Well, I’ve put it off long enough, so here it is — my new blog and my first blog post.

For those of you who might not have read my work in the past, I’m the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald’s outdoor writer and have been since February 1998. My work also appears on GrandForksHerald.com.

While the Herald’s Outdoors pages are published every Sunday in the back of the Sports section, there’s a lot of information pertaining to hunting, fishing, camping and other things outdoors that might not make it onto the Sunday pages or that’s better served by appearing in the more timely context a blog provides.

That’s what I aim to do with this blog, which I’ve dubbed “Compass Points.” It’s a fitting name, I think, because of the abundance of outdoors opportunities we have in every direction from Grand Forks.

At the same time, being a relative newbie to the blogosphere, I envision this blog as a work in progress.

So, welcome aboard, and if you have any comments or suggestions, don’t hesitate to send ‘em my way. We’ll see where the ride takes us.