Dog Days of Summer

Well I had the "heat wave haircut" for one.  And referencing your post from a few days ago, I'll take any beer that's domestic, light, and cold while I sit in my air conditioned house with the fans on.  And I always take really hot showers, it helps you to feel cooler when you get out and you don't have to turn the ac down as low.

Thanks for the hat reminder. I usually forget to wear one. Drinking plenty of iced green tea also helps.

Also, a light unbrella doubles as a parasol. Goes way back to ancient times. Tres chic.

I live in Florida. It's up in the nineties for the better part of the year... so I guess we're just used to it here.

And to try and beat the heat? Do what everyone else who comes to Florida does: go to the beach.

Sun dresses, sun tea, sunscreen, and summer nights!

Summer still means training for me. I have a 28-mile bike ride tonight. Temperatures should still be in the triple digits by then (Dallas, TX).

These are the days when I dig up my potatoes, planted back in the chilly month of March (usually around St. Patrick's Day). Harvesting potatoes is more satisfying to me than reaping any other crop. Eggplant get cut from spiny stems, peppers twisted, tomatoes gently separated from stems bearing multiple fruit, but harvesting potatoes is like digging for buried treasure. You're sure you have them all when a finger, scraping through loamy soil, brushes up against something firm and you realize there are yet more to be found. And what treasures they are! Nothing in creation is quite as pink as the skin of a Red Pontiac surrounded by soil, and there are few things as creamy as a Yukon Gold just harvested, quickly boiled and slathered in butter and salt. I can just feel my arteries closing in anticipation!

I'll give away just about anything I grow to friends and neighbors as there is always more produced than can be consumed. I'll even leave bags of zucchini on neighborhood stoops in the middle of the night just to get rid of them. But the potatoes stay in the house, coveted, hoarded in brown paper bags in dark cool corners. If I'm lucky, they last until Thanksgiving when the cold has set in and my sights are set for St. Patrick's Day next.

I'm having trouble with today's poll, "favorite dog day activity?"  My most honest answer popped into my head immediately.  But how do I say it in polite company?  How do I make this clear without getting thrown off the board?  Let's see... I guess I'll have to quote Cole Porter:

"According to the Kinsey Report, every average man you know much prefers to play his favorite sport when the temperature is low.  But, when the thermometer goes way up and the weather is sizzling hot, Mister Adam for his madam is not.  'Cause it's too darn hot!"

I disagree with Mr. Porter.  The sweat-inducing heat is very much part of the fun.  And, before I get into even more trouble, that's all I have to say about that.

Corn fests, corn boils, just picked roasted sweet corn smothered in butter and salt or nothing at all; and yes, on a really hot summer day you can hear the corn grow if you'll just listen for it.....

.... and then, just to break the monotony of days upon days of sun-bleached, pale blue skies, the occasional, awesome, late-afternoon thunder storm that rolls in and shakes the trees, rattles the windows, cleans the air, and in passing, deepens all of natures "alive" colors and leaves rainbows, red sunsets, and Maxfield Parrish skies in its wake.

If you are very fortunate this rainy hot summer day, you are caught outside and get completely soaked as you stroll towards the farthest shelter.

I took a sunset swim in the atlantic last night and it was magical. NOTHING beats the cooling power of the ocean.

My kids have reintroduced me to the pleasures of juice ice pops--the kind you make yourself in the freezer and  they really do the trick. I find myself slurping on them even when the kida aren't around.

I totally became one of the languid creatures this weekend!  I had such a bad case of the "phrensies."  That's what happens when you don't get out of New York on summer weekends...

...because not only are we all constantly under pressure from work and whatever else we've got going on, we then succumb to the pressure to relax!!!  I was terribly worried I wasn't enjoying myself enough this weekend, and that just got me further and further from relaxation.  Plus, all that madness just ended up in a pretty bad case of the Mondays.

...but thanks Mr. Peterman for making me realize it's not just me- it's the dog days.  And they're slipping through my fingers faster and faster every year...

Gin & Tonic

We tried last night to eat our dinner on the patio and enjoy the wonderful summer evening ambiance and cool breezes, but the gold finches were very unhappy.  It apparently was their dinner time as well and they didn't want to share the "restaurant area" with us.  They kept squawking and dive bombing us because we had apparently invaded THEIR personal space around THEIR finch feeders and they couldn't get to them.  So we had to go inside.  As soon as we got in, we turned and found that 6 were already on one feeder and 5 on the other.  So much for enjoying the outdoor pleasures of a summer evening..

