The Dog Days of Summer

August 7, 2026

Dear Residents,

Re: The Dog Days of Summer

Dear River Wilderness Residents,

The “Dog Days of Summer” describe the 40-day period from July 3 to August 11 each year. This window marks the traditionally hottest, most humid and sultry weeks of the summer season. I think we would all agree that in the last several weeks with the heat index above 100 degrees daily combined with the recent rains and afternoon thunderstorms, the dog days of summer are upon us.

The phrase comes from ancient astronomy and the star, Sirius, known as the “Dog Star” because it sits in the constellation Canis Major (the Greater Dog). Ancient Greeks and Romans thought the combined brilliance of Sirius and the Sun added extra heat to cause sweltering weather, droughts and fevers. Science now shows that distant stars do not affect Earth’s temperature. The intense heat is caused by the Earth’s tilt and “thermal lag”.

Well, that is enough Trivia. I wanted to convey to all our residents that the Dog Days of Summer have been a challenge and are playing havoc with our Landscape maintenance. The combination of very high temperatures and rain has set back our mowing, edging, trimming and weeding schedules. Bloomings is managing the weather conditions and keeping up with all the common areas as best it can but there will be areas that may take longer to service. So, I do appreciate your understanding and patience as we all want a well-groomed community, but the Dog Days of Summer are challenging all of us. We have added more resources and longer days to get caught up.

We have a beautiful community, and we continue to strive to ensure it is maintained in a high-quality fashion. Thanks for your continued support of the HOA, and we pledge to continue keeping River Wilderness the premier community north of the river!

Sincerely, John Luchkowec, RW Community General Manager