Did you know that the phrase ‘dog days of summer’ refers to the hottest and most humid period of the season? Which kind of describes the weather since May actually. Oy. I wish I had a pool I could cool off in like this doggo. 🙂 Fun Fact: the term goes way back to Ancient Greece and Rome who thought the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star added to the intensity of the sun’s heat.
Anyway, in celebration of these lazy, hazy dog days of summer, I thought it would be fun to chat about dogs (and pets in general) in our fiction. Oh – and I also have a couple of random ‘gardening in extreme heat questions’ for all you Southern Gardners so read to the end.
So – dogs (and pets) in fiction. Are you a fan? A dog lover in general? I wish we had the ability to share photos in the comments, I’d love to see your fur babies! This is my grandpuppy, Tobey. I’m the go to dog sitter when needs arise. He’s a wonderful cuddlebug but he’s also stubborn. Doesn’t like to retrace his steps on a walk – in other words always wants to head away from home into infinity. lol So I rigged up a basket on my rollator (walker) and when he balks at turning around I scoop him up and give him a ride for a bit. We get lots of snickers around the neighbourhood. And now the poor little guy has a heart murmur and asthma so riding in the basket has become more of a necessity.
Do you have a favourite fictional dog hero/heroine? Or author who knows how to write ‘dog’? A pet peeve of mine is when a dog or other pet is included in a story but barely referenced other than to say ‘let the dog out’ or ‘fed the cat’ — I mean, why bother adding an animal into the story at all if you aren’t going to develop its character and the relationship between hero or heroine and pet.
I can think of a ton of fictional canine examples but I will restrain myself and just share this one. Clyde from Sandpiper Cove (Hope Harbor #3). This is what I said about Clyde and his human in my review: “You can tell a lot about a hero by the way he treats a dog. And Clyde will tell you that Adam is a keeper. Some of my favourite scenes are between this life-battered pair. A man who has had a rough start in life and the abused dog he rescued. Both are wary of getting too close to people, finding comfort and safety in their solitude.”
Extreme Heat Gardening Questions:
I know there are a few avid gardeners in the crowd so I am making an urgent appeal. Our growing season is so out of whack that some plants flowered early, others sped through their flowering period and others seem frozen in time. Not dying off but not blooming either. So I have questions – especially for gardeners who work with these conditions all the time.
- My tomato plants are looking hale and hardy — I’ve been good about watering them regularly and I even have lots of green tomatoes…only they have been green for weeks. Not rotting but not ripening either. I read that they will kind of go dormant in extreme heat but will go back to their normal growth cycle once there’s relief from the heat. But it’s been…wow, over three weeks for some of my plants. Is there anything I can do to help ripen the tomatoes? Or is it just a waiting game? Which really doesn’t make sense since a lot of our off season tomatoes come from Mexico which is super hot, so why would they ripen there and not here? Help!
- For my flowers that bloomed early. If I cut them back will they bloom again? (Shasta daisies, asters, flax, wild geraniums, bee balm…perennials.) I’ve already dead-headed the daisies and one kind of bee balm and did a get a second flowering but I’m wondering since the weather is so warm, will I get new growth if I cut it all back?
- I have a really pretty purply-pink aster that literally turned gray over night after a thunderstorm and days of severe heat. It’s like all the pigment got zapped out of the petals! Happened to my daisies too. One day they were pretty white petals with bright yellow centres, the next day the petals were gray and the centres were black!!!! I feel like I’m growing. a Munster Family garden. How do Southern gardeners stop the weather from messing with their colour palette?!
Giveaway Opportunity:
Come chat in the comments and I will add your name into a draw for a $10 Baker Book House gift card (Amazon for Canadian readers.)
Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday August 2, 2025.
Kav's Best Reads 