According to the “Old Farmer’s Almanac,” the Dog Days of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere begin July 3 and last 40 days, until August 11. This hottest time of the year gets its name from “Sirius,” the Dog Star, which appeared at sunrise during this period in ancient times.

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The month of July finds summer in full swing. It’s the month of the US Independence Day, Canada Day, and Bastille Day. We’ll also be talking about National Ice Cream Day, Parents Day, and lots of other holidays, including these below:

July 1 - Canada Day
July 4 - US Independence Day
July 10 - Bahamas Day
July 14 - Bastille Day
July 16 - National Ice Cream Day
July 23 - St. Brigit’s Day
July 24 - Simon Bolivar Day in Ecuador
July 27 - Parents Day
July 31 - Friendship Day

Did we forget to mention your favorite holiday? Leave a message below and let us know what it is.

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July is National Hot Dog Month. In anticipation, here are a few hot dog facts:

1. On a single day–July 4th–Americans will consume an estimated 150 million hot dogs!

2. By the end of summer grilling season, Americans will have eaten more than 7 billion hot dogs.

3. Last year, New Yorkers purchased twice as many hot dogs — an estimated $103 million worth–as the third region on the list,
Baltimore/Washington. Philadelphia was fourth, Boston sixth and
Harrisburg/Scranton ninth.

4. During “Hot Dog Season,” Memorial Day to Labor Day, Americans typically
consume 7 billion hot dogs — that boils down to 818 hot dogs consumed
every second during the season.

5. Americans will eat enough hot dogs at major league ballparks this year
to stretch from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco. Hot dogs became
standard fare at ballparks in 1893, a tradition believed to have started in St. Louis.

^{(photo and facts courtesy of Hatfield Qualty Meats)}

Every midwest mom has a different variation of this patriotic dessert. I like the one pictured, using chocolate cake and white icing. The constant in all of the recipes is that a flag is created on the top of the cake using blueberries for the stars and strawberries for the stripes. For some other Flag Cake ideas, see:

• Breyer’s Ice Cream Flag Cake
• Flag Cake with whipped cream from Cooks.com
• The Barefoot Contessa’s Flag Cake from the Food Network
• Flag Cake with Jello and marshmellows from Glenda’s Attic Blog

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As Independence Day draws near, here’s a look at one of the country’s most popular celebrations–the annual 4th of July concert by the Boston Pops. Here they are playing Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.”