Someone recently said, “August is sort of a nothing month.” I disagree with that assumption. It is a hot month, often the hottest of the year for the people of South Carolina. Kids are going back to school and college football is ramping up for another season. The anticipation of autumn begins to influence our thoughts.

August is named after Augustus Caesar and has two birthstones: peridot and sardonyx. The flower for this month is the gladiolus from the Latin word gladius, which means “sword.”