Tears and Laughter: The lore and lure of the dog days of summer

Fannie used to warn us of the perils that could come with the dog days of summer. She believed in both the old and the new testaments of the King James Version of the Holy Bible, so naturally, I believed everything she said…including all of her many superstitions. I believed her, and I loved her. I loved her so much that even now, over forty years later, I still sometimes stop in the middle of an ordinary day just to remember.

She claimed snakes moved faster during the dog days, and dogs were more prone to going mad. Dogs mostly, but sometimes rodents and wild hogs, or farm animals, or men. She said they would get a glazed look in their eyes, and if you ever saw that look you could count on them being crazy and should get away from them as quickly as possible.

She also thought storms were worse during dog days. At the first clap of thunder and she would jump up unplugging the television and start watching the sky. She felt if ever lightning was going to strike and start a fire, it would be during dog days.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac – the span from July 3 until August 11 is traditionally known as the dog days of summer. They have a connection to astrology pertaining to the star Sirius – which is part of the constellation named the Greater Dog. Sirius is a bright star and during the summer it rises with the sun. It has absolutely no bearing on the weather, but I guess the Romans were still figuring things like that out. They thought this star rising with the sun was causing the hottest days of summer. They didn’t have James Spann to explain weather patterns back then.

Fannie didn’t know anything about the Romans or Sirius rising with the sun, but she did claim to be part Indian. Mainly because she was. She didn’t have an exact date when she thought dog days began. It was more of a feeling. Something she suddenly noticed. She could be outside shelling peas while sitting in the shade under a big oak in her yard and suddenly announce it. “The birds are too quiet,” she would say. “Dog days are here. Y’all best be careful.”

She would look around like she had sensed a spirit. So we would too.

The superstition was that haunts – if and when there were any – were certain to come out during dog days. If it was so hot and humid you could see heat waves floating across the fields, evil could present itself. To prevent this, she hummed hymns and spoke about the Lord. Sometimes if I noticed a heatwave…I would start humming too.

She thought one of the worst things that could happen to a person during the dog says of summer was for them to catch a cold. It was thought to more easily turn into pneumonia, if not something worse.

Mosquito bites and simple scratches, especially cat scratches, were more prone to becoming infected. They were thought to be slower to heal and were likely to leave a scar.  

If you walked outside barefooted after it had rained you could get something called ground itch that could turn into gangrene if you weren’t careful– a condition I never knew of anyone having but all of us feared. My brother never went barefooted, and probably still doesn’t to this day, all because of what could have happened during the dog days of summer in 1975.

Those days are over. And the dog days of summer have long since stopped deterring anyone’s summer plans. But isn’t it funny…how the memories remain.

Amanda Walker is a contributor with AL.com The Selma Times Journal, Thomasville Times, West Alabama Watchman, and Alabama Gazette. Contact her at Walkerworld77@msn.com or follow her on Facebook.