Ahhhh, the dog days of summer.  It’s too hot to move, the humidity is stifling and even the dog just lies around all day.  These final months of summer post the warmest and most uncomfortable temperatures but we endure them knowing the cooler days of fall are ahead.

So why do we use the phrase ‘dog days’ to describe the sultry season? It turns out it isn’t because Spot has no energy. It was the early Romans who associated hot weather with the appearance of the star Sirius, also known as the “Dog Star” (which is part of the constellation Canis Major – which means large dog).  Sirius is the brightest star in Canis Major and in the night sky.  Romans then equated the appearance of the dog star with the hottest months of the summer.  They also believed this was a time when “the Sea boiled, the Wine grew sour, Dogs grew mad, and all other creatures became languid;…” according to Brady’s Clavis Clalendaria (1813). 

This leaves us to wonder….was it really an evil time or were folks just irritable from the oppressive weather?  Either way, let’s thank the Dog Star for giving us a good excuse to be grumpy this month.