The “dog days of summer” ended on August 11 this year, but here in Oregon we’ve had some very hot days since then. Fingers crossed that now we’ve seen the last of the 90s and triple digits for this year.

The dog days derive from the position of Sirius, the “Dog Star,” in the night sky in the northern hemisphere. Because they occur during a hot stretch of summer, they have become shorthand for the hottest, most miserable time of year–to me, and I think to many others as well. Just ask Al Pacino’s character in the sweaty 1975 crime thriller Dog Day Afternoon.

I’m lucky to have a cool place to work, and I spent this year’s dog days almost entirely inside, working on a major writing project that consumed all of May, June, and July. But this young canid, not a dog but a pretty close relative, ventured onto our deck one afternoon during the recent dog days, which were not only blisteringly hot but desperately dry. We keep a large water dish at ground level near the deck, so I was glad to see this creature overcome wariness sufficiently to come out of the woods for a drink.