The Dog Days of Summer

If April is, as the post T.S. Elliot said, “April is the cruelest month….”, then July might be the hottest month.

I think April is not really the cruelest month but for poetic reasons the thought works for this post. We know in our hearts the month of April is a time of birth and renewal, a time of anticipation, and it is also a time of hope. April may bring showers, but we also know it will also bring May flowers.

What about August? Yes, we might spend many days locked in the house because it is too hot to go outside and mow the lawn during August. That is if the grass is still growing because it is too damn hot.

And this heat bring me back to July.

According the our local Station, WWLP:

“Looking at heatwaves, last year we only had one official heat wave. And, that heatwave came in September, which was not during the standard June through August, the standard hot months of the year. This year so far, it’s only July and we’ve had 2 so far. Not counting the 5 day heatwave we had earlier. A heatwave is consecutive days with temperatures above 90 degrees at the peak.

“In 2024 we have had 11 days so far this year above 90 degrees, already surpassing last year. And we still have the rest of the summer to go. These temperatures continue to track later and later through the year, so the numbers are expected to go up.”

I got a chance the mow the lawn on the 19th when it was a cool 88 degrees, as you can see in this post’s Featured Image.

These dog days, and the rain which comes late in the afternoon and at night, have been a gardener’s blessing for my garden, affectionately called “Gardenia,” by my wife, Susan. Garden photos taken July 23.

On the days when it was too hot to be working outside (Although one day when it was 95, I weeded the garden; I must have lost 70 pounds! I wish.), I painted our sitting room, the room where we sit and watch TV and read and listen to music. I painted over the Garam Marsala with Mulberry–both from C2Paint.

Susan is still baking. If it was not too hot she would be outside weeding. Here is an Apple Cake she made.

Not to complain, but the heat has prevented me from grilling as much as I would like. Here is a delicious dinner we enjoyed during these dog days of summer; Chicken Thighs with Grapes and Capers over Polenta.

There was one night when I managed to withstand the heat and grill, although then as soon I put the steak on the grill it began to rain but the steak was fine and I was just a wee bit wet! I served this with local farm fresh and corn and a family favorite salad–Roasted Potatoes with Green Beans, Kalamata Olives and Rosemary.

One more food story. A few posts back I wrote about this Japanese Potato Salad. Well, in Japan, it is sometimes served on toast. I tried it and oh my gosh was it delicious!