The Dog Days of Summer
Good Monday from the Heartland.
There are several names for this time of year like “the lazy hazy days of summer” and the “dog days” of summer. I can understand the lazy and the hazy, but I’ve never quite followed the dog days; what do dogs have to do with it?
My best guess is that it’s another way of saying the lazy thing, but I’m not sure.
Whatever you like to call it, it’s August, and in the Northern Hemisphere it’s summer, and this year has been fairly hot around where I live.
August has its own feel, don’t you think? It really does feel a little lazy; it’s a great time for a long lazy cookout on a Sunday afternoon; there just isn’t much “Hustle and bustle” to the season… you can almost just relax.
There are times for just about everything in life; even the Bible says so:
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
Ecclesiastes 3:1; full context 3:1-8
This is the beginning of a huge sentence that goes on for 8 whole verses, and it pretty much tells us that everything has its own time. So, maybe God made August for us to slow down just a bit, to spend time with loved ones, to do a little gardening and sit outside in the evening and listen to the symphony of the cicadas. Maybe God thought that we run ourselves ragged too much, maybe He thought that we need to get re-focused on what things are really important. Maybe He thought August would be a good time to start paying attention to the pennant races… (OK, I just added that one)
The season will change soon, the kids will go back to school and the boss will come back from vacation; isn’t this a great time to “smell the roses” as they like to say?
Dog Days are like Lazy Days, when it’s hot dogs tend to slow down and rest more, since it’s harder for them to cool off (no sweat pores).
OK that makes sense, only my dog sleeps all day and all night all year round unless there’s food present. 🙂
I’ve had Huskies, they are active all the time, until the weather turns hot, then they looked at me like I was nuts when I’d ask if they wanted to go outside. Hot out, air conditioned in, are you crazy?
“The ancient Romans called the hottest, most humid days of summer “diēs caniculārēs” or “dog days.” The name came about because they associated the hottest days of summer with the star Sirius. Sirius was known as the “Dog Star” because it was the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog).”
I see, thank you. I’m guessing they had a high unemployment rate at the time 😊
Ha! If only the Twins were chasing a pennant…
🙂
The photo at the top of this post made me start sneezing. Dog Days also brings out the pollen! But I usually ignore it and spend cool morning hours in my garden.
Reblogged this on Cynthia Hilston – Author & Blogger.
Ain’t the Internet wonderful? Ask a question, and you can get all the explanations you want.
My guess is that both of the explanations you have for dog days of summer are true. The astrologers started it, and the people found their own reasons to approve, largely forgetting that the astrologers had anything to do with it.
World is a funny place sometimes.
No doubt 😊