August Message

Dear Friends,
From where did the term “Dog Days of Summer” or “Dog Days of August” come? As I mull over the terms, high temperatures and lazy days come to mind. For me, these are days when nothing much is happening, and summer is winding down. But, what in the world does that have to do with dogs?
What are dogs doing on these days that they do not do earlier in the summer? We don’t have a dog, but our neighbors, on three sides of us, do. So, I’ve spent a few days now paying attention to them. Let me tell you that they bark! The dogs vary in size, so their barks vary as well. One dog’s bark is deep and loud; it’s “Rrruff!” reverberates across the yards every minute or two most evenings. Two dogs are small and differing purebreds; though they have one thing in common, and that is their high-pitched constant squeak-bark/yip whenever they are out and about! My favorite of our neighboring dogs barks for my attention whenever she and I are in the yard at the same time. She barks for my attention; actually, she is begging for a treat, but I prefer to think she is happy to see me and wants to visit for awhile. She barks to my husband as well, and he gives her one dog biscuit. I, on the other hand, give her four or five dog biscuits at a time. She even recognizes my car now. I am confident that it is me she loves and not the dog biscuits I give her!
I kind of wish she’d bark when the raccoon that lives in her yard waddles over to our yard in the night to dine on our garbage. I say waddle because this night diner must be very fat by now as it has been an uninvited guest for all these summer months. I noticed the other day that it took home MacDonald remains to its family and friends! The wrappers were strewn from garbage can to nest! But, enough of this irksome and unwelcome visitor! I was thinking about dogs and Dog Days.
I think that my friend, this dog who loves me so, would bark loudly at this critter if it visited during the day. Or, maybe she would not! Lately, I see her lolly-gagging around. She spends most of her time in the shade, and I certainly don’t blame her for that; some of these days have been scorchers! And, I’ve noticed, she’s slow to rise and come to me the past few days. She stretches and stretches as she waits for me to bring the treats and scratch behind her ears. So, maybe I’m right about Dog Days and high temperatures!
Certainly, other of God’s creatures loll about under the glare of the sun! Remember the cows you’ve seen when you’ve been driving in rural areas. Cows are different than dogs though. Cows are lazy in groups. They hug up under the shade of a tree. One or two stand and the others are flat on their bellies. I’m always far away from them when I spot them. As I drive by, I wonder, “Do they moo?” They probably cannot because of all that cud they are chewing. [My mom always said, “Close your mouth while you’re chewing gum! You look like a cow chewing her cud!” So, I know they chew cud, but I don’t chew gum anymore.] However, they don’t just do this lounging around during Dog Days. I’ve seen them out there, grouped in this manner, in the spring and fall as well. But, why do they feel the need to laze about in groups? What about community speaks to cows that doesn’t speak to dogs? Hmmmm….
So, dogs and cows seem more languid this time of year. What about people? What about me? I guess I can’t speak for others, but I have mixed feelings about them! The heat slows me down. I find myself sitting and thinking more. It takes too much energy to crochet or read. The yarn is hot and heavy to work with; the book is too heavy for my mind and hands too hold. I like this time for being quiet, for thinking, for watching, for wondering about things like Dog Days. However, today I put a halt to my pondering, got up, went on line, and searched for information on Dog Days. Several sources, including Wikopedia, claim the Dog Days originally were the days when Sirius, the Dog Star, rose just before or at the same time as sunrise ( heliacal rising), which is no longer true owing to precession of the equinoxes. [The ancients sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of the Dog Days to appease the rage of Sirius, believing that the star was the cause of the hot, sultry weather.] The Old Farmer's Almanac lists the traditional timing of the Dog Days as the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11, coinciding with the ancient helical (at sunrise) rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. But, according to The Book of Common Prayer (1552), the "Dog Daies" begin on July 6 and end on August 17. At home, in Minnesota, when I was young [eons ago], the County Fair signaled the end of Dog Days and the reving up for school. The Fair was always held about the middle of August. So, I guess that fits within these time periods.
Others have given different meanings to the terms Dog Days of Summer or Dog Days of August. For example, these days have typically been days that were slow for people reporting the news, so they filled the papers/journals with stories of less urgency, like pictures and stories of lost dogs, etc. Some believe that it refers to this time of year when the stock market trading slows down. I was satisfied that most people today, think about Dog Days in the same way that I do.
That is they are the days when things are moving along pretty much as they have been all summer. The frenzy that comes with the starting of school has not yet begun. There is a feeling that there is plenty of time; there is no need for hurry. One can be languid, and its okay. Dogs do it; cows do it; why not you and me?!? I saw one of my favorite books at Borders the other day. It has been a long time since I first read it, and I almost bought it again. It is Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine. Bradbury tells the story about a boy’s 12th summer. I first read it one summer, and reading it made that summer even better by helping me recall summers gone by. One bookseller uses these words to invite us to read Bradbury’s work: “Come and savor Ray Bradbury's priceless distillation of all that is eternal about boyhood and summer.” If you have not read it, maybe you will choose to now during these or some future Dog Days of Summer.
As your summer draws to an end, I hope and pray you have time to ponder the deep and not so deep questions life presents you. I hope that in that quiet time, you will feel God’s blessing on you, and that you will give thanks for dogs and cows and birds and sheep and dandelion wine and other wonders that make your Dog Days of Summer significant if not sizzling!

With thoughts of God’s Peace and Love and Joy,
Deacon Marlyn