The hot, humid weather we’ve had this summer has made most people want to spend more time indoors. Too much exercise can be dangerous for people and dogs on hot days. Fortunately for us, most goose control jobs occur near a water source, so we can safely work our dogs during the day and allow them to cool off.
We’ve all heard the phrase “the dog days of summer,” referring to those hot and sticky July and August days when the sun seems to beat down relentlessly, but do you know where the phrase originated?
The brightest star in the night sky is Sirius, the “Dog Star,” which is part of the constellation Canis Major, the “Big Dog.” This star is so bright that the ancient Romans thought the Earth received heat from it.
In mid-winter, you can see Sirius in the southern skies. During summer, the star rises and sets with the sun. The Romans believed the star added its heat to the Sun’s and named this period of time “the dog days.”
The constellations today do not appear in exactly the same place as they did during ancient Rome, so today the “dog days” occur between July 3 and August 11. It seems that the weather pattern is finally breaking. Perhaps the dog days of this summer are really behind us!
(Thanks to Danielle Eriksen for contributing to this blog)