Columns

Eleven hundred-plus bales of good quality hay were piled high in the loft by June 14 at Stratford Ecological Center on Liberty Road. The teen campers joined in the effort to load the 60-pound bales onto the trailer in the field and unload them onto the conveyor belt up to the loft. Their verdict was it’s a hot and heavy job, but very satisfying to see the end result. The small group of aging farmhands were very grateful for their help. The spelt in fields 2 & 4 changed quickly, in just 10 days, from milk to dough stage. We were able to cut the stalks immediately for hay on June 30, before a wind that would have caused the seeds to drop to the ground, and we baled on July 1. By the end of the next day, 185 amber/golden bales of our best quality spelt hay ever, were safely in the loft.

The Perseid meteor shower is coming up on the evening/morning of Aug. 12/13. I’ll add details in the coming weeks, but first, let me state this sad fact: Most people seeking the Perseids don’t see many meteors.

In Deb Guebert’s letter of Saturday, July 13, she explains how, scientifically, “every cell” of the human body is gender-specific, and everyone was happy for “thousands of years.” Then people like Tony Marconi came along and stirred the pot.

Yesterday and today folks across the nation were celebrating a new and perhaps unknown holiday. No, not Guinea Pig Appreciation Day (July 16). Also not Peach Ice Cream Day (July 17). While I do appreciate guinea pigs and will gladly eat peach ice cream any time, I’m talking about Amazon Prime Days.

In a conversation on the phone today, a friend and I were talking about getting old. It’s me that is getting old, not her. I don’t remember exactly how it started, but the word “old” came up in a sentence and took off from there.

My family recently returned from Japan, where I had hoped to do a bit of stargazing, especially when we traveled to more rural regions. Unfortunately, our couple of nights at a mountaintop Buddhist temple were clouded out, and the rest of the nights were cloudy or hazy — with one exception.

Recently, our partners at the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) contacted the Delaware County District Library system regarding an initiative of their Ohio Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (OHHLPPP). As people in the United States average about half of their day in their homes, an unhealthy home can contribute to numerous adverse health outcomes. Additionally, as two out of three homes in Ohio may have lead paint, it’s important for families to learn of the harmful effects that lead can have on adults and children.

Smiles, dancing, days of the week, giggles and wiggles, weather and vowels can only mean one thing. Summer reading is back! It’s been such a fun time seeing familiar faces this summer at our local libraries as part of our Schiffel’s Safety Scholars summer reading program. Our program began in 2020 (if you can believe that), and we partner with our local libraries to bring safety-themed messages to our kids and support our libraries in whatever way best suits them. We are back for the fourth year in a row and can I tell you how much I absolutely love this time of the year?

American principles are under attack from many angles. There are so many such attacks, I fear we may overlook “lesser” challenges – because we’re so focused on the obvious one(s).

By Sen. Sherrod Brown