Dog Days of Summer
Saturday, August 24, 2013 at 4:15PM 
It's still The Dog Days of Summer here in Florida. Here's a tidbit of history regarding how we came by this summer appellation, courtesy of Wikipedia.
The Romans referred to the dog days as diēs caniculārēs and associated the hot weather with the star Sirius. They considered Sirius to be the "Dog Star" because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog). Sirius is also the brightest star in the night sky. The term "Dog Days" was used earlier by the Greeks (see, e.g., Aristotle's Physics, 199a2). The Dog Days originally were the days when Sirius rose just before or at the same time as sunrise (heliacal rising), which is no longer true, owing to precession of the equinoxes. The Romans sacrificed a red dog in April to appease the rage of Sirius, believing that the star was the cause of the hot, sultry weather. Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time "the Sea boiled, the Wine turned sour, Dogs grew mad, and all other creatures became languid; causing to man, among other diseases, burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies." according to Brady’s Clavis Calendaria, 1813
We're lazy these days. The temperatures are generally in the low nineties and the humidity is high. After almost fifteen years in Florida we've learned that in the summer the time to get things done is early morning, before the temperatures rise and the almost daily afternoon thunderstorms roll in. We have a pool and we use it daily. Taffy likes to swim, too.
This morning we decided to go out to one of our favorite places for breakfast, The Big L. It's a small local cafe open at 6AM and closing at 2PM daily. Nope, none of that wimpy fruit, yogurt and granola for me today. I have that six days of the week. Today it was bacon and cheese omelet and a toasted English Muffin. Since this will be my only meal today, I ate it without impunity and with much gusto. Life is one big trade off.
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We hadn't been to the Flea Market for a while so that was our after breakfast stop. They were out of fleas so I got fruit and veggies. In the winter it is jam-packed at the market,, but in the summer it's locals only and is so much easier to get around. That being said, John managed to somehow disappear even though he was right behind me as we enter the inside shops from the outdoors vegetable stalls. We spent the next hour looking for each other. Once reconnected, we spent the next thirty minutes debating who got lost from whom. I know I wasn't the one lost because I was in the lead.
Now, it's 7:33PM. There's rolling thunder and heavy rain. A dog is jammed in beside me as I type on the laptop. Another Dog Day of Summer nears an end. Life is good.
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Have you bookmarked. Thanks for your note at OD. Come by to see me at findingflorida.org if you get a chance. **smooches**