The Dog Days of Summer

Don't you wish your job was just beach?

Photo by Rafael Cisneros Méndez on Unsplash.

We say it all the time, but do you know what the “dog days of summer” actually are? Turns out that my friends, the ancient Greeks and Romans, had something to do with it. The period known as the “dog days” refers to the hottest days of the summer. Ancient Romans referred to these days as "dies caniculares," a term inspired not by earthly dogs but by celestial ones. The phrase was specifically associated with the Dog Star, Sirius, part of the constellation Canis Major. "Canis Major" translates to "greater dog" in Latin, establishing the canine connection.

The constellation of Canis Major

Sirius is the brightest star in our night sky, a fact not lost on our Roman ancestors. They noticed that during the hottest part of the year, from early July to late August, Sirius seemed to rise and set with the sun. Believing that this star was contributing its own heat to the sun's, the Romans concluded that this period must naturally be the warmest of the year.

This led them to coin the term "dog days" to describe this hot and humid stretch of summer, a nod to the "greater dog" that was Sirius. The ancients' interpretation of Sirius's influence on summer heat isn't scientifically accurate — the star doesn't actually add to the sun's heat — but their legacy lives on in our continued use of the term.

An interesting aspect to note is the shift in Sirius's position over time due to the precession of Earth's rotational axis. This means that the "dog days," as per the strict astronomical sense, no longer align with the height of summer in many latitudes.

While we now know Sirius has no actual impact on Earth's weather, the term "dog days" has persisted over the millennia as a general descriptor for the hottest, lethargy-inducing time of the year.

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My Summer Vacation

I’ve been busy this summer, both in my day job (currently working on developing a video lesson on AI prompting, which has been fun) and in my writing world. I know that many of you have been waiting for word of my next book(s), and I swear, it won’t be long before I can share some cool details on that front.

I can tell you that it will involve this:

and this lovely lady:

and these two:

In between writing video scripts on AI and editing this wild book of mine, I’ve also been enjoying the bounty of summer.

• If you are in the Boston area, you can order from farmer’s markets online at Market2Day.

• Back in 2004, I found a recipe in the sadly defunct Gourmet magazine (but the recipes are all still accessible via Epicurious) for a Prosecco and Summer Fruit Terrine and have been making it ever since. Soooo yum. And a great crowd pleaser. The best part is you can make it with all sorts of fruit.

  

  Prosecco and summer fruit terrine with whip cream

I’ve also enjoyed going back to the theater—in person. This time it was for Barbie. And Ken, whose job is just “beach.”

@official.ra1My job is just ….. beach lol #barbie #ken #barbiemovie

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I didn’t own Barbies as a kid. That was my sister. I was the book nerd, sucking down novels like candy by the time I was 8 or 9. But I loved the movie and I remembered all my sister’s Barbie dolls and all the advertising, including for the Growing Up Skipper doll. As I was telling my friend Stephanie Storey (check out her Substack here!), I cried through the whole last half of the movie. Because damn, they really got it right. Plus, it was such an imaginative, colorful, bright, escape from the drab awfulness of reality.

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Congrats 🎉🎉to Kathleen Arivella, the winner of last week’s book giveaway of The Last Masterpiece: A Novel of WWII Italy by Laura Morelli! I’ll do more book giveaways in the future, so stay tuned.

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What’s Bringing Me Joy This Week:

• If you are a Bostonian, then you are familiar with the painter John Singer Sargent. You can’t go to any museum without seeing some of his influence. But he’s known primarily for portraits. Which is why finding this painting of his of Hercules and the Hydra was so interesting. The MFA commissioned it in 1921 for $40,000. It’s installed on ceiling side aisle on the Huntington Avenue stairway.

  

• Back in 1982 I used to play Atari sitting on the orange carpeted living room floor with my dad for hours and hours. It’s not quite the same but if you also have nostalgia about PacMan, you can play for free online here.

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Thanks for Joining Me

If you love food and love Italy, and haven’t read THE CHEF’S SECRET or FEAST OF SORROW, click the links to learn where to buy your copy! 🍒🍗🍷

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