Haibun

Dog Days

The very hot days of summer, usually late in July, the time when people suffer and dogs can go crazy. That's the popular belief carried on down through centuries. Actually, the origin goes back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. To them, the "dog days" were when Sirius, the dog star, appeared in the heavens, coinciding with the hottest days of summer.  They are here now, and our suffering dog has his own way of coping.

His tongue hangs out all day. He pants continuously. Sleeps wrapped around a sweating toilet bowl. Doesn't want to go out, and, when he must, wants in immediately. He slobbers water on the floor in his haste to cool his thirst. He looks at me with sad eyes as if I could do something. I give him some of my ice cream. Happy for the moment, he retreats back to the toilet bowl.

two- week heat wave

cooling in the fridge

salads and underwear

Presence