When I called my friend Jim Long this morning and asked what he was up to, he replied, "Up to my elbows -- in blueberries!" The harvest has come in and Jim and the rest of the crew at Long Creek Herbs were busy freezing gallons and gallons of blueberries. And although Jim's beautiful place is a good five hours' drive south of here, my impulse was to say, "Hold a gallon for me: I'll be right down." Love those blueberries.

Instead, I shared with Jim one of my favorite seasonal treats -- which I had just prepared over the weekend, so the recipe was fresh in my mind. This recipe doesn't have a name -- none of mine do, generally. (If you think of one, send it to me and I'll publish it here.)

K.C.'s Cantaloupe Thing

• 1 ripe cantaloupe (I had an organic one, fresh from the natural food market. Mmmmm...)
• 1 cup blueberries and/or ripe cherries, pitted and halved
• 1/2 cup chopped walnut pieces (yep, I used organic, fresh from the same market. Also mmmmm...)
• 1 cup plain, non-fat yogurt
• Your favorite sweetener (I used turbinado sugar this weekend, but have also used honey, brown sugar or even jam)
• A few mint leaves (optional)

Halve the cantaloupe. Scoop out the cantaloupe seeds and slice a little piece off the underside of the rind so the cantaloupe is stable. Scoop out bite-sized chunks of the cantaloupe until you start getting into the rind (or use a melon-baller if you're feeling festive). Add half the berries and half the walnuts to each half of the melon, saving back a few berries for garnish. Dollop half the yogurt on each side of cantaloupe, then sprinkle with sugar. Garnish with mint leaves if you'd like, find a pretty place to sit for a while (I like to sit on the porch and watch as the pink light of dawn goes through its many early morning mood changes) and indulge yourself.

I defy you to wait until the coffee finishes brewing before you simply have to dig in.

I've varied this recipe over the years, using blueberry yogurt and raisins and various other adjustments as the contents in my fridge ebb and flow. Essentially, I think just about any fresh fruit plopped in the cantaloupe "bowl" will work. Whatever the combination, I think you'll agree with me, it's a great reason for summer.

Drop me a line and let me know your variations!

While I generally try to reserve this space for discussions of what works, occasionally I find myself face to face with what doesn't. Like, for instance, my truly adorable adolescent cat, the Ace of Kittens, who has just this week discovered hunting in a very big way. At first it was just one little garden snake, but this week he brought me a bird two days in a row, which I believe to be the same fledgling robin -- rescued both times and placed back in a tree -- then a baby squirrel and, most recently, a bunny. As with all mighty cats, he brought his kill -- or attempted kill -- back to the den, a.k.a. my living room carpet at 6 in the morning.

I'll spare you the details, which included but were not limited to me in my p.j.s chasing the cat and the dog, who had joined in the hunt by this time, around my back yard at 6 in the morning, screaming "Drop it! Drop it! Drop the @#$#@ thing now!!!" Suffice to say, this was a lousy way to start a beautiful June morning and an even lousier way for the rabbit.

Two sets of conventional wisdom are at work in this situation. One is voiced by my friend Hank who says in his very nice farmer-y way, "Cats hunt. Deal with it." The other, from multiple friends, is some version of, "Cats don't hunt if you pull out their claws and keep