Dog Days

Atlanta is in the midst of its "dog days." Climate data tells us that on average the warmest days of 2009 are behind us. The Sun casts ever longer shadows as it arcs lower across the southern sky. Leaves hang limp on trees catching more and more of that light, giving the woods a golden hue, even at midday. The aging summer has also brought this years acorn crop to maturity. I can tell because the squirrel community in our woods is working overtime on the harvest. They litter the patio daily with twigs, leaves, and broken nuts, making for a big mess as well as hazardous grilling "under fire."

Calm days and high temperatures also lead to popcorn thundershowers that meander across the region waiting to die out as fast as they are born. They bring powerful lightning, the positive strikes that start fires, inches of rainfall, high wind, and pea sized hail. In all, a big punch for such a small footprint compared to the supercell storms on the Great Plains.

Weather isn't the only sky phenomenon at this time. Early Perseid meteors remind us that the most dependable star shower of the year is coming, reaching its peak in the early morning hours of August 12, just before sunrise. This year's shower competes with light from the Moon that will wash out the dimmer meteors. One of my earliest memories is seeing a meteor blaze across the sky from my crib at a bedroom window. My Aunt Edith was there and she told me what it was. I have waited for and watched this shower annually for over sixty years.

The dog days will stay with us for a week or two, then yield to more comfortable temperatures, moderated even more by occasional easterly waves bringing showers and salt air off the Atlantic. The sound sequence of crickets to cicadas to katydids will come earlier and earlier each evening. I'll continue to enjoy it because I thrive in warmer weather. I see the dog days as summer at its fullest. The season may be half over, but there is another half to come. Easy for me to say, but, then again, I am a Libra.