As far as good summer reading is concerned... For those of you that have been with this site for awhile, my husband's book on the archaeology of the Falls of the Ohio River area will be out next week.  At that time you can order it from the publisher's web site;                                 www.butlerbooks.com 

Sould help put you to sleep on hot nights, if nothing else... 

Two years ago about this time there was an article in the New York Times to the effect that in summer, ice makes drinks more refreshing. I read and re-read it, waiting for the punchline which was either so subtle that I missed it entirely (the heat-addled brain is prey to a number of vagaries) or, more likely, that all the NYT grownups had left for Connecticut and that fourth graders had taken over. Nowadays, whenever I put a couple more cubes in my limeade, I think of that post and I feel compelled to mention to whoever might be in the room with me "Hey! Did you know that ice makes drinks more refreshing?"

Lobster rolls on the Maine coast, salt air breezes, and never too-warm surf to stroll in.

Junglemonkey is right, its all about the ice. Summer begins and ends in the mind, now is the time to dream and make sense of things before autumn rush asserts herself.

Well, Afghanistan gives you a different perspective on the Dog Days.  Mostly to do with dust.  And its various permutations.  Is it really the right time for a Peterman duster?  And how about the hat?  Maybe it's about the ice and your limeade on the terrace, but be sure to put a doilly (sp?) over the glass between sips.

I GUESS I AM REALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF YOU.  I LOVE BALMY NIGHTS AND SCORCHING DAYS.  IF I AM FORTUNATE ENOUGH NOT TO BE AT WORK...YOU WILL FIND ME POOLSIDE WITH A SLUSHY MARGARITA. IF MY GRANDKIDS ARE THERE, IT'S A TALL GLASS OF SOUTHERN ICED TEA.  AT NIGHT, I LOVE TO SIT OUT ON MY DECK OR PATIO WITH THE TIKI TORCHES LIT AND TWINKLE LIGHTS IN THE TREES JUST LISTENING TO SOME SOFT JAZZ... AGAIN WITH A COOL DRINK IN HAND. iN THE BACKGROUND YOU CAN HEAR THE FROGS AND CRICKETS ADDING THEIR OWN JAZZ MUSIC.  IT IS A PEACEFUL AND RELAXING.  I LOVE THE DOG-DAYS OF SUMMER. 

amboango - are you from Afghanistan? That's incredible! and KCDavis - from Alaska? Wow! I figured we were all kinda hanging around the contiguous 48 states. Mr Peterman - whoever's in charge of spreading the Peterman gospel, they're doing a marvellous job.

Oh yes, this is DEFINITELY the time of year to slack off.  For one thing, all the more organized people have planned vacations and are off at the shore/beach/mountains, so the office is relatively stress-free for us slacker types.  In the fall, winter, and spring I can manage to be in the office early and motivated; in early August, I'm more likely to wander into a campus coffeeshop and drink iced coffee and "read articles" (meaning skim abstracts and woolgather) for a couple of hours before actually making it to my desk.  But it's August, so who cares?  

That, in fact, should be the official motto for the month - "It's August: Who Cares?"  Ignore that workout, let the lawn go to seed, come in late to the office. Who cares?  What a joy.

I actually like these days except I have to keep too much of a weather eye on the NOAA's hurricane maps (Hampton VA, lower Chesapeake).  Best thing to do if you can is take in a good movie.  Saw the new Batman in IMAX this weekend...Oh My!  Best I've seen in many a year.  Heath Ledger was magnificent.

We all need to be selfish sometimes.  A book, a garden, and a kitchen is my heaven on earth.

The usual dog-day for me: meet friends at local coffee shop where I partake in a Bottle Rocket [four shots of espresso with chocolate syrup on ice]. With my newfound energy I buzz down the street to "the tree" [where the youth of this small town tend to congregate]. We tend to wander around in the heat, baking on the asphalt, complaining of nothing to do, grab a locopop [mexican-home-made-gormet-popsicles that only cost two bucks each including tax] and wander some more. Eventually we make it to the local organic food store for drinks and to take in the extreme air conditioning [you have to exclaim "IT'S LIKE AN ICEBOX" everytime you enter, it's a tradition. We sit in the elevator of the new parking deck for twenty minutes [until we're asked to leave, then we hang out on top of said parking deck]. Then, depending on the time and our mood, we get kicked out of the art gallery for being teenagers, bounce eachother off the inverted see-saw behind the library, or go back to one of our houses to lie on top of eachother, breathing in the incense smoke.
This whole process usually takes five to ten hours, so that's all we do considering we wake up at one pm and have to be home at midnight.

mikelancaster: THE DARK KNIGHT IS THE BEST PIECE OF CINEMA EVER CREATED. Heath Ledger died too young.

