Greener Pastures

"The hills are aliiiiiiive, with the sound of miiiiuuuuu-ziiiiiiiik...." So I never quite understood the opening scene of Julie Andrews' most acclaimed film. Her character Maria probably saw those hills day in and day out, so what was the big deal? No one spins around in the mountain air, basks in the beauty of their surroundings, and begins an inspirational rendition of a song about hills. They are just hills after all.

Now I'm not a singer; nor am I one to get caught up in emotion, especially emotion aroused by aesthetics or natural phenomenon. But for the first time in my life, I've had a Julie Andrews experience...and on a daily basis to boot. While many fly to the Bay Area for the city, just over the Pleasanton Ridge lies an area that is truly God's county.

Green in the spring and golden in the winter, the hills of the East Bay make one take pause. Their gentle undulation makes you understand why hills "roll." The golden tint of thirst grass and the electric green aura when it's satisfied leads eyes to leave the road and look ahead. The only blemishes you see are the shadows of clouds as they too peer down on the beauty; the only halt in the aimless roll of grassy vegetation are the trellises of vines, flanked and orderly. Even at night, the hills don't lose their beauty as the illuminated curve of headlights traverse through them, back home.

Truth be told, I have not yet run up into the hills and begun to sing. But if you happen upon a news story about a mysterious woman in the hills, running in circles and reciting a very bad rendition of the Sound of Music, you just may know where to find her!

***Thanks to http://www.pedalpushersonline.com for the use of their East Bay photo...I think my sister is the only one who could replicate such a beautiful scene in a picture.