Dog Days of Summer
By steelers12
@steelers12 (153)
United States
July 7, 2012 5:59pm CST
As many here in the States have noticed the rather warmer than normal weather it brings back to mind of my grandparents speaking of the "dog days of summer".
I always thought it was just a saying they had, since they always seemed to have one or another, to mean when it was so warm that the dogs just laid around and slept.
The true meaning of the dog days of summer, at least here on the East Coast, refer to the so called warmest part of summer normally in July and August. The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the dog star, in close proximity to the sun caused the warm weather. I am not sure if the ancient belief is true but this year we have seen our fair share of more than warm weather, which does not make me mad as I can no longer stand the cold winters.
If these are indeed the so called dog days of summer let the dogs shine all they want and let us bask in the warmth it brings. When the cold of winter returns then most will be wishing for the dogs to come back and heat us up once again.
1 response
@chrystalia (1208)
• Tucson, Arizona
8 Jul 12
Yep-- that's Dog Days. I grew up in Massachusetts and summered in Maine, and I know more than my share of down east expressions. There was also a strawberry spring and of course indian summer-- anyone want to take a stab at where those two sayings came from?
@steelers12 (153)
• United States
8 Jul 12
I myself have never heard of Strawberry Spring, except for the movie by Stephen King, but Indian Summer refers to the period in the fall after there has been a killing frost and the temperatures again rise above 70 degrees. It has been thought that this is the period when the early Indians would harvest their corn and squash.
There is also theories that in the winter during the January thaw the early settlers could expect a raid by the Indians and thus refereed to this as an Indian Summer.
@chrystalia (1208)
• Tucson, Arizona
8 Jul 12
Never saw the Stephen King movie-- but he does come from my area of Maine, Penobscot County probably. A Strawberry Spring is that period of time in late March/ early April where you get about 3 weeks of unseasonably warm weather, followed by a short but serious cold snap. My grandmother always maintained that it was so called because the strawberries would come up early and just start to flower, then get killed by the frost. Other down easters of her generation said it was called that because it only lasted as long as strawberry season. I can say I have been in Maine during a strawberry Spring, and while the strawberries never made it to flowering a lot of other things did-- and them one night we went to bed, and the next morning it was about 40 degrees and everything was blighted. Here in Washington State there is no spring :-)