Re: Dog Days of Summer - I love all of the seasons in the year, but I love them most in Montana where I spent a wonderful time going to school in Bozeman (angry man), MT at MSU. The long winters really make you appreciate the very short Springs, Summers, and Autumns.

I am of the age of Solar Flare Ups. The heat is usually more than I can bare. I indulge myself at this time of the year by keeping my A/C set at 65-72 degrees. Before you go into a diatribe about my waste of energy, keep in mind that I also keep my thermostat set between 50 - 55 degrees in winter. (My bills are rarely over $80-very small condo).

And yes, I do wear a sun visor.

Have to disagree with the popular praise for The Dark Knight.  I liked it reasonably well but found it far more muddled than the earlier (and, in my opinion, FAR better) Batman Begins.

The performances (notably Mr. Ledger's) are certainly excellent but it was too heavy on the climaxes for my taste and I prefer Batman as hero to his new status as anti-hero.  More importantly, though, this new film bashes us over the head with the same themes that the earlier film trusted us to get on our own.  There was no need to actually say the word, "terrorist" when discussing the Joker's tactics.  The analogy is already clear.  In the earlier film, Nolan trusted his audience to get it without being spoonfed.  By the same token, the most interesting aspect of both films is the appreciation that a villain who holds a city for ransom is less evil than one who destroys just for destruction's own sake.  While Michael Cain'e line about "just watching the world burn" is excellent, it strikes me as another case of spelling out the obvious because they don't trust us to get it.

Before Lovey and mikelancaster kill me, I will say that, on the good side, the tragic aspects of Harvey Dent's journey are fascinating and Maggie Gyllenhaal has it all over Katie Holmes in the role of Rachel Dawes.  Then again, she is given far less to do.  When Holmes (who was out of her depth) played the part, Rachel was the conscience of the story.  When Gyllenhaal did it, the character had been reduced to a stock love interest.

See?  What better time than the dog days of summer for a "heated" argument over a work of dramatic art!

P.S. I usually keep my hair cut down to about 1/2 - 1 inch in length. I am currently torturing myself by letting it grow out so I can donate it to a non-profit who will use it for wigs for cancer patients.

Yes, I have been mistaken for a man - but that also happened when my hair was long enough to reach my should blades!

Actually, Mr. Peterman, the days are not "Caniculares Dies" in Latin, but "Dies Caniculares," wherefrom, then, the translated phrase is not "days of the dogs," but "Dog Days" as it is in English. This is because the modifying adjective "caniculares" is pluralised because "dies" (days) is plural. Hope this isn't too pedantic....

I take a leaf out of the equatorial book--pepper and curries (for whatever reason) helps with the heat, as does the colonialist solution of a wide brimmed hat and a g&t.  If it is too awful, then the movie theatre makes for a nice, well-refrigerated change... Not, alas, for Batman, though. 

A pitcher of lemonade, no socks, and a chair in front of a fan make all the difference in the world.

To: mikelancaster & Lovey

We saw the Dark Night for the third time last night and totally agree with your assessment.  Hence, my most recent avitar.. . .

and yes, a summer afternoon matinees in a cool, dark theatre is a great "dog days" escape.

Hey MackDaddy1, for a minute there, I thought you were my husband writing in, but we don't have kids or grandkids.  Suffice it to say that if you live anywhere near scorching Houston, TX, we should all bask in the heat together. 

Enjoyed a couple of pitchers of margaritas last night.  Not feeling too refreshed today, though. Must've gotten hold of some bad ice...

Best frozen margaritas:  1  6 oz. can limeade; 6 to 8 oz. Jose Cuervo Gold; 2 to 3 oz. Grand Marnier or Triple Sec. Blend with a pitcher of refreshing good ice :-) and don't forget the fresh squeeze of lime in each glass. Ahhhhhhh.  For sweeter margs, more GM.  For potent ones, more JCG.

