Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. It is almost twice as bright as the next brightest star. What we see as a single star is really two stars: a binary star system consisting of a spectral star and a fainter white dwarf companion. The name we use, Sirius, comes from the Greek, meaning “glowing” or “scorcher.” I think the second definition, “scorcher,” is appropriate for today’s blog.

The Romans called Sirius the Dog Star because it is located in the constellation Canis Major (Big Dog). But they didn’t invent the term “dog days.” That was in use by the Greeks before Roman times. The name, however, does seem to have some connection with the star, nonetheless.

The Dog Days are when Sirius rises just before or at the same time as the sun. The ancients believed that it added energy to the sun and caused the hottest days of the year. Although the timing of the rising of Sirius corresponds with the hottest days in the Northern Hemisphere, the reason summer days are warmer than winter has a lot more to do with the tilt in the earth’s axis than the light from a distant star.

Whatever the history, the warmest days of summer are upon us. As we bid farewell to July and begin August, the month ending today is going to be one of the warmest on record for our area. Though we have gotten a few thundershowers, the land is dry and the fire danger remains extreme. We could have a long hot month ahead of us before we feel the effects of autumn cooling. The forecast calls for highs in the ‘90’s for the rest of the week, with the possibility of a few cooler days on the weekend. At least the predicted highs aren’t in the triple digit range, of which we saw plenty in July.

I loved summers as a kid. We lived by the river and relief was only a few feet away in the form of a river that was not far from its snowy and icy source high in the mountains. The water temperature was always cold enough to turn your lips blue if you stayed in the water for a little while.

Charles Dickens reported that Scrooge had the same effect. The whole paragraph is worth reading to get to the line about the Dog Days at the end:

“Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind-stone, Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dogdays; and didn't thaw it one degree at Christmas.”

I read somewhere that the practice of calling low-performing stocks “dogs,” also has a relationship to summer. Stock volumes tend to be lowest during the end of the summer, when many traders and investors are taking vacations and paying less attention to active management and transactions. The slow stock market days picked up the term “dog days” from the weather and thus, underperforming stocks are referred to as “dogs.” Such use of the word is, in my opinion, a disservice to the animals that have donated their name.

But what I really meant to blog about is the simple fact that I’m not much for the really warm weather. Although I have noticed that losing some weight and getting into shape makes the hot weather a bit more tolerable, I seem to adjust to really hot days more slowly than I do to the colder ones. I think there are genuine differences iin people that make different individuals more attracted to different weather patterns. Some people like the summer more than the winter. I seem to be a “winter” person.

And, I’m not much for crowds. But that preference will need to be set aside for a few weeks as we prepare to welcome a lot of visitors to Rapid City next week for the annual Motorcycle Rally. I haven’t seen the projected numbers for this year. I don’t know if the rally is supposed to be especially big or somewhat smaller than other years. What I do know is that we already have a lot of visitors in our town. The traffic is heavier. There are more motorcycles. The lines at the grocery store are longer and the people a bit more irrational.

One of my “quirks” in crowds is to try to rush through the experience. I tend to walk faster, look for small openings between people and get through the crowded place as quickly as possible. Other people tend to shut out and ignore others. From my perspective a person whose shopping card is blocking the aisle and who seems to be unaware of the others who are inconvenienced is obnoxious. From that person’s perspective, my rushing and trying to pass while going town the aisle is probably equally obnoxious.

The challenge of the hot and crowded days is, of course, learning to live with each other peacefully. As our stress levels rise, we need to make special efforts to be present to one another in meaningful ways. It is a simple fact that more traffic means it takes more time to get from one place to another. My impatience will not get me to my destination any quicker. A bit of common courtesy, a smile and genuine warmth to others will serve me better than impatience.

They say that owning a dog decreases stress levels. Walking a dog is not only good exercise, but also a good way to learn to alter your pace to a more healthy level. Dog days may be more of an opportunity than a challenge. It is all in the attitude I bring.

Copyright © 2012 by Ted Huffman. I wrote this. If you want to copy it, please ask for permission. There is a contact me button at the bottom of this page. If you want to share my blog a friend, please direct your friend to my web site.