We have passed the “dog days” of summer.
According to the almanac, the dog days are an approximately 40-day period following the beginning of summer, beginning July 3 and ending August 10 and traditionally tied to the period when the star Sirius (the Dog Star) rises and sets with the sun. They normally include the hottest days of the year.
We are noticing that our days of sun are growing shorter. We are noticing that our beans in the garden are producing, our tomatoes are ripening, and canning season (for those canning) is now in full swing.
I remember that when I was selling advertising, Fairway Store and Tompkins Hardware could barely keep up with bringing in mason jars. Often, district corn was tasted first at the Emo Fair.
Mornings are now cooler with temperatures reaching into the mid-to-high 20s. It is another sign that summer days are waning. The Emo and District fall fair will be celebrating its 127th anniversary. It has become a tradition showcasing crafts, baking, crops, and animals from across the district. 4-H participants will be showcasing the animals that they have raised this past year.
The fair also announces that school is set to begin in only a few short weeks. That too is a sign that summer is almost over. In flyers, we are seeing back-to-school sales for school supplies and backpacks.
Yet, the next few weeks will allow those students to sleep in, relax and enjoy friendships at an unhurried pace. It will mark the end of the summer cabin season. Last weekend’s long lines of travellers heading across the border told us that summer is almost over. We have already experienced American friends closing their cottages and heading home for school next week.
For much of the district, the next few weeks mark a relaxation period, where summer jobs have been completed. It also marks that period when families are planning late August trips, taking their sons and daughters off to colleges and universities across the country.
That is both a period of excitement and sadness. It fills in the dog days of summer as new adventures await those students.
