Signs of the past

Last Friday I went to the Buck Creek Cabin (also known as the Kiwanis Cabin) near the North Forks Umatilla campground, where teachers were cleaning in preparation for outdoor school this spring.

I've covered outdoor school for Helix and Pilot Rock schools, but not Hermiston or Pendleton, which are the schools that go to this cabin. The teachers were painting the inside walls of the kitchen/dining room and had taken down all the boards students had signed over the years, commemorating their time at outdoor school. The signs sat stacked on one picnic table, and I took several shots of them.

It was very interesting to see all the years stacked up, and all the signatures of those once-kids who had come to the cabin to learn about outdoors, community and life. I had to wonder how many of them, when spring arrives, think of their time at that cabin, and their signatures still sitting on the walls there.

Zen of archery

I had the privilege of writing a lifestyle on archery, and in doing so, visited with the AW Archers in Athena. Though I used a lot of the photos for the story, I held this one back for several reasons. Mostly because, while it's a cool shot, it didn't give the whole picture of archery. Plus, I had several other good photos of this girl aiming with great form, which I used for the story.

So here it is on my blog. Of course, one thing I like are the coordination in color between her sweater and the American flag. Another is the look of concentration on her face. She had this look with every shot she took. It was amazing example of consistency and skill.

One more coast photo

I snapped a couple photos of this guy running joyously across the beach with his dog. I'm pretty sure he had no idea I was taking pictures, but I think the dog knew. He's looking curiously at me in this photo.

Odd coast photos

Again, these are photos from my day in Florence on Saturday. We found this big piece of driftwood on the beach, and I couldn't resist climbing it, camera in hand. At the top, I was surprised to find a ladybug! So my friend encouraged me to take a photo. This was the best shot I had of the ladybug, though the angle of the beach in the background may make you seasick.

The second photo is just a neat detail shot of the driftwood.

Thar be dragons

This weekend I visited Florence with my mom and a friend. Even though it was windy, it was nice and warm, which is pretty unique for a spring day on the Oregon coast. The wind did provide lots of opportunities for kites. I particularly liked this dragon kite, being flown near the jetty where we parked.

How funky is your chicken?

On Friday I wrote a story about the first day of spring (Saturday) and a sign of spring around here is baby chicks at PGG. So I went down to the store. stuck my camera in the chick trough — chicks are often kept in would-be watering troughs — and took a TON of photos.

It was odd to see how the chicks reacted. In one trough they inched away or woke up from their naps, in another they got curious, and a few even tried to peck the lens.

vacation gold panning

Please excuse my two-week blogger absence - that's what happens when you go on vacation. But it did give me a few opportunities for photos, including when my husband and I went gold panning. I've posted gold panning photos before, but always find this spot more beautiful each time we go.

I don't know if the light just turned out right or what, but I love this shot of my husband. He may have been wearing shorts, but it was about 35 degrees and the water was even colder.

We also used this opportunity to test out our Vibram Fivefingers - a shoe that's basically like a glove for your feet. They worked great on the rocks, but the water was cold, cold, cold. On a warmer day, they would have been perfect.