See you poolside.

Is there anything more satisfying than sitting with your legs dangling over the edge of the dock, feet in the water with a bucket of beer buried under ice. Just sitting, sweating, remembering when life was perhaps simpler, easier for sure. More time back then now you have to work too hard to stay in place.

Tonite we take the bucket out on the rowboat and fish for catfish, i have never cared about catching any, the challenge is to drink the bucket of beer before we head back. If you can find it try Sleeman's clear, made at the oldest brewery in North America. Comes from Canada, but don't hold that against us. 

Everyone seems to be dancing around the initial point raised, and that is the serious danger toothpicks present to man and womankind. I have always been keen to avoid an overgrown splinter in my mouth, that tiny bit of parsley be damned!

Today truly is a dog day for me, My wife and I are adopting a 7-year old Corgi and Alsatian mix from a rescue. He joins Scout, our other Alsatian rescue dog.

I highly recommend "Vinho Verde" to beat the heat. It's a very refreshing, lightly carbonated Portugese wine (light alcohol too, so you can throw it back and still get up out of the lawn chair to get more).

I'm happy to see my tomato plants producing and along with sweet corn and peaches, these are the best part of dog days to me.  If I lived beside an ocean, maybe I'd feel differently, but Midwest humidity and I don't get along and I'm yearning for fall (and so are my dogs and horses)!  Guess we are all just big ole winter babies and August for me is something to be endured, the pitstop on the way to Autumn.  WHOO-HOO!

Cold  beer ,beachside chair and a hooters girl beside me,nothin better!

Poor pitiful me. I usually just get in the pool and vacuum for an hour and everything seems nice when I get out no matter how oppressive it may be.
The best part however, is the skinny dip just before bed but only to be dared when everyone who might be tempted to throw on the lights is sound asleep.

A tall glass of iced tea, sitting on the back deck, watching the tomatoes ripen. If I feel ambitious, maybe even a book to read.

Ah, the difference between us gardeners and rest of you. There is always something to do in the yard to ease summer heat pains, except in Phoenix where going outside is lethal until October. So I garden in the north country all summer. Lovely.

Ah, the difference between us gardeners and rest of you. There is always something to do in the yard to ease summer heat pains, except in Phoenix where going outside is lethal until October. So I garden in the north country all summer. Lovely.

The most memorable dog-days news filler I've seen was in DurhamNC, during a miserable August. The newspaper ran a cover story proclaiming the city to be the toothbrush-swallowing capital of the world. During the prior year, 4 people in the city had accidentally inserted their toothbrushes so deeply into their mouths that emergency medical attention for retrieval was needed.

As I recall, that story concluded with the observation that NC led the US in the phenomenon of extremely intoxicated people lying down on asphalt roads at night for warmth, and being run-over by cars. 

"Summer's lease hath all too short a date." (W. Shakespeare) Here on the So. Calif Coast the dog days are always with us.  As I write... a tall, lemon water eases parchment; fana (electric - not people as in "Elvis fans") are whirring cool air; and the bombs are exploding at neighboring Camp Pendelton (war games 24-7).  Fire engines stand by awaiting the first crazed dog dazed arsonist, and the surf calmly breaks upon our shores.  A sad part of these dog dazed days, is the abandonment of doggies....found another one yesterday....by people who are vacating their homes and ditching their dogs due to financial despair.  Please don't do that....find a non-kill shelter...we have them.....and give the doggie a dog-daze chance to happier times.  Oh...what's that....the Beach Boys are singing Surfer Girl....time to get up and sway....then continuing my online job hunt!  Oh, woe!    Happy Summer's End.  (San Clemente, CA)

I take an early morning walk on the beach  before the tourists start to claim their strip of sand with colorful umbrellas and tipsy chairs . Between eight am and ten am it is just me , the sea , and the sky and an occasional jogger .

Sorry about the typo is "fans"....and others you may find....don't have on my spellcheck glasses!  

I'd like to be light but the reason it's a dog day has nothing to do with the sun.  Consider that there's rumors about the land that the democrats are responsible for the high cost of gas at the pump.  And that we need permissions to drill more...but why is it that everyone seems to be unwilling to talk about the 93 bilion barrels of greenlighted EPA approved existing leases ready to be drilled on as I type. 

