And Speaking of Summer...

Wow, it’s hot! It must be the Dog Days!

Ever stop to wonder where that term comes from? My mother used to tell us that when she was a girl growing up in southern Alabama, the Dog Days were the ferociously hot days when dogs and other animals were most likely to get rabies. This was a very real concern back when vaccinating pets was strictly voluntary.

Actually, these observations are, in fact, related to the origins of the term.

Occurring between the days of early July through early September, depending on where you live, the Dog Days are the hottest time of year in the northern Hemisphere. They can also refer to any time that is overwhelmingly hot or oppressive.

The term originates from ancient sky observers who marked the days when Sirius, the Dog Star and the brightest star in the heavens, rose just before or at the same time as sunrise. (Thanks to the precession of the equinoxes, this is no longer strictly true, but you get the idea.)

The heliacal rising (rising with the sun) of Sirius always happened around the Summer Solstice and, coincidentally, was at the same time as the annual flooding of the Nile. In fact, the ancient Egyptians used the star as a "watchdog" for this event. The Dog Star was depicted in Egyptian temples, often in connection with Isis, sometimes called Isis Sothis.

For the Egyptians, the appearance of Sirius and the annual flooding was a blessing, for it meant the difference between life and death.

But other ancients dreaded its appearance, for it heralded dangerous days ahead. Tempers flared easily, crops could fail, and none other than Pliny the Elder (ca. 23-79 C.E.) observed the connection with rabid animals in the Dog Days.

It was a time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies," according to the 1813 publication, Clavis Calendaria. Thanks to the searing (from the same root as Sirius) heat, disease and death spread quickly and sanitation problems could become acute.

As a matter of fact, that's why this time is also called "Rötmånad" in Sweden and "Mätäkuu" in Finland, according to WikiPedia. Both mean “rotting-month," referring to how foods spoil quickly at this time.

So stay healthy and cool, my friends, and may you sail through the Dog Days in comfort. And don't lose heart - Fall Equinox is less than six weeks away.