The dog days of summer in the stars

Under the Sturgeon moon, Brian watches the sky. It has been three days and nights, yet still it is there. Not the moon, the other thing. The moon is brilliant and lights up the night sky. The other thing is strange, and it is also in the sky. It isn’t moving nor does it have lights of any kind. It is just a mass of something high up there in the sky.

He would ask Holt, but Holt isn’t speaking this evening. Besides it was plain to see. In fact, this is the third night it’s been there. Oddly enough, there hasn’t been so much as a peep about it in any news reports. Not that Brian watched every news report available. It’s just that something strange and motionless, in the sky, usually gets some kind of attention.

He decides to ask Holt anyway.

“So what do you think it is?” A few minutes pass in silence. Then a few more. Apparently he was right. Holt isn’t speaking this evening. It’s okay though. There were only a few days left in the dog days of summer. Once Autumn began things would shift back until the following year. Brian tries not to think about it. Maybe that’s why Holt was quiet this evening too. So Brian looks back up at the thing in the sky. The sun sets soon after.

The Dog Days of Summer

The first time Brian heard about the dog days of summer he was just a kid. The elders talked about the dog days of summer. They would use words like Almanac and old timers. No one argued with the elders. They knew things. Additionally, there was a lot of reverence for these things. There was always a hushed and thoughtful tone regarding these things. However, the dog days of summer were different.

They were different because they were hot. And that is what Brian thought for years. Ever since he was a kid he would listen to the elders predictions and warnings. He knew differently now. But what he knew was only a sliver compared to what Holt knew. And Holt isn’t speaking this evening. Brian tries to push back on the disappointment he feels. Instead, he reminds himself how fortunate he is.

Here under the stars with autumn closing in fast. This is where Brian learned about the dog days of summer from Holt. More than was ever written in any book. For example, Holt described for Brian what really takes place on Sirius, the dog star. Brian remembers it clearly. Furthermore, if it had been anyone other than Holt telling the story, Brian would not have believed them.

All in the Stars

It sounds unlikely and far fetched. However, Holt had no reason to lie. And for Brian’s part? He was just glad that Holt came back this year, like he said he would. This causes Brian to feel some nostalgia as he reminisces about the previous year. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw Holt the first time.

It took some time before Brian could believe that Holt was more than just his imagination gone rogue. Even when the dog days of summer came to an end, Holt had said he had to leave. Even then Brian couldn’t help having doubts. Of course he felt grateful to have seen Holt. Even more so to have talked with him. But he felt such bittersweet longing when Holt left. And now it was happening again.

Brian knows the following day will bring with it the first traces of autumn. He also knows that Holt may return again the following year. It’s hard to say because Holt doesn’t want to catch any heat for breaking the rules. That struck Brian as funny, because it’s always hot, in the dog days of summer. Maybe they can talk about that next year Brian thinks, as night falls, and autumn begins.

---

Thank you for reading! Like, follow and share The Frog Journal on X @1finja1 – and on The Frog Journal Facebook page click here. Subscribe to the free newsletter to stay up to date on new content and updates.

---