My first post

Although I’ve spent years writing and editing, I’ve never had this large a prospective audience. I hope I’m up to the task.

Some background: I’ve lived in the western shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains for better than twenty years and expect to die here. Having grown up near Detroit, I didn’t know the comfort and awe-inspiring quality of mountains. Add to that the pleasure of a large creek and its attendant wildlife, and it can’t get much better, at least for me.

I live in what was the caretaker’s cottage, near a summer camp for handicapped children. At this time of year, there’s some traffic, particularly when the kids are arriving or departing. During the winter, if a vehicle comes down the road, it’s either the caretaker of the camp or the mailman.

Every morning, the cats and I sit on the back porch and watch the creek. Truth to tell, I usually have a cup of coffee and my first cigarette of the day. I watch the creek and the cats and any wild life (mainly squirrels doing their trapeze act), while I think about things. My connection to nature is more philosophical than physical.