… As I’m writing this, I glance out the front door and see a van from San Juan Vineyards drive past. Out the windows across the room, the harbor sparkles in the morning sun and scattered amongst the yachts and pleasure boats, I can make out the distinct shapes and gear of gillnetters, crab boats, and the few remaining purse seiners from the fleet that, as a child, I watched make the turn round Cattle Point and out into the strait. …

…I had a bucket of the puppies crying to be shucked, he McGuyvered up a smoker with drying rack, pie tin, and skillet lid, and provided us with some to-die-for Jasmine Tea Smoked Oysters with Garlic Green Tea Emulsified Vinaigrette. …

On the morning’s drive to work: Baling Season.

Oh, my beloved bumper. How I love your warm smoothness against my furry forehead.

…Hagrid, oblivious to the significance of Trelawney’s pronouncement simply said, “Well of course I’ve got four eggs and four pieces of toast and yogurt and paprika. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are dropping by for a fine Turkish breakfast of Cilbir!” …

… But what to do about ingredient #4? We had ripe items in our garden, but we wanted something other than a vegetable and Chopper was getting this serious hankering for a Caribbean-themed meal. That’s it, I said, let’s go to the farmer’s market and see if Spot Prawn Guy is there. …

… The first of the two Estate grown wines wasn’t available for tasting, so we zeroed in on the second, eager to discover what a truly local wine could offer us — and we were not disappointed. …

Ghosts in the mist: False Bay at low tide.

Where are the pictures, you ask? Where’s the Belly-banner? Well, good question. Someone was snurtching bandwidth from us by hotlinking to a photo, so I went into my control panel and tested out a little tool called “hotlink protection.”

… So, here I am, flying solo. Granted, Chopper came home for a brief respite between lunch and dinner shifts and spun me some sugar, but the rest of it is mine, all mine, baby.

And, as usual, I got a little carried away. …