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At the end of June I wrote about the Dog Days of Summer. The last sentence of that post was: Let\u2019s hope that this year\u2019s Dog Days are short lived and people around the world are able to find relief from the heat until those stars realign and cooler temperatures arrive.<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, this year\u2019s Dog Days have not been short lived and people around the world have struggled to find relief from the heat.<\/strong><\/p>\n For years my husband and I would beat the heat by taking a boat on whatever river was close to us at the time and find sandbars to hang out on.\u00a0 Sometimes we fished but mostly we picnicked, listened to music and relaxed.<\/strong><\/p>\n The rivers that we frequented were often wild, spring fed rivers with cold water even on the hottest days of the summer.\u00a0 Too hot even in the shade?\u00a0 Take a dip in the river and allow that cold water to cool your hot skin.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Shade.\u00a0 A valuable commodity on a reflective, white sandbar.\u00a0 Large summer umbrellas were always stashed in the boat for such outings.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n This year we don\u2019t have those white sand, cold water rivers nearby. We will beat the heat by staying inside in the air conditioning whenever possible. <\/strong><\/p>\n How have you dealt with this year\u2019s oppressive heat waves and how has that differed from former heat waves that you have lived through? <\/strong><\/p>\n