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Dog Days



So, like, last week I was in and out of the pool very 20 minutes trying to cool down from the heat. The other day we had the solar blanket on the pool and the heater going. The water was 90F. It was like swimming in a toilet. The smart-alecky love of my mid-life says "I wouldn't know. I've never swam in a toilet." Well me either. And nor would I want to. But it's like I'd imagined how it would be. It's an idiom. Or an analogy. Yeah that's it. Sheesh, it's hard to explain some things to French people. I should have just said, "Sacre bleu, l'eau est tres chaud, n'est-ce pas, cherie?" But me, being an English major and all, we just don't talk like that. In other languages, I mean.

All this to say it's hot out there. Well, after all it is the dog days of summer, isn't it?

Did you ever stop and wonder why they say that? I mean after you stop and wonder who "they" are? What a funny expression. I mean why don't they say the elephant days of summer? Or the giraffes of summer? Or, I know, the hippopotamuses of summer. Mosquitos of summer would certainly be appropriate. Deer, horse and house flies would work too. Why dogs?

Well it has to do with the sky. Yeah, I Googled it. Google. You know that thing that replaced the Encyclopedia Britannica? Canis Minor (the little dog) and Canis Major (the big dog) are constellations. Who knew they named constellations after dogs? Suck that up you cat lovers - and you know who you are. Yeah, and the brightest star in Canis Major is Sirius which happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. No shit. I'm Sirius.

I can see puppies but I can't see any dogs.

Me, I'm going with hippopotamuses of summer. Hey, ever seen me in a bathing suit?

Speaking of which. Time for another dip in the pool.


Comments

Paula Wooters said…
Cannonball! (I believe it was the hippopotamus that perfected that dive.)
nonamedufus said…
I couldn't begin to work up the energy required for a cannonball. I just kinda flop and float.
Quirky Loon said…
I'd be so lost without Google. Googling Brittannica is not quite the same... anymore. hee hee


And I've often thought I would love to someday meet the proverbial "they"


I've got so much I want to ask "them."


hee hee
mike said…
Oh yeah? Well I did my own googleing and look what I found. That's right. A constellation named for cats, aka Felis:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felis_%28constellation%29
nonamedufus said…
I'm gonna invent a bunch of non sequiturs which will make me a shoe in for th club of "they". It's like they say "if you can't beat them, mimic them"!
nonamedufus said…
Ha, ha., ha, ther entry says it's now obsolete, which is what I've always hoped for cats. Too much, Mike.
mike said…
I know! I only realized it afterwards. I even had to update my post about it.


Highly distressing is what this is.
meleahrebeccah said…
I have no idea why they call it " dog days of summer" but dear lord, it's been ridiculously HOT.
nonamedufus said…
Maybe there's a Dobson constellation?
nonamedufus said…
I just told you why silly.
babs (beetle) said…
I have a cat named 'dog', so put that in your puppis and smoke it, as 'they' say.
nonamedufus said…
That's gotta be worse than a boy named Sue.
nonamedufus said…
But you're right. It's been damn hot. We had some rain today here...the first time this summer, really...and that was a relief.
babs (beetle) said…
Truthfully, I did name a cat 'Kitty' once.
meleahrebeccah said…
I'm praying for ran right now!

And sorry, I've been MIA.
I'm slowly trying to catch up with all the blog posts I've missed!
Paula Wooters said…
I used to do a mean cannonball... not as good since I lost weight, though. It was like starting a tidal wave! The kids loved it!
nonamedufus said…
They didn't call you Boom Boom for nothing.
nonamedufus said…
No problem. I've kind of been slacking, writing one post a week. Funny how real life gets in the way, eh?
Barb Paige said…
I hear ya! Headed out to our pool shortly!
Nicky said…
You should visit Alameda, Dufus... cool and breezy here! And thank you for the lesson on constellations and weird expressions. And I literally laughed out loud about the cat people comment. I wonder who that could be...? :-)
nonamedufus said…
It's cooled off here after some rain yesterday. But still warm enough for a dip.
nonamedufus said…
A blogging partner who shall remain nameless. Alameda's on my bucket list.
P.J. said…
I remember Encyclopedia Britannica people selling those books from door to door. Now we get pop-up ads and annoying other things on the Internet. Dog days of summer, indeed.
nonamedufus said…
I do too. We had a set. You're showing your age, P.J.
nonamedufus said…
I do too. We had a set. You know you're showing your age, P.J.
nonamedufus said…
I do too. We had a set. You're showing your age, P.J.

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