Who We Are



The past few years, the area where I live, Crawford County, Ohio, has seen a wonderful explosion of younger families who are embracing the joys and challenges of living off the land. Because of them, amazing things are happening which have been embraced by our community. Farmer’s markets have been created and on-farm stores have opened. Families dedicated to growing organic produce and naturally raised meats are meeting the public’s needs for locally raised foods. And at the heart of this movement are the women.



Ohio Country Journal is my attempt to share the essence of farm life, focusing on, but not limited to, women. My goal is to bring you into our circle of friendship by inviting you to share your stories and experiences with us. You don’t have to be a full time country woman to benefit from joining us; you just have to be you.





The full-time country women featured in Ohio Country Journal are an inspiration to anyone who dares to follow her dreams, whether it is to live in the country or to bring the country life-style to their urban neighborhoods.





Saturday, March 4, 2017

Solar Snow

"Unusual weather we're having, ain't it?" ...the Cowardly Lion



The weather this winter has been one crazy ride, for sure! Flipping from mid 70's to low 30's and then back again, all within a few days, has most of us wondering, what season is it, really? This year winter felt more like Autumn, with a few Summer and a few Winter days tossed in just for fun.



And the past few days have been extra interesting. It is very cold again and snowing extremely hard for short bursts while the sun is out in full glory. Seems like Old Sol doesn't quite know what season it is, either. It's getting on in years, you know, and I wonder about its mental health. Either that, or it likes to have a few good laughs now and then at Earthling's expense. :0



The other day, while waiting on a train during a trip to a neighboring town, we had a nice bout of what I call "solar snow". I wish that I had my Galaxy EK-CG 110 point and shoot camera with me because it does a wonderful job capturing blue and pink rays from the sun. My Canon 7D...not so much. But it is the camera that I had with me, limiting my options.

*****IMPORTANT******

Never, EVER, look at the sun through the viewfinder of a camera. It will severely damage your eyes, maybe even blind you.

What I did was to aim near where I wanted to shoot, took it away from my face and moved the camera up a bit to get a corner of the sun. I also do not want to damage the camera's sensor, so I was careful to not get the full sun. This seemed the safest way to get what I was going for with the camera I had with me.

With a point and shoot camera, of course, you can frame the sun how you want it using the LCD screen. Again, be mindful of how intense the light is on your camera's sensor. I could have done that with my SLR, too, by switching it to "live view", but these solar snows do not last very long and I had to work fast. After just a few shots the snow had stopped...see how it is?  Very camera shy this winter.

I do like "Solar Snows". They break up the monopoly of the bleak weather we've had this winter by giving us something unusual to marvel at.

Marcheta *I DO believe in Global Warming, I do, I do, I DO believe in Global Warming