I must apologize for disappearing for a week into the wilderness of northern California. By “wilderness” I mean, of course, west Marin county, in the town of Inverness; which prides itself in being “unincorporated,” local talk for meaning that there is no big city development going on, the land is used for free-range cattle and as a happy result there are dairy farms everywhere (always important to a boy who is a slave to cheese … mmm, gouda).

The best photos, it seems to someone who is slow in getting the camera out, are the ones I missed taking. Literally 10 minutes after arriving at the house (a crickety structure on wooden legs far out on the estuary) I looked down into the murky mud and saw a tiny manta ray swimming through the weeds. It seemed a great harbinger for things to come. I spent a lot of time on the front porch writing and watching the fog come in.

As holidays go it was grand.