August . . .

 The Red Headed Stepchild of Months 

The bright side of August

I have gone back in my vast archives to see if I have ever talked much about the month of August. It appears I have spared you - until now. Lucky you.

“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.”  Sylvia Plath

“If June was the beginning of a hopeful summer, and July the juice middle, August was suddenly feeling like the bitter end.” Sarah Dessen

Enough from poets, let's talk about August. The eighth month, named after Roman Emperor Augustus; still summer, hot, muggy and long as it slowly becomes . . . the dog days of summer. By the way, the dog days of summer were so named by the Greeks and Romans because the very bright star Sirius, the Dog Star, shows up in the night sky this time of the year so the boys in robes and togas figured it was hot like the sun and must make things hotter here. Hey, made sense at the time.

So, what do you think about August? Me first? Okay, to me, it IS an odd month. It’s just kinda . . . blah. Or maybe it’s just that the thrill of summer, if not gone, is gliding into the rearview mirror. (Is that a tiny hint of autumn in the cool morning air?) Am I the only one that feels that way? 

Hear me out.

We’re all excited in May as lawns green up, perennials appear and gardeners first get their hands dirty with veggies and annuals. Then summer officially shows up in June and we know that our suffering through months of cold and snow were worth it. Then -ta da - July! We enjoy more great weather! (Okay maybe too great weather this year but remember that in January.) Anyway - Picnics! Cabins! Fireworks! Oh my! 

The dark side of August

The month of August then comes in clinging to the coat tails of July and at first just more of the same. However, we fickle humans (in the northern hemisphere anyway) are already getting bored and tired of the heat and humidity. (Meteorologist Paul Douglas calls it "summer fatigue" so there is that.) The lakes are getting all green and yucky. We’re starting to get weary of taking care of our stupid yards. (They are stupid you know. We plant a kind of weed, fertilize it, water it, mow it – rinse and repeat for months on end.) Oh yeah, and the state fair is just a few weeks away; then time to take the boat and docks out; then fall clean up and then . . . Well, you know.

I wonder if this is the reason all Europeans take the month of August off.

Anyway, given the sense that August isn’t much more than a bridge to fall and thus to winter - and I don't want to belabor that - I think a potpourri of truly interesting non-August things is in order to distract you. (“Interesting” is, of course, in the eye of the beholder.)

Nature – and AI - Turns on Us?

Here’s an interesting thought by one of the many fellow bloggers I follow:

By Noah Smith

“As long as you or I or anyone we know has been alive, for all of recorded history - and in fact for much much longer than that - humankind has been the most intelligent thing on this planet.

At some point in the next couple of years, that will no longer be true. It arguably is no longer true right now. There is no single unarguable measure of intelligence - it’s not like distance or time. AI doesn't think in the same way humans do. But it can get gold medals on the International Math Olympiad, solve difficult outstanding math problems all on its own, and get A's in graduate school classes. Most human beings can’t do any of that."

If true, that’s kind of disappointing: Knocked off the top of the food chain by an invisible algorithm. Huh. I guess now we’ll know how all the other creatures felt when we knocked them of the top of hill over the past thousands of years.

And This is How They Do It?

By Matt O’Brien The Associated Press

Artificial intelligence chatbots are so prone to flattering and validating their human users that they are giving bad advice that can damage relationships and reinforce harmful behaviors, according to a new study that explores the dangers of AI telling people what they want to hear. 

According to another study, as an additional "favor," sucking up by AI apparently also causes even more of the Dunning-Kruger effect for us poor sad humans. You know, making us to think we are smarter than we actually are. Just what we need!

And Now for Something Completely Different

More Say ‘I Don’t"
By Tammy Lagorce • The New York Times

"From Gen X to Gen Z, a pause in the march to the altar, or a decision to skip it altogether, is becoming more common.

After an eight-year relationship ended in 2021, Chloe Bow started imagining what life might look like if she gave up on marriage.

Bow, 33, of Toronto, spent much of her 20s living with a boyfriend who became her fiancée. Then, during the pandemic, she realized she was feeling unfulfilled but had settled out of a familiar fear: What if I end up alone? But now, being alone is the goal, she said. No relationships, no marriage. Forever.

"I can't think of one person in a relationship that I would want for myself," Bow said. "I've done it before and prefer focusing on me and my own needs."

She is not alone. Data shows that the number of households with married couples is down by over 20 percent. Experts aren’t certain if this is just a blip, a generational thing or a new normal. I have no opinion but one thing is sure – right, wrong or indifferent, those uppity women will be held to blame for not getting hitched like their moms and grandmas. (Okay, that last part is sarcasm in case your sarcasm detector is kaput.)

Just in – Shocking News!

A third of Americans say they're reading fewer books

Perhaps we should happy it's only 36%

As the summer reading season begins in earnest, a third of Americans say they're reading fewer books for personal enjoyment than they did 10 years ago — a decline that cuts across age and education levels.

Why you may ask?



But all is not lost . . .

Fred Backus - June 18, 2026 / CBS News

"Though many Americans are reading fewer books, most haven't given up reading altogether: about a third read upwards of six books a year, including 12% who read more than 20. And it's not just older people who are reading books: younger adults read about the same number of books as older adults, though women read more books than men.

A quarter of Americans, however, say they don't generally read any books at all."

I generally read about 25 books a year. (It should be more but I have very important outdoor "activities" that require my attention in the summer.)

I hope you are reading as much as you can.

Food for Thought to Get Through August

Philosopher Sam Harris

"We are dying by clips. As consumers of information, we are inundated with half-truths and outright lies and yet we let our view of people or issues be decided in these five minute - or even 45 second clips (Tik Tok) - is shattering us." 

Finally (I hear the great sighs of relief) 

This from writer Brent Donnelly, a nice counterpoint to that info above. I know you have heard something like this before but it's a good reminder:

“Delete the apps. Touch grass. Read books. Pay attention. Talk to your neighbors. Go outside. Make things. Pay attention. Refuse the algorithm. Reclaim your time. Love your family. Find community. Plant a garden. Buy less. Vote. Pray. Cook. Walk. Pay attention. Call your mom.”

REALLY Final

“This morning, the sun endures past dawn. I realize that it is August: the summer's last stand.” Sara Baume

You know, August kinda gets a raw deal just because of where it's located on the calendar. At least it's not Jan or Feb. Besides, it can't be too bad, it brought me daughter number two!

Boys of Summer   Don Henley

First Day of August  Carol King