Skater girl

I visited the ice skating rink at Roy Raley park yesterday to get wild art — that's newspaper speak for those photos that come unattached to any story – for today's paper.

I really liked this photo of 8-year-old Chelsea Kendrick. I snapped the shot of her as she whisked by on one of her circuits around the rink.

But because it didn't show much of the rink, or anyone else, or even her skates, it didn't work so well for the paper. I'm glad to be able to post it here.

Land of snow and fog

I took this photo atop Cabbage Hill more than a week ago. It was when the valleys were socked in with thick fog. But once you got above it, the sun shone on snow covered hillsides.

A light in the dark

I went to a candle lighting ceremony Sunday night in Milton-Frewater. It was a to remember children who died in the community. It was cold and rainy, but once the service started it was worth the discomfort.

At the end, after everyone had spoken, there was an odd silence. Then Pastor Duane Geyer began singing "Silent Night." Everyone joined in. It was soft, simple and sweet. A memory I will cherish as a moment of pure giving and caring.

Remember

On Sunday Helix students laid wreaths at the headstones of veterans in Olney cemetery. The VFW and their teacher praised the project as a way to get the teens involved in the history they are learning.

I was thankful the school contacted me, so I was able to speak to the students and be there on Sunday for the event.

Visiting Frenchtown

The Frenchtown Historic Site had its official opening on Saturday. Some of the first visitors got to walk up the trail to the cemetery marker, as well as read all the interpretive signs along the way.

I had submitted this as secondary art for Sunday's story, but I'm glad the editors used the primary photo instead. I still like this one because it implies the solitude one feels atop that hill. For 150 years, the settlement and the Battle of Walla Walla have failed to be remembered and marked properly. Now, thanks to the folks with the Frenchtown Historic Foundation, everyone can learn about what happened there in December 1855.

Outhouse race, take two

This is my second-best shot of the 15-second outhouse race, which was part of Pilot Rock's Winterphest on Saturday.

The better shot appeared in Sunday's East Oregonian, or you might still find it on our website: www.eastoregonian.com. I'm so proud I was tempted to post it again here, but I decided against it.

This photo isn't as in focus as the one that appeared in the paper. However, it does capture a great look on Bryson Thorton's face. I'm not sure if it's joy or terror. Before the race the boy was very, very excited to get to ride in the Pilot Rock Chamber's mobile port-a-johns.

3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Christmas!

I attended Milton-Freewater's light parade and tree lighting last Friday. I shuffled up the stairs of the Valley Christian Center church just as the crowd finished the countdown and lit up the tree. It was very dark, so I was glad I could at least see the all the people cheering the tree lighting in the photo.

Halo

I drove to Walla Walla on Monday and was kicking myself on the way back for not bringing my camera. The sunset was amazing. The last rays of the sun hit the Blue Mountains at just the right angle to illuminate the snow in golden light. I didn't get a picture of that.

I did pull over and get this shot with my cell phone. (The phone has no zoom and wouldn't have been able to capture the mountains.) It worked OK for this sunset shot, where the sun lit up the clouds in a big circular arc.

Geese in a row

These geese flew over me when I was on a walk last week. Yeah, they're pretty far away, but I like how they're all in a line.

Click on the photo and zoom in to get a better look at them, so they're more than just little black dots.

Skies so blue

The skies seem extra blue on the days we get to see them this winter. This was a sunset photo, taken on a bridge over the Umatilla during one of those cold days last week.

Winter bloom

I found several flowers, including this rose, apparently still in bloom during the snows last week. Even with a light layer of powder atop its petals, the flower still held up in the winter cold.