Dog days of summer are upon us
At the end of a summer day, the distant combine in a wheat field, west of Bonners Ferry is a reminder of how important farming is to the Boundary County economy.
Photos by DON BARTLING
The boat dock west of town, the Kootenai River, Ambush rock, and the distant Selkirk Mountains ARE a familiar site in the summer.
According to Wikipedia “The dog days or dog days of summer (July 22, 2020-Aug. 22, 2020) are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius, which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck.”
There are days this summer in Boundary County that are dry as a bone and blistering hot. There are days when the sun burns and the wind peels and lightning starts wildfires that blaze out of control. Summer skies can be brown with smoke and thick with allergens.
But there are other summer days, such as today, that open like the bloom of a colorful flower. Scented with the sweet fragrance of fresh-cut alfalfa, they arrive with the morning dew and the surrounding warmth of dawn.
There are summer days sweet as a crisp apple that beckon bite after bite down to a core of contentment. These are lush days of growth in the fields and pastures, when buyers and sellers feel generous and fortunate at the farmers market. It feels good to be out-of-doors, whatever the occasion.
Some summer days are richly textured with friends and family, full of picnics and swimming holes and grassy lawns. It is a time of fresh-cut flowers, fishing poles, bicycle rides, lawn mowers, and porch swings. Every meal becomes an occasion for applauding the local garden produce: cabbage, lettuce, sweet corn, potatoes, vine-ripened tomatoes, crisp carrots, cucumbers and zucchini.
There are summer days when folks turn off the air-conditioning, roll down their windows, and hang an arm out the door as they drive.
Some summer days seem more colorful than others, when the Indian paintbrush and Tiger lilies and Sunflowers stand up taller, and Cosmos rise up in the warm air.
Butterflies emerge, finches dart through the trees, and hummingbirds lick at sugar water and nectar.
The daylight ends with a lingering wash of reds and purples along the western horizon that reflects on the sides of the Selkirk and Cabinet mountains, buildings and people’s faces. Everything basks in a blushing glow for several moments.
And then some summer days end with a clear view of the heavens. On such calm nights the Milky Way spreads like a flag across the middle of the sky, swirling slightly in some galactic breeze. Stars and planets wink at each other across the depths of space. Sounds of an owl hooting, wind passing through the trees and coyotes howling join in a nocturnal chorus with the swish-swish-swish of sprinklers on lawns and the distant sounds of late-night travelers.
Enjoy Boundary County in the dog days of summer.
