Beat the heat with these sweet treats ...

The Dog Days of Summer "officially" arrived June 3 and end Aug. 11.

Dog days bright and clear

Indicate a happy year;

But when accompanied by rain,

For better times, our hopes are vain

Whether you believe the folklore behind the saying or not, there is no disputing it is starting to feel as hot as Texas around these parts. People are either hunkering down in the cool AC or managing the scorching temperatures by hanging out near pools, lakes and beaches.

One of my favorite parts of summer is the excuse to indulge in all of the icy cold treats. When I was a child, every block in the neighborhood seemed to have one house that made "icees" by freezing various flavors of a sweet sugary syrup in paper Dixie cups they sold for a dime or a quarter each. We rode our bikes around the neighborhood all day long and frequented those houses to cool down with a sweet treat. Our house was always stocked with Popsicles and orange push pops.

I feel ancient telling that story. I feel like I should be remembering it in black and white. Was the '80s really that long ago? Don't answer that. Geez ...

While I don't run around town with a raucous group of children on bikes anymore, I still enjoy cooling down with sweet treats every now and then.

Here are a few of my favorite things so far this summer:

Port Cape Girardeau Restaurant and Lounge

Port Cape is located at 19 N. Water St. in downtown Cape Girardeau. In addition to their delicious food, they have a walk-up window where you can purchase ice cream. I stopped by recently and ordered a scoop of spumoni in a waffle cone. The spumoni flavor is a mixture of pistachio, chocolate, and I believe it was strawberry with bits of cherry and chocolate chips mixed in. I grabbed my cone and enjoyed a little walk by the Mississippi. I would definitely recommend grabbing some extra napkins because, if you are anything like me, it can be a challenge to stay ahead of the drip in this heat. Drip or no drip, it is worth the trip.

The "Pink Tiger" is a blend of guava and coconut -- a perfect flavor combination for a taste of Hawaii.Submitted by Mary Ann Castillo

Ty's Summer Sno

I recently visited the Ty's Summer Sno shack located at 2201 Broadway in Cape Girardeau. I have had Hawaii on my mind lately, but with no travel in my near future, I thought I would settle for a taste of Hawaii and picked up a cup of Hawaiian style shaved ice. To add to the Hawaiian vibe, I ordered a medium "Pink Tiger," which is a blend of guava and coconut — the flavors of my youth. The experience was definitely a blast from the past and I look forward to trying their long list of flavors all summer long. I promise I don't own parachute pants and won't be attempting any of my old break-dancing moves on my next visit, but if you see me wearing black and white checkerboard Vans, just mind ya business as I relive the '80s.

Fuel@Catapult offers paletas made with fresh fruit. This blackberry ice pop was my favorite.Submitted by Mary Ann Castillo

Fuel@Catapult

If you are looking for something fruity and natural, look no further than the Fuel@Catapult tent at the Cape Riverfront Market on Saturday mornings. Two bucks will get you a Mexican frozen treat known as a paleta. Paletas are often made from fresh natural fruits such as strawberry and mango or rich creamy ingredients such as chocolate and Sicilian pistachio. Last weekend's flavors were avocado, watermelon, blackberry and lemon. I opted for the blackberry and wished I had gotten two. My paleta was the definition of cool and refreshing. In fact, it was so fresh and fruity I could see the blackberry seeds, which added to the texture and experience. I was intrigued by the avocado flavor and will be returning to try whatever they concoct next.

Those are a couple of things on my radar. Hopefully, now they are on yours.

P.S. I visited The German Cook's tent to pick up a brat and met Gus the Goat along the way. He has nothing to do with summer, sweet treats or anything else for that matter, but he did seem to know a thing or two about being "cool" so I stopped by to say "hi."

What are some of your favorite sweet treats this summer?

Gus the Goat. Gus didn t have much insight into how to beat the heat, but he is the epitome of being cool.Submitted by Mary Ann Castillo