When summer arrives, it's not uncommon to get a strong desire for sand and water. But those who can only make day-long trips may find it hard to achieve. Don't worry! Plenty of opportunities for kicking back in the sand exist here in Ohio, although it's far away from the oceans.

East Harbor State Park Beach

1169 N. Buck Rd., Lakeside-Marblehead

     Those looking for a bit of extra space between their blankets and their neighbors' will like this beach. At 1,500 feet long, the sandy strip has a significant amount of real estate(房产）for sunning or relaxing in the shade. Amenities(设施）include a bathhouse, vending machines, grills and picnic tables.

Nickel Plate Beach

Corner of Tiffin Avenue and Nickel Plate Drive, Huron

     Anyone who spends a day at the beach knows that swimming and doing sports on the beach give you a good appetite. Luckily, Nickel Plate Beach offers a variety of dining options nearby, including beachside pizza delivery. Amenities include a sheltered picnic area, charcoal grills, playground equipment and beach volleyball courts.

Main Street Beach

Main Street, Vermilion

     No beach umbrella or chairs? No problem. This beach offers hourly rents of chairs, umbrellas, tables, shade tents and wheelchairs. And with downtown Vermilion only a block away，shops and restaurants are nicely within reach. Amenities include an observation deck and some benches. No lifeguards are on duty.

Kelleys Island State Park Beach

920 Division St. Kelleys Island

     With its gradual water depth, this beach is perfect for young children. The park's campground also includes a playground and a store with snacks and ice cream. Other amenities include a picnic shelter and hiking trails.

    Wealth starts with a goal saving a dollar at a time. Call it the piggy bank strategy(策略). There are lessons in that time-honored coin-saving container.

    Any huge task seems easier when reduced to baby steps. I f you wished to climb a 12,000-foot mountain, and could do it a day at a time, you would only have to climb 33 feet daily to reach the top in a year. If you want to take a really nice trip in 10 years for a special occasion, to collect the $15,000 cost, you have to save $3.93 a day. If you drop that into a piggy bank and then once a year put $1,434 in a savings account at 1% interest rate after-tax, you will have your trip money.

    When I was a child, my parents gave me a piggy bank to teach me that, if I wanted something, I should save money to buy it. We associate piggy banks with children, but in many countries, the little containers are also popular with adults. Europeans see a piggy bank as a sign of good fortune and wealth. Around the world, many believe a gift of a piggy bank on New Year's Day brings good luck and financial success. Ah, but you have to putsomethingin it.

    Why is a pig used as a symbol of saving? Why not an elephant bank, which is bigger and holds more coins? In the Middle Ages, before modern banking and credit instruments, people saved money at home, a few coins at a time dropped into a jar or dish. Potters(制陶工) made these inexpensive containers from an orange-colored clay(黏土) called “pygg,” and folks saved coins in pygg jars.The Middle English word

    for pig was “pigge”. While the Saxons pronounced pygg, referring to the clay, as “pug”, eventually the two words changed into the same pronunciation, sounding the “i” as in pig or piggy. As the word became less associated with the orange clay and more with the animal, a clever potter fashioned a pygg jar in the shape of a pig, delighting children and adults. The piggy bank was born.

Originally you had to break the bank to get to the money, bringing in a sense of seriousness into savings. While piggy banks teach children the wisdom of saving, adults often need to relearn childhood lessons. Think about the things in life that require large amounts of money— college education, weddings, cars, medical care, starting a business, buying a home, and fun stuff like great trips. So when you have money, take off the top 10%, put it aside, save and invest wisely.

    Adults understand what it feels like to be flooded with objects. Why do we often assume that more is more when it comes to kids and their belongings? The good news is that I can help my own kids learn earlier than I did how to live more with less.

    I found the pre-holidays a good time to encourage young children to donate less-used things, and it worked. Because of our efforts, our daughter Georgia did decide to donate a large bag of toys to a little girl whose mother was unable to pay for her holiday due to illness. She chose to sell a few larger objects that were less often used when we promised to put the money into her school fund(基金）(our kindergarten daughter is serious about becoming a doctor)

    For weeks, I've been thinking of bigger, deeper questions: How do we make it a habit for them? And how do we train ourselves to help them live with, need, and use less? Yesterday, I sat with my son, Shepherd, determined to test my own theory on this. I decided to play with him with only one toy for as long as it would keep his interest. I expected that one toy would keep his attention for about five minutes, ten minutes, max. I chose a red rubber ball-simple, universally available. We passed it, he tried to put it in his mouth, he tried bouncing it, rolling it, sitting on it, throwing it. It was totally, completely enough for him. Before I knew it an hour had passed and it was time to move on to lunch.

    We both became absorbed in the simplicity of playing together. He had my full attention and I had his. My little experiment to find joy in a single object worked for both of us.

In many ways, Providence Mount St. Vincent in Seattle is a typical senior living community. It is home to about 400 elderly people and provides them with different types of assistance. However, it is also the Inter-generational Learning Center—a preschool where children and seniors have the chance to bond（结成友好的关系）.

    Established in 1991, the ILC's purpose is to allow kids to learn about acceptance while also being nurtured. It also aims to help seniors develop a greater sense of self-worth and strengthen social interactions. Babies to prekindergarten-aged children are placed into six different classes at the ILC. The kids attend art and music classes, as well as story time and exercise time with the seniors. Marie Hoover, ILC director, said that interacting with the seniors has proven beneficial for the young ones, making them more open-minded.

    “For the ILC children, interacting with the residents is simply part of their day-to-day life here and the way aging is 'normalized', which may be the most important benefit they receive,” Hoover said.“ I've had parents call me years after their children have graduated from our program to let me know about some incidents when their child was the first to warmly greet someone who happened to be in a wheelchair.”

    As for the seniors, they're delighted by the companionship the children provide. The children bring so much energy and joy to our residents. Many of residents are widows or widowers and can become lonely. Their adult children may still be working, so they may not get to see them as often as they would like. Having the children stay with the old makes our residents feel they are still part of a community. The young and the old connect and learn from one another at this unique facility.

This summer has brought ex treme heat and droughts to places around the world. The droughts are leading to serious problems and the effects of the droughts are likely to be felt for years. Droughts aren't new, but Earth's rising temperatures because of global warming are making them much harder to avoid. The drought in the Horn of Africa may be the most serious situation. For several years, the area has had very little rain during the rainy seasons. The dry conditions have killed millions of farm animals and destroyed the crops of farmers.

The drought is causing energy problems in Europe, too. The low water levels have cut the amount of hydroelectric power that can be produced. Some rivers are so low that the heavy boats that carry coal can't travel on them.

Farmers in California and Arizona have been hit particularly hard. California has put limits on water use across the state. Now water is being limited in other places. When there are water limits, farmers aren't able to grow as many crops. That can drive up food prices, and that affects everyone.

China is facing similar problems. The drought has dried up much of the water in the Yangtze River. That has cut the amount of energy produced by the world's largest da m by 40%. China hasn't been able to produce enough energy, since millions of people are using electricity to keep cool. The government is calling on the public to turn off the air conditioner when it is not too hot. The country is trying to make it rain by shooting chemicals into clouds. But this is an uncertain and temporary response.

There are no easy solutions to any of these droughts. It took years to create the climate crisis, and it will take a long time to get it under control. For now, governments and people will need to care fully manage water supplies and other resources to limit the damage as much as possible.