Welcome to the “Dog Days of Summer”. When I was growing up in Michigan, I always thought that this season was called this because it is so hot and humid and that the only thing that was comfortable to do was to lie around in the shade, not quite panting. We are lucky in Northern California that even the hottest days are quite nice, especially compared to the rest of the US.
However, Wikipedia informs me that this phrase dates all the way back to the 8th Century and is a reference to Sirius, the Dog Star, which starts to rise in the evening. Sirius is the brightest star in the summer night sky, and some ancient people thought it added to the earth’s heat during the period when it was visible in the sky.
We are going to celebrate the summer with our annual picnic. It will be held on Saturday, July 11 at Cuesta Park. The summer picnic is our annual social event when we recognize the important volunteers who keep the section going and who support Chemistry in so many important ways. We will award the Ottenberg award to a Silicon Valley ACS volunteer, and the Teacher-Scholar award to a recognize the contributions of a worthy Community College Instructor. We will also celebrate the contributions of our 50-, 60- and 70-year ACS members.
I hope to see you at the picnic. But we don’t typically stay long enough into the evening to witness the rise of Sirius. You’ll have to do that on your own.
Respectfully submitted
Natalie McClure
