Ever wonder how the term, "dog days of summer" originated? It is said that the name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star
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,
in close proximity to the sun was responsible for the hot weather. The Dog Days (according to Wikipedia) originally were the days when Sirius rose just before or at the same time as sunrise (
heliacal rising), which is no longer true, owing to
precession of the equinoxes. The Romans 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.
Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time "the Sea boiled, the Wine turned sour, Dogs grew mad, and all other creatures became languid; causing to man, among other diseases, burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies."
Most of us are ready to "pack it up" and go somewhere cooler! Crops, trees and flowers are wilting; lawns are getting brown. Full-timers have the right idea. They merely pack up and travel on down the road in search of respite in cooler climes. Perhaps that is why our motorhomes and travel trailers are flying out the door! Speaking of flying...have you seen the latest - the Hotelicopter (the ultimate of "getaways!")
Please click
here for more pictures! Anyway, here's to cooler temperatures, RAIN, and an end to the dog days of summer!