Bird Camp Diaries: August 2007

The Bird Camp Diaries are nothing more than whimsical monthly musings. I hope you find them entertaining, and sometimes thought provoking.

Bird Camp Diaries: August 2007 Anthony Hauck
Public Relations Specialist
Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever

Dog Days of Summer

Chances are if you live in the U.S., or even planet earth, you're feeling the August heat, what they call the "Dog Days" of summer.

Everyone knows what and when the "Dog Days" are - the hot, muggy periods at the end of the summer. It's also when the Kansas City Royals are officially eliminated from contention.

But have you ever wondered why and where the common expression "Dog Days" came from? Me too. So I set out on an internet exploration mission to find out. Then I got overheated and dehydrated, and I quit...Fortunately, I'm resilient, and I always carry a water bottle.

My initial guess was that when it got that hot, people just lied around like their lazy dogs. I was not close.

Bird Camp Diaries: August 2007 According to Wikipedia (so you know it's true), the term "Dog Days" was coined by the ancient Romans, who called these days caniculares dies (days of the dogs) after Sirius (the "Dog Star" not satellite radio), the brightest star in the heavens besides the Sun. This proves that I'm a horrible guesser, which I already knew to be true. It also proves that I paid little or no attention in the A) history and B) astrology courses I took in college.

While the sweltering heat may be unbearable in most places, it's easy to take solace in the fact that in one mere month, the season will be changing. Soon enough, we'll be taking to the fields with good friends and good dogs in search of good times. Like you, I can't wait.

But with this year's weather pattern, I really shouldn't get ahead of myself with expectations. I imagine we can expect a healthy dose of Indian summer, but we've all seen how well my guesses pan out.

And speaking of Indian summer, I wonder why they call it that anyway? Sounds like another visit to Wikipedia, and a story for next time...

Note: A special thanks to Parrish Peachee, president of the Boone County (Indiana) Chapter of QF, for sending us the photo of his German Shorthair, Jasper, which is used in this edition of On The Wing. The photo was taken by Parrish's wife, Heather S. Peachee of Special Touch Photography (www.specialtouchphotography.com). Remember, if you have story ideas, dog photos and requests for future On The Wing consideration, please send correspondence to ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.

If you have story ideas, dog photos, pre-1980 hunting photos and requests for future On The Wing consideration, please send correspondence to ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.

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