A Year of Blogging: July 22, 2011

July 22 was 'Hammock Day'. I have to confess, I've never figured out hammocks. The few times I've tried to get in one, I end up falling out the other side, tangled in the hammock and the strings tying it to the trees. I guess it goes back to my old problem of lacking gracefulness. Hammock Day falls in the middle of the Dog Days of Summer. The Dog Days of Summer are July 3-August 11. Which is pretty much all of summer, except for a couple weeks at the beginning and about six weeks at the end. The Dog Days of Summer are typically the hottest and muggiest days of the summer. But why are they called 'Dog Days'? Is it because we all run around panting from the heat like dogs? It turns out, the term is connected with the stars. Among the constellations is Canis Major (the big dog) which includes the star Sirius. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. In the summer, Sirius rises and sets with the sun. Ancient cultures believed the heat of Sirius added to the heat from the sun and created the stretch of hot days. And so, they named this period the 'dog days' because Sirius is the Dog Star. So now you know. If you don't have a hammock to relax in, it's ok. Pull up a lawn chair- or better yet, if it's hot stay inside where it's cooler. And just relax.