hi farmergirl .. welcome, i am a complete novice also but i have found everyone very helpful. Would suggest that you read the other notices in here.. and go to the tutorial section... enjoy your stay
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." Bertrand Russell
For CG, I suggest terragen to start off with, it's not all that difficult to use, you can get fairly high quality pics, and if you decide you don't like it you haven't lost any money (it's a freeware-type thing)