When we think of the “dog days of summer,†what comes to mind are the languid and sultry days of early to mid-August, when the heat and humidity combine to make for a stew that can make even the most summer-loving among us long for the drier and cooler days of the impending fall season.
They were immortalized in Nat King Cole’s song from the early 1960s about “those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.â€
The dog days are as much a state of mind as they are a physical fact, a time when all of us, young and old, grab some R&R to regenerate our minds and bodies before resuming the grind of our daily routines post-Labor Day.
Everyone, it seems, is on vacation. European cities are famously empty in August, as are our East Coast cities from Boston to Washington.
However, this past weekend brought us a large amount of relief from the usual torpor that we associate with the dog days.
It was the kind of weather that we’d like to put into a bottle and open up in January: Sunny and warm, but not too hot, with just enough humidity to give it that summer-like feel without being oppressive.
It was perfect for anything and everything outdoors, whether you were in the city, on the beach, in the mountains, or on your boat (especially a sailboat, thanks to the strong breeze).
You just wanted to inhale it and melt into it, and wish that the day would last forever.
Everyone, it seemed, was happy at the end of the day. If it is true that our moods are determined by the amount of negative ions in the air, then this weekend’s atmosphere was fully-charged with them.
Our good luck is continuing because the weatherman is promising us another run of similar weather for later this week and through the weekend.
So let’s take them one, glorious day at a time — and be thankful that we can enjoy these dog days of summer.
