ba-DOOM-bum

Monday afternoon I got to see Okaidja Afroso, a Ghanaian drummer and dancer, teach at Grove Elementary School in Milton-Freewater.

Of course kids got very excited about getting to beat on drums with their hands for an hour, but they seemed to gain a lot more from the experience. They had the opportunity to learn about another country by meeting Mr. Afroso, who answered their questions and told them what it was like growing up in Ghana.

Yep, that's hairspray for a cow

As I first learned at the Walla Walla County Fair and got to experience again at the Milton-Freewater Jr. Show, getting a cow, or in this case a steer, ready to show is no easy task. The FFA and 4-H kids clean the cow, blow dry it, comb its hair and, yes, spray the coat with hair spray. Here are a few 'getting ready' photos I didn't use for my story about the junior show last week.

Blue ribbon

I got to have the fun of visiting the Milton-Freewater Jr. Show last Friday. I ended up featuring two sisters and a brother who all showed steers for the event. I felt like I really lucked out when the girls took first and second in their confirmation competition - it worked great to have a happy ending.

This is a photo I liked but didn't work for the story. I liked the focus on the ribbon, the steer and the girl - even if it didn't work as a straight up news photo.

Running strong

Kids are goofy, especially when a camera is pointed at them.

I went to Athena Elementary's walk-a-thon Thursday afternoon. While teachers repeatedly told kids to WALK, many couldn't contain themselves. These boys told me they were "swimming." I especially like the speed limit sign in the background.

But a walk-a-thon seemed like a great way for kids to work off some energy in the spring weather.

Shootout

I went to the mounted shooters competition last weekend for a photo assignment. Though I took many photos, only one went into the paper on Sunday. Here are a few more.

The shooters rode in a lower case "t" formation shooting out balloons lined up along the course. Some were swift and ran the whole course. Others took their time, nearly stopping at each balloon.

Crop duster

I took a few photos of a crop duster Friday evening on may way back to Pendleton from Weston. One photo ran in Saturday's paper. Here is another, where the plane is rather small. But I liked the light on the mountains, and the way the yellow plane sticks out against the deep blue clouds.