Sirius rising—the dog days of summer unroll

August 8th—Sirius, the Dog Star rises. On this day in ancient Rome, citizens were flinging their hands in the air and yelling, “The sky is falling.” No, wait, that was Chicken Little, or Henny Penny—it depends on which folktale you're reading. Do you need a Henny Penny refresher? An acorn bounces off her head, and the clever hen sets off to warn the king that the sky is in imminent danger of crashing down on their heads. Clearly, I've read Henny Penny one too many times this week. I'm starting to cheer for Foxy Woxy, the villain in the tale. The book's one of our granddaughter's Top Ten right now. Maybe the story of Henny Penny is older than we think. Maybe she was a Roman chicken.

Anyways, back to the ancient Romans. They believed the long, hot days (Dog Days) of summer heralded heat, drought, mad dogs and eventually, disaster. In reality, when Sirius rises is tied to where you live. Here on the west coast, today is the big day. As the earth wobbles, the stars shift making Sirius's comeuppance dependent on which hemisphere you live in. In a few millennia, Sirius might be making its ascent in the middle of winter.

I think the ancient Romans maligned those poor dogs. The dogs weren’t mad, they were just hot. All they were doing was looking for was a place to curl up in the shade of a Cyprus tree and sleep away the day.

The dog days of summer make me want to curl up too. Maybe the Romans had it right. A little siesta in the middle of the day might not be such a bad idea. Even better—find some shade and curl up with a good book, or search out a patch of sand under an umbrella, stare out at the water, and sip an icy cold beverage.

This weekend it was easy to find an adventure—#CrescentBeach in White Rock, looking out at the ocean on a Friday night. It’s something we say we should do, but don’t. Instead, we let the excuses roll—too hard to find parking, it’ll will be packed with people, what are the chances of getting a seat on a beachfront patio on a Friday night?

So here’s to a walk on the beach, good company, good conversation and a cold brew.

Happy Sirius rising. I hope you find shade and your perfect read.

#52Over50 with no excuses—what’s your adventure?

Here's a sneak look at the cover of Stripped, the first book in the Port Fling Romance series.