Days of the Dog Star
Here we are smack dab in the middle of astronomical summer. Surely you knew I would eventually complain about it? I just looked up “dog days of summer” and found it is an officially designated period which is over as of today, Wednesday, August 12. It is defined as “the most hot, sultry, and sluggish days of the year,” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. Supposedly the phrase came from the Latin phrase for “days of the Dog Star,” but I just always thought it was related to dogs laying out in the shade with their tongues hanging out about a mile.
We used to have a black lab who was mostly an outside dog. In the summer he would make a trip down to the nearest tank at least twice a day and take a cooling dip. My dearly departed Australian shepherd, when on one of our ranch walks, would deviate over to a tank and wade in until just her head was out of the water then quickly run over to me and shake. I think she was trying to cool me down, too.
I have a water pan for the chickens that I can see from the back door and the kitchen window. Several of my hens have taken to standing in the water while they get a drink—smart girls. Since the temperatures have been getting up so hot lately, I try to remember to go out and sprinkle the ground in the shade for them so they have a cool place to rest in the afternoons. This has not helped egg production in the least. They go on strike once the weather gets too hot. I cannot blame them.
As I mentioned a couple of weeks back, I have recommenced walking nearly every day and have been doing some weightlifting afterwards. I try to get out the door before the sun actually rises, which really helps with the heat. Once I get back to the barn where the weights are, the sun is up and heat is rising. Thankfully, we have fans and now have one of those portable evaporative coolers. Sweat is still involved, of course, but at least I am in no danger of a complete meltdown. I have to admit that getting more fit is helping my heat tolerance markedly, so I will not complain as bitterly as usual.
On the positive side, the daylight hours are gradually getting shorter. I have kept the habit I formed over the past many months of going to bed really early and getting up really early. Back closer to Summer Solstice, I was grumpily waiting for the sun to set and for the light to fade enough to justify going to bed. Now it is pretty well dark by nine, so off I go with a book or Kindle in hand to see if I can stay awake long enough to read at least a page or two. I just looked up at the clock and it is 9:02, so off to dream of Autumn, just a few weeks away. SpringCreek-ArtsGuild@gmail.com