Just spending the day on the pontoon boat swimming off it in different locations  on the lake along with the dogs ~ Coming back to sit on the deck & have a nice refreshment & good conversation.

At nite sitting out on the deck & looking up at the stars for hours on end.  I was up until 2am on saturday in the Northwoods looking at the stars & enjoying the beautiful nite.

A few years ago when we would camp regularly we had a hammock one nite my husband & I decided it was to beautiful to sleep in our tent so we slept in the hammock. One of the guys along for the weekend was SO Scared that we'd be malled & eaten by the bears that he woke up every hour to check up on us & use his dear shine light around the campsite.     

Nothing looks better in summer than a man in a white suit. Add a Panama hat and the ensemble is complete.
There is so much ugliness in the world, why do we insist on adding to it with our dress?
Re: hats. I have three Panama hats. The reason is because I thought I lost one, then bought another, then thought I lost that one, etc. The lost was found and, whammo, three.

Linen, cotton or both no good for traditional white suit. In my father's day there was a Palm Beach Cloth, which I think was linen and wool. It breathed, was cool (as anything can get in summer) held its shape, didn't wrinkle and was ideal.
I've searched the web over and no one makes it any more. I suggested to JP that he resurrect it. He answered politely but no action.
Summer nearly ov er. Plenty of time until next one to research and produce, JP.

Summer is also training time for me, too.  I have a triathlon on August 17th...swim, bike and run is on my schedule.

But the evenings after work, or a work-out, is a time to enjoy an ice tea or Schweppes Tonic Water with lime and watch the fading sun filter through the blinds and feel the air pushed by the slow turn ceiling fans. You feel like a character in Out of Africa or a colonial in Bombay watching the sun set on the Empire.

Or maybe just a guy in California expressing gratitude for the good life.

Would you like some more ice tea?

Spinner,

Congrats to "Digs" and yourself on the pending release of the book.  I hope it exceeds all your hopes and expectations as I am sure it will satisfy all of its reader's.

Sultry could be a good thing when you can remember what those days really meant to you. Homemade ice cream, the sound of your Daddy's car coming around the bend, fresh vegtables.  My 86 year old Mother just finished preserving 60 quarts of Fig Preserves from the tree in our back yard.  We call it FIGGIN in Charleston, SC.  We use them as Mighty Fine Thank you gifts, that is if you are on our list, otherwise they will run you
$100 a quart...........lots of love labor......you are still getting a steal.  You can go to a Charleston Fig Preserving Tea and lean yourself.  I guess the Dog Days remind me of some pretty wonderful memories and I am still making them.........  A swim in a pool that was so cold that you shivered for hours even in the Dog Days....fresh well water pool.  .50$ for an all day swim.  Atlanta Ga in the late 60's and early 70's was as good as Sultry can get!!!!  No fresh veggies, no figgin, but a whole new time of learning what Dog Days and Sultry really meant........ 

I live in NC and have come to really enjoy summer and the heat.  The pace of the days is diffferent.  And there is nothing better than an early morning in the summer - the mistiness, the tree frogs and cicadas, the critters headed homeward.  There is something awesome and wonderful about each season.

North Carolina is about as good as it gets, a summer concert at The Biltmore House Terrace at Sunset surrounded by our mountains.  A gentle whisp of a breeze that you know came straight from heaven........

And then low and behold your first star appears and you are in a space spiritually all of your own, you and The Maker................

Further to Gia's comments about parasols: you can actually still get them, although they're now high-tech, with titanium (silver) reflective coating on the outside to reflect UV rays and heat, dark green underneath.  And they shed rain as well.  I wish I had had one recently while hiking in the Saguarro Nat'l Park outside of Tucson, AZ.

In the south my Mother always said on a hot sticky day " It's a bit tosty, today"

Been too long in Egypt land, not sure I know how to leave.

Been so long in Egypt land, not sure i know how to leave

When I think about the things I've done, cause this poor man's heart to grieve

Been so long in Egypt land, not sure I know where to go

Been too long in Egypt land, not sure I know where to go

When you ask me what to do, All I know is I don't know

Been so long in Egypt land, not sure I know how to leave

Been so long in Egypt land, not sure I know how to leave

Thinkin bout movin out to the coast

Think I might change my name to Steve 

When it is hot and the temperature is soaring I dream about standing on one of the black sand beaches in Iceland amidst the soaring cliffs and the cries of the gulls, puffins, and terns as the chilled ocean ripples around my feet. Hate the heat and love to visit Iceland in the summer where it is rarely above the low 70's!

