Deb Berger, Accounting Clerk

Under the age of 18, I thought snow was gold that dropped from the sky. It was so glorious. Snow would cause school closings, the building of forts & snowmen and of course sledding. At the end of a snow day there would be a pile of damp clothes and boots as tall as my poor mother.

How much snow should Darke County anticipate this year? The only information I have come across is “above normal snow falls” for this year and “below normal” temperatures. We have already had a few bouts of “heart attack snow” and I have a feeling there is more snow to come.

What does the snow do for our soil? In agriculturally heavy areas, it has been called the poor man’s fertilizer. Snowflakes are important to our plants. Snowflakes can contain small amounts of dissolved organic nitrogen, nitrate and ammonium from the atmosphere that help fertilize the next crop.  Nitrogen is especially essential for plant growth. 

As the snow begins to melt it adds moisture back into the soil. On average, 10 inches of snow will produce 1 inch of water. Snow provides some insulation for crops by holding in heat and preventing moisture from evaporating into the atmosphere. This stops the bitterly cold temperatures from eliminating young plants. This is also true for perennials, bulbs, ground covers and strawberry plants; snow can serve as a mulch for these plants and protect them from the bitter winds and cold that come with our winter season.

Snow isn’t all fun and games. It causes many auto accidents per year. Snow can also cause power outages, crop damages, health risks and make it very challenging for animals to find food and stay warm. How many times has your flight been delayed or cancelled because of snow or ice? Property damage is a well known problem of snow. The weight of the snow can collapse a roof, brake branches and damage trees.

 Now that I am pushing retirement age and I am no longer under 18 years old and if I had the chance to live in a different climate, I don’t know if I would. There is nothing better than sitting in front of a fireplace drinking hot chocolate and watching the snowfall from my window. If I could stay inside thru the winter months and hibernate like a bumblebee my life would be A-1.

Most of us need to get outdoors in the winter months for a variety of different reasons. If you need to travel outside your home, please be careful.  Bundle up with plenty of layers and take your time.  If you need a break from your ordinary winter day, remember the Darke County Parks trails are open dawn-dusk and we offer plenty of indoor and outdoor programs this winter season. Just visit click HERE to see what programs are coming up. Stay warm and take care!

Sophie Nieport, Bear’s Mill Manager

People are surprised that I work year-round in a 175-year-old building with very little heat. So I often get the question – “what do you do during the winter?” Most people that ask that are also very surprised to hear that the Mill is open to the public 6 days a week, all year round! Yes, foot traffic is a lot slower in the colder months, but we do have regular customers that purchase coffee and flour – because think about it, we bake things with flour and cornmeal a lot more often in the winter. My favorite is cornbread with chili, ham and beans, any type of soup, yum!

We also get some brave visitors that bear the cold and explore the upstairs where it is often colder than the outside. Then there are the birders – we have many folks who explore our trails to catch their favorite bird species or find a new one.

Winter is also a great time to do some deep cleaning and maintenance that requires a lot of focus and is best to do when there is less foot traffic from the public. For example, we learned how to dress the stones last winter, and it was recommended that we do this maintenance once a year so it is easier to keep up on.

This winter, we have a major construction project that will be starting soon. The foundation under half of the building will be re-constructed, and some of the floor joists will also be repaired and strengthened. This project will be done by an outside source, but will require some time from the staff of the Darke County Parks.

I also use the slower time in the winter months to plan ahead. We are constantly looking to make our gift shop and existing events better for our guests, but also looking to try new things! We get a lot of great ideas from staff, volunteers, and the public on what we should do or sell. Sometimes it is hard to focus on these ideas when we are busy in the throes of one of our regular events. So what I try to do is jot down these ideas and save them for my winter brain. Then during those cold months, I try to choose a new idea to focus on and get it off the ground. If these new projects/ideas are going to be expensive, then I also look for outside funding sources, like grants, to help pay for them.

The new event we are creating for 2025 is a Recipe Contest for a new Bear’s Mill Cook Book! The folks at Bear’s Mill are creating a wonderful new recipe book. It will be a hardback book with tried-and-true recipes that use the Bear’s Mill Stone Ground flours and corn meals along with beautiful photographs of the mill and property. We are hosting a RECIPE CONTEST and are asking our local community to participate. A new recipe book will help promote our healthy, stone-ground flours and guide other people on how to better use them!

To participate, submit your recipes no later than April 20th. By registering to be a participant, you will be required to bring samples of your submissions the day of our Spring Open House on May 3rd. This is when the recipes will be judged for the prizes and inclusion in the recipe book. Please provide your Name, address, and phone number along with the recipe submissions. Submit up to 5 recipes that use at least 50% of Bear’s Mill flour/cornmeal to Sophie Nieport at Bear’s Mill 6450 Arcanum Bear’s Mill Rd. Greenville, or email at snieport@darkecountyparks.org. By sending us your submissions you are agreeing to authorize Bear’s Mill to use your recipes in our book. The recipes do not have to be created by you from scratch, we are looking for tried and true recipes modified by you to incorporate at least 50% of Bear’s Mill flour.

Prizes include beautiful, functional bakeware pottery donated by the Millrace Potters, Bear’s Mill flour, and a free copy of the final published recipe book.  Don’t wait – get those recipes fine-tuned and sent in!