Growing up in southeastern Oregon I was always familiar and enjoyed the high desert landscape of my youth.

When I first moved to La Grande to be the editor of The Observer, I encountered an entirely new type of landscape that I fell in love with.

There are plenty of mountains where I grew up, but nothing quite matches the beauty of the Blue Mountains. Especially during the winter, when the high peaks are covered with snow, the mountains remind me of our unique piece of the heartland.

In a real way, the mountains of Northeast Oregon — the Wallows, the Blues, the Elkhorns — are part of our daily lives and watch over us as we move along in life. There is a classical beauty to those mountains and I am awed every day when I glance out the window of my pickup and spy those peaks.

We truly live in a great area, a place that boats an exclusive type of terrain and culture and I am pleased that, at mid-career in journalism, I have the opportunity every day to live and work in.

Sometimes it is hard not to take for granted the great vistas we live among but we should all take a moment when we can and admire the landscape around us.

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If you missed one or more issues of The Observer this week, here are a few items you missed out on.

A recent edition of The Observer featured a front-page story from reporter Dick Mason about an effort to improve the flow of rivers and streams in the Upper Grande Ronde Basin, which includes Catherine Creek. The Upper Grande Ronde Basin is one of four in Oregon provided funding by the state commission to develop a plan for boosting its water quality and quantity as part of a pilot project.

Reporter Davis Carbaugh had a feature on the increase in fuel prices and the impact its had on local high school sports.

Davis also turned in a story on future plans and projects included in the La Grande Parks and Recreation Department’s master plan.

Coming up this week, look for a feature from Davis about a first-time program that sent Eastern Oregon University students to the Treefort Music Festival for real-world experience in concert photography.

Just a reminder that we continue to have fresh centerpieces and featured stories online daily at www.lagrandeobserver.com. Subscribers often can get news there before it lands in print.

I appreciate your continued interest in these newsletters and encourage you to subscribe to The Observer if you don’t already.