When I moved out here to San Francisco from Atlanta ( not my hometown) 20 years ago I left hot weather behind and that's a mixed blessing.Today's high ?  52 F. with no sun, a howling breeze and thick mist/fog.Makes one thoughtful, productive and a bit melancholy.It's been exactly like today for at least 3 months with the exception of 3 days in June.You'll need a hat sweaters and gloves or mittens if you're planning a trip here.Global warming? you couldn't proove it here.Ocean temp. was 58 the other day.

When I moved out here to San Francisco from Atlanta ( not my hometown) 20 years ago I left hot weather behind and that's a mixed blessing.Today's high ?  52 F. with no sun, a howling breeze and thick mist/fog.Makes one thoughtful, productive and a bit melancholy.It's been exactly like today for at least 3 months with the exception of 3 days in June.You'll need a hat sweaters and gloves or mittens if you're planning a trip here.Global warming? you couldn't proove it here.Ocean temp. was 58 the other day.

DreadPirateRoberts: I have debated this movie more times than I can count, but alas, the dog days are getting to me and I'm a tad too lazy to battle you on this one.
Just take everything you said and negate it [even the praise].
And there you go.

Mark Swaim: I live like literally a couple of feet from Durham, NC, so I'm a little proud to see the mention.
The toothbrush thing must mean we're a very clean people, and the asphalt thing saves energy.

As I always find irony here, think about the fact that there's been so much activity here on the topic of laziness.

To: sbwid

Many thanks for the info; to know there's an actual parasol is wonderful news. Wow, Titanium!!!

Tonight in New Hampshire the moon is hanging in the darkening blue Maxfield Parrish sky - over the mountain and under a few scattered dark blue clouds.  The horizon shows just enough light to make the entire sky magical.  Temp is 71 and the breeze is very gentle.  I love summer!  Any time in summer is just fine with me.  I had 4+ feet of snow in my front yard last winter. In the summer I sit in my screen house, on my lounge chair, sipping an ice tea and reading a book.  No problem with heat here.  Keep those dog days coming!

Rhinoguy:  Wasn't it Mark Twain that said that the worst winter he ever spent was the summer he spent in San Francisco?

Mr. P.!  thank you so much.  I hope you find you are not embarassed by your endorsement of my husband's book.  I like it, and I am not in the least prejudiced!

Lovey,

I will happily wait until you have more energy.  Simply negating a statement doesn't really count as an argument but that's what pause buttons on a debate are for.

SaltWaterPoet,

Love your moniker.  And anyone who quotes Shakespeare for their first comment is a friend of mine!

woodhen16,

I love white suits but, were I to wear one, I'd look like Sidney Greenstreet!  They are most flattering on men with lean physiques.  Nevertheless, I agree that good clothes are a nice way to offset the world's ugliness.  And I am also a great fan of Panama hats.

We have very recently (May 2008) moved to Pensacola, Fl from the oil fields of West Texas...  So far, my favorite summer activity has been walking out to the Palafox Pier and listening to the live music over a picnic dinner.  If we're lucky, the water and the sky are nearly the same color and the water rolling in just lulls us almost to sleep.  If we're even luckier, it'll rain softly.  (Being from West Texas, the rain is really a marvel to me, almost as much a wonder as the ocean itself...)  We laugh as an imperious heron walks right up to a fishing woman and demands the catch... which she promptly hands over because she fears if she doesn't, he will "take her toe instead".  We throw bits of bread into the air for the gulls to catch... mid-air!  We spend some time in the public bathing fountains and then go home and eat the kind of home-made ice cream that is soooo rich and creamy that even after days in the freezer never fully freezes hard and will add an inch to your waist if you even think about eating it...  

I remember as a child when most people wore hats with wide brims in the summer and sometimes long-sleeved shirts as well. To eliminate these items of clothing was a foolish --and sometimes lethal-- fashion blip. I will not court cancer: I always use a hat and sunblock.

