When I say “cheesecake,”I don’t mean the stuff sold at Tribeca Treats or the new (but to me, not improved) Jin Market on Hudson; I mean the real stuff—real horseflesh and manflesh, as it is occasionally on display at the police stable on Varick Street.

When my kids were little we used to wander by on a regular basis. I said it was for them, but in reality I loved to revel in the sweet smell of hay and horse and to pet the velvet noses. I kept the sensation in my fingertips and nostrils for as long as I could, recalling all those lazy summer days when all I had was a lovely bay horse, tall black boots, cut off shorts and a T-shirt; I couldn’t imagine ever needing more in summer.

So when I happened by the stable during the recent swelter, in a languid attempt at errands, I was pleasantly stopped in my tracks by Tank (he’s the horse) and Dan. Both were happily splashing water, kicking up a wet ruckus and reminding me how sweet summer can be. Both are cute as big, muscly buttons.

I can’t tell you who beguiled me more.

About the author: Wickham Boyle, known as Wicki, has written for The New York Times, National Geographic, and other publications. She was a founder of CODE and ThriveNYC magazine, executive director of La MaMa theater, and author of A Mother’s Essays From Ground Zero, which debuted as an opera in 2008. She has an MBA from Yale and worked as a Wall Street stockbroker. At Memory & Movement, she writes about memorizing poems while walking along the Hudson.

Recently in Wickiworld:
• Wooly Bully
• Tickling the Ivories
• She Writes Grows Up
• Tumbling Down Memory Lane with Suellen Epstein
• Bells Are Ringing: Lai Montesca’s New Installation