Black Butte Ranch Blog
Category : bicycling
It’s Hotter than a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof!
Yikes! In case you’ve been too busy to notice, or possibly on a cool exotic vacation somewhere else, it’s been hot here in Central Oregon. The forecast for today is 94 to 100! Same for tomorrow, but cooling in the evenings, hallelujah. It may be hotter than “a cat on a hot tin roof” but these are really the “Dog Days” of summer. I know you have heard that phrase before, but do you know where it originated from? According to Wikipedia – the term “Dog Days” was first used by the Greeks (during Aristotle’s time) as well as the ancient Romans, named after Sirius ( the “Dog Star”) the brightest star in the heavens besides the Sun. The ancients believed that the Dog Days signified the period of time when Sirius rose just before or at the same time as the sun( which is no longer true) supposedly adding to the sun’s heat creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. In Ancient Rome, the Dog Days extended from July 24 through August 24. The Old Farmer’s Almanac lists the traditional timing of the Dog Days as the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11, coinciding with the ancient rise of the the Dog Star, Sirius.