I agree with the Dread Pirate Roberts - oh my goodness yes!  Of course Cole Porter disagrees - he had a marriage blanc!  We just spent our dog day afternoon enjoying a remarkably holistic moment - cutting up  a half a peck of small but tasty Indian Blood Cling Peaches to dry in tomorrow's heat.  Then my wife and I went out on the back deck to view a tiny fawn, it's mother, and a young buck with antler buds just starting to show.  My wife casually  leaned on the railing of the deck, and immediately had the living crap stug out of her arm by paper wasps - the inventors of payrus!  I introduced Logos to the scene with a can of Raid.  Such are the dog days of summer!  And in rural Alabama, they still wear balloon dresses and broad brim hats in the best southern fashion - it just plain works when it's "mighty warm"!

I agree with the Dread Pirate Roberts - oh my goodness yes!  Of course Cole Porter disagrees - he had a marriage blanc!  We just spent our dog day afternoon enjoying a remarkably holistic moment - cutting up  a half a peck of small but tasty Indian Blood Cling Peaches to dry in tomorrow's Northern California heat.  Then my wife and I went out on the back deck to view a tiny fawn, it's mother, and a young buck with antler buds just starting to show.  My wife casually  leaned on the railing of the deck, and immediately had the living crap stung out of her arm by paper wasps - the inventors of payrus!  I introduced Logos to the scene with a can of Raid.  Such are the dog days of summer!  And in rural Alabama, they still wear balloon dresses and broad brim hats in the best southern fashion - it just plain works when it's "mighty warm"!  I guess I should mention that, when departing Hanoi in December of '99, I met a Canadian couple - schoolteachers - who said that in Da Nang, you never dried off after getting out of the shower - it was that hot, and humid.  As  was said in, "Throw Momma From The Train", "The night was sultry, idiot!".  There.

I'm sitting here on the coast of NC, looking at the ocean with a sweet iced tea in hand. I feel truly blessed.  I love living in North Carolina.  Dog Days? Bring um on and wish they would last forever.

     "Dog days!"  The words delight me, stirring memories of magical adventures on summer evenings in the Deep South of the '40's.  We lived on Grandma's farm in north Georgia while my dad finished school on the GI Bill.   Hot summer nights found us outdoors, my brother and I racing round to catch fireflies in Mason jars while the grownups sipped ice tea or scuppernong wine on the porch.  Hearing Grandma's tale of a child struck by lightening we'd quiver happily as we watched heat lightening streak across the sky.  We played fiercely, innocently, devising fabulous games like "Doodle Bug, Come Out Tonight" or Indians hiding in ambush under the canopy of a magnolia where we jabbered away like Aunt Ouida who could speak Choctaw.  Come evening showers, we'd open our mouths to catch raindrops and croak along with the frogs in hopes of fooling our mother who'd be calling us inside.  Later, when we moved to Florida, Bud and I would sneak out to the beach.  Poised on a rail of a long pier jutting out into the Atlantic, we'd gauge the swelling breakers so as to hurl forward at  the right moment, cutting through the water just as the wave crested and broke.  With perfect timing and clean dives, our luminous bodies trailed phosphorous as we glided through the waves.

     Today the world is different.  The slow culture of southern girlhood has vanished.  Our own 5 year old granddaughter lives in the heightened intensity of Bay Area urban life, Amber Alerts, structured "playdates."  But when she visits us, we do our best to make Berkeley sleepovers magical adventures.  On hot summer nights we pluck star cookies from the sky as we walk round the Berkeley Marina or  linger in twilight and "play pretend", weave fantasies, tell family stories.  Together we plant a "Moon Garden" with white flowers that reflect light and as, everybody knows,  attract fairies.  The three of us chant and dance wildly round the garden, caught in the spell of Dog Day Magic.     

As our heat index reaches 110 today, heat index telling how hot we're supposed to feel as if 101 actual degrees are not hot enough for us to notice, I opt to stay indoors in AC . Was there such a thing as heat index 50 years ago and did it get this hot during summer back then? Makes you wonder how did people survive the heat 100 years or more ago. If I had my druthers, I summer in Maine and enjoy looking forward to the cool summer evenings on the coast.

                  "Let's get Sirius "

If you hear a loud snore it's likely the hound upon the floor

The dog of summer that all adore

But it is the cat that has real reason, and works hard in every season

He ate the moth on your cashmere sweater.

"Without the holes it will look so much better'

Even in the heat of day, he will place a rodent in demise

And not always tasteful, always wise, and hardly wasteful

So with one swift paw, and rapid gulp, eats the fly that landed by.

He is the animal of seasons all, be it summer, winter, spring or fall.