My dog, Chip, loves to sit out in the sun on our deck. He gets excited when we go near the door, hoping that we will take him out with us while we relax and enjoy the warmth of the sun’s rays. Being here at Squam I can’t see him as often as I would like, but I was able to see him recently when my family came up north to camp on our site about forty minutes away. Sprawled out in the sun, Chip happily panted alongside me as I read my book and toasted my legs. Every once in a while, when his black and grey hair became too hot for him to handle, he switched his position to a cooler spot in the shade. It’s been very hot these past couple weeks, so I understood his need for a break away from the heat. The time spanning between the months of July and August is usually the hottest part of the year in New England and brings down an oppressive heat that people refer to as “the dog days of summer.” I imagine a bunch of dogs wearing sunglasses and floppy hats while lounging in the pool when I hear that phrase. It’s a nice image to have, but it’s one that strays far from the original meaning it once held.
“The dog days of summer” comes from Greek culture where it was eventually translated to English and took on a completely different meaning. According to National Geographic, the Greeks actually used this term to describe when the constellation Canis Major (the Greater Dog) and its brightest star, Sirius, would rise just before the sun did. While it does fall into the hottest time of the year right now, this won’t always be the case as the rotation of the earth wobbles and changes. In 13,000 years, Sirius will rise in the middle of winter due to the precession of the Earth’s rotational axis, which can be thought of as a spinning top. After 26,000 years, it will be back to rising in the middle of the summer after completing a full rotation.
One of my favorite parts of summer is when I go camping with my family and we get to look at the stars at night. Coming from suburban southern New Hampshire, it’s tricky to get a good view of the stars with the constant light pollution and houses blocking my line of sight. However, on the hill side with a panoramic view of Mount Moosilauke and no houses nearby, we have a perfect landscape for the stars to gleam upon. Being in the northern hemisphere, we tend to see a certain set of constellations that those in the southern hemisphere cannot. Seen throughout the year are Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, or better known in the U.S. as the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. When translated from Latin, they mean The Big Bear and The Little Bear. Ursa Major is the largest constellation in the northern hemisphere and is the third largest constellation that we can see from Earth. When I gaze up at the night sky, I find my eyes drifting to the Big Dipper again and again. During the winter at UNH, it would always sit above my dorm and guide me home if I was coming back from a hockey game or hanging out with friends across campus. It has served as a constant for me no matter where I go, and I always try to look for it if I’m in a new place. In a way it helps me to orient myself and helps me feel secure that I’m in the right place.
I could just sit and look at the sky for hours and only see a tiny fraction of our gigantic universe. Sometimes if you’re lucky enough to have no light pollution you can catch a glimpse of the Milky Way. The other night I sat on the hood of my truck, leaned my head against the windshield, and watched the sky for a while. I could faintly see the Milky Way, despite the harsh glow of the lights across the street, and secretly yearned for them to turn off so that I could see more. A couple of shooting stars lit up my vision, the second one noticeably flaming as it entered Earth’s upper reaches of the atmosphere. Throughout the night the stars twinkled and glimmered, as if reacting to one another’s radiance. It’s amazing to me, the far-reaching and seemingly endless wonders of this Earth and universe we get to witness. Thinking of all the times I got to look at a clear night sky reminds me of camping up here during “the dog days of summer” and that I’m so lucky to be able to live here for longer than a week of vacation. I hope that the next time you look at the stars and see a favorite constellation, such as Canis Major or Ursa Minor, you find solace, too.
Dena is serving at the Squam Lakes Association through October. Dena is a pro-bundler, Animal Crossing expert, and all around great asset to the team. You can learn more about Dena here!