Dog days of summer

Here we are, friends – the hottest days of the year. The phrase “dog days of summer” has raised a few eyebrows over the decades. Some wondering if the phrase meant it was so hot that even the dogs were going mad. The phrase is actually a reference to the Dog Star – or Sirius – the brightest star seen from any part of Earth.

From July 3 to August 11, Dog Star resides in the same part of the sky as the sun. The star is so bright, Greek poets once philosophized about a portion of summer’s heat emanating from it. Dog Star moves with the sun, rising and setting alongside it.

But with the heat, also comes the excitement of freedom and possibility. As a child, I couldn’t wait for the dog days of summer. Running around in my bare feet, springing from the sidewalk to the grass, grateful for every moment spent in a swimming pool. It was also a time for ideas, for exploration. As an adult, free time doesn’t lend itself as easily as it once did. Opportunity for travel or even just laying around and reading a good book has to be carved out, planned for, or simply seized out of necessity. But the essence of the season is still there. Ripe fruits, long days lending themselves to sticky evenings outside surrounded by the summer song of cicadas. Time spent with friends, grilling outside because it’s too hot to cook inside. The summer forces us out of our comfort zones and into a more primal state. Just like the crisp relief of autumn is inherently necessary, so are the dog days of summer.

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

– F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby