Dog Days of Summer

Summer is almost over and we all know it. We may not want to admit it, but we see the signs and cannot prevent ourselves from making a few adjustments to prepare for the inevitable. What kinds of “adjustments” are we talking about? They are pretty minor things and yet it’s what these adjustments trigger in our day that matter.

The first adjustment is we start grabbing a coat when we leave the house. This is the Northland and we realize that at any given moment the weather can turn cold and we would be unprepared for the possibilities that come with those changes. Dog Days of Summer is code for unpredictable. My truck, which normally during the summer has weed trimmer line and grass clippers under the back seat, now has a winter pair of gloves and the beginnings of a winter survival kit.

Joan and I live right across the street from Proctor High School. We witness the increased activities that go along with the beginning of a new school year. The Cross Country runners jogging past our house. The soccer players juggling the soccer balls in the parking lot and endless football players tossing the football across rows of parked cars. The beginning of school activities and the Dog Days of Summer go hand in hand.

There are some other signs of the Dog Days of summer, like sweet water melons from Super One. All summer long you try to choose that perfect melon. A sweet melon that makes your mouth water from the ripe melon with a solid texture and dripping with juice. I personally have given up on trying to predict the ripe melons, but during the last days of summer most every melon is ripe and sweet.

Now for those other signs of the Dog Days of Summer. I have noticed that I start looking around the house and yard and see everything I “didn’t” get done. Oh, I made my mental list just like I do every spring but by the middle of August it occurs to me that I have been enjoying summer and neglecting the coming of Fall and Winter. I look back and wish I was more organized but, “Oh Well!” To be honest I am not totally upset with this realization. Summer is just too much fun and it needs to be enjoyed. The true point of the Dog Days of Summer is to soak in as much summer as we can for as long as we can. To be a true Northern Minnesota resident is to find a balance between a summer lush with sunny days and green and beautiful trees and the stark winter white with freezing winds and heavy coats. 

I am going to enjoy these Dog Days of Summer unapologetically and encourage you to join me. Church outdoor picnics, sporting events wearing just a sweater, tilling the garden following a great fall harvest. It doesn’t get any better than that. So, enjoy and savor the days we have before that dreaded first snow storm. Peace be with you all.

Blessings, Pastor Jeff