The Dog Days

A Buff Brahma rooster with golden plumage, black-laced hackles and feathered feet in a rumpled oatmeal linen shirt and a straw panama hat, resting on a wooden porch swing on a shaded farmhouse porch, a bloodhound asleep on the boards below and a glass of iced tea on a side table, a ceiling fan turning overhead and the yard shimmering in the heat beyond

Sirius, Rising

The ancients blamed a star for all this. He blames no one, which he considers the more civilised position, and has adopted the hound's approach to the afternoon in its entirety.

3 July 2026