Dog Days -- hot, still, breathless weather -- an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies" according to Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813.
For more information on the origin of Dog Days, check out Wikipedia. (We won't tell Maggie the part about sacrificing a brown dog . . .)
The Old Farmer's Almanac identifies the Dog Days as the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11, coinciding with the ancient heliacal (at sunrise) rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. These are the days of the year when rainfall is at its lowest levels.
For more information on the origin of Dog Days, check out Wikipedia. (We won't tell Maggie the part about sacrificing a brown dog . . .)
