These are the dog days of summer, a time of year when creeks run dry, the air stands still and the sun beats down relentlessly, day after day, or so it seems.
These are the days when we rediscover shade, pools, and the contents of our freezers. Cooling off becomes an obsession.
Over-heated hounds do lounge beneath porches and trees on hot afternoons, but it is not for them that "dog days" were named. Instead, this parching period pertains to Sirius, the "Dog Star," which rises and sets with the sun from mid-July until September. Sirius is also called "The Scorching One." Its lurid presence on the horizon evokes desperate memories of withered crops, raging wildfires and infernal droughts.
Continued at... The Dog Days of Summer
Out There
The Nature Pages
Artwork: Dog Days of Summer Garden Flag
