Dogs Days or Refreshing Days

 "Gratitude is a seasoning for all seasons."

Unknown

 

 

 I've seen some stunning sunrises. This one was on Pine Run Road in Clear Creek. It was truly this magnificent.

I admit, July and August are my least favorite months of the year. Now, if your birthday is in one of those months, just let me finish.

It's the heat. Only the invention of air condition makes it bearable. We can thank Willis Haviland Carrier for this. The Apparatus for Treating Air (U.S. Pat# 808897) was granted in 1906 and the rest is history.

One of the joys of the "dog days of summer" is the refreshment we receive from the beauty of flowers. 

Photo by my friend, Kathy K

The "dog days of summer" is so named after a star, Sirius, the dog star. The name "dog star" came from the ancient Egyptians who called Sirius the dog star after their god Osirus, whose head in pictograms resembled that of a dog. The star was in conjunction with the Sun in the summer and ancient Egyptians and Romans argued that it was responsible for the summer heat by adding its heat to the heat from the Sun.

 

Well, for whatever reason, dog days of summer are hot! When our dog, Emma (above), was alive, she would lay down on the blacktop driveway just a huffing and puffing. I'd say, "Emma, get in the shade, and you'll be cooler."

Then it dawned on me that God tells me to stop huffing and puffing too: "Carol, get in the shade of my wings and be refreshed by My Word. My breath will flow through you and calm your temperature!

I listened! Emma, though, still stayed in the sun.

 

Enjoyed seeing this eagle on Caldwell Corner.

I've found several things to do in the dog days of summer which make these two hot months refreshing: of course, as everyone knows, I go fawn spotting; I sit on the porch before sun up and enjoy the birth of a new day (can only do that in these summer months, and even then, sometimes I have to wear my heavy jacket!); stay refreshed in God's Word so my mind is open to all the joy and love available to me; when I had my gardens I would walk through them in the early morning and feel God's presence. Now I enjoy my gardens through the Shutterfly books I created and remember the beauty.

 

Fixing "picnic" meals brings refreshing memories of earlier times. Hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob. It's another gesture I can do to help be refreshed in the summer.
 

A number of my friends have birthdays during this time. Thinking about them, setting a date with them or calling for a sweet conversation also refreshes my summer days.

What do you do to make your summer refreshing? 

Saw this bear my first summer here in Clear Creek.

July and August are refreshing days as I concentrate on those things that make me happy.

Yes, it's the dog days of summer as we move into August, but there is refreshment out there! I guarantee it! 

"The more I study nature, the more I am amazed at the Creator."

Louis Pasteur, 1822-1895