Hello world,

I've finally decided to enter the twenty-first century and do a bit of musing online with my first-ever blog. I've been a writer forever, it seems, but I've been a traditionalist, preferring paper to pixels. However, I'm seeing powerful, life-changing commentary online, so maybe there's something to all this.

My blog is called Thoughts from the Hills, a title I chose because it pretty much covers everything and anything. I live in a relatively remote area of northern California, and from my office window I see hills and more hills. I've lived here many years, and the area has changed much. Ozone drifts here from cities to the west. McMansions are sprouting on every hilltop. Large planned developments blast the sky with street lights, cutting down our nighttime star viewing.

Fortunately, much is the same. Red tailed hawks soar over nearby ponderosa pines. In our little herd of deer in the meadow that we call our front yard, bucks are just now sprouting their antlers. We planted our vegetable garden in soft evening light yesterday, adding peppers, beans, lemon cucumbers and melons to the already flourishing lettuce, radishes, tomatoes and squash.