete at the dam on Messalonskee Lake in Oakland as a project to strengthen the dam continued Wednesday.

Dan Auge operates an excavator to remove the remains of the former Gray House near the foundation in Waterville on Wednesday. The building, which once housed the MaineGeneral WIC program, was razed to make way for an access road to the Thayer Center for Health.