June 20, 2014 (Boulevard) – Michele Strand sent in this serene scene of a sunset over rural Boulevard in San Diego’s East County.

May 16, 2014 (Rancho San Diego) – Valerie Harrison sent in this dramatic image of a pair of firefighters battling an inferno during a house fire in Rancho San Diego on May 14.

April 26, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - Helix Water District has selected 17 winning entries in its Lake Jennings Month-of-March Photo Contest.  Seventy-five submissions competed in two categories, adult and youth, for cash prizes of $100 for first places, $50 for second places and $25 for third places.  Honorable mentions receive ribbons and certificates.

April 15, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Night sky photographer Dennis Mammana (© Dennis Mammana/dennismammana.com) captured this beautiful image of a rare ‘blood moon” eclipse overnight in the Anza Borrego Desert.

April 10, 2014 (La Mesa) -- Our editor, Miriam Raftery, didn't have to look far to find a photo of the week. She snapped this picture in her home office of her cat, Rex, snuggled up with her dog, Ginger--who didn't seem to mind awakening form naptime to find the interloper occupying her space.

If only the whole world could get alone so well!

By Miriam Raftery

March 31, 2014 (San Diego's East County) -- Kathleen Hedberg is best known locally as an outspoken advocate for ratepayers on the Helix Water Board.  But in February, Hedberg's outgoing ways--along with a bright yellow banana costume--caught the eye of Let's Make a Deal's host. 

Hedberg was chosen as a contestant on the popular TV game show's 50th anniversary airing -- and won a gleaming new 2014 Chevrolet Spark car for her "a-peeling" efforts.

By Miriam Raftery; photos by Tom Lemon

March 16, 2014 (Cibbets Flat) – Tom Lemon sent in these these idyllic photos with a subject line, “East County has a stream!” These images were taken at Cibbets Flat in the Kitchen Creek area.

February 23, 2014 (Rancho San Diego) – Jennifer Hanna snapped these images of a brush fire behind her home on Sunday, February 16.  The blaze, near Fury and Wieghorst in the Rancho San Diego area of El Cajon, was swiftly dowsed by firefighters.

By Nadin Abbott

Photos by Tom and Nadin Abbott

February 21, 2014 (San Diego) There is nothing like a romantic evening outside by the porch with a fire. Well, it was not quite that. Over the last two months we have had a good dozen fires in the Fashion Valley area in San Diego. Since some have been posted on the Twitter feed, you even saw them.

February 15, 2014 (Jacumba)—Wayne Brammer sent in these photos of SDG&E’s new Eco Substation in Jacumba. The project is (so-named for hooking up to industrial-scale renewable energy projects. But to most backcountry residents, the project is an ecological disaster that destroyed the landscape and used three times more water (90 million gallons total) than SDG&E estimated.

“This thing is a monster and they’re wasting water all over the place, not just here but all the way to Boulevard,” writes Bramley, referencing other energy projects in the pipeline.  “We really do need to separate from the city and have our own county,” he concluded, linking back to a reader’s editorial on this issue.

February 4, 2014 (McCain Valley) – Charles and Laurie Baker sent in these surreal images taken while hiking in the Mica Gem and Table Mountain wilderness areas in McCain Valley, where winds and weathering have carved out fantastic rock formations in this rugged terrain.

January 23, 2014 (Carrizo Gorge) – Laurie Baker sent photos taken while hiking at the rugged Carrizo Gorge in McCain Valley, near the site of a planned industrial wind facility.  Her images show the dramatic rock formations that make this area one of the most spectacular scenic vistas in San Diego's East County.

January 2, 2013 (Santee) – Laurie Baker sent in this photo of a Red Tail Hawk eating an American Coot, also known as a mud hen. 

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Baker says of the raptor, photographed at Santee Lakes.

November 12, 2013 (Poway) -- Scott Dixon with the San Diego Astronomy Association (SDAA) shot this fiery image showing the head of the Pelican Nebula. The photo was taken in Poway in August.

To view more dramatic astronomical images, visit the SDAA website gallery at http://aisig.sdaa.org/objects.asp.

October 28, 2013 (San Diego) -- Photographer Debbie Ekhaml sent this haunting image -- along with a description--and a follow-up shot.

"The fog (and flash) made for a spooky Halloween photo of a coyote out in the SD Wildlife Refuge," she wrote. "The flash did not seem to bother her, as I took more after the initial one."

Click "read more" and scroll down to see a second image of the coyote in brighter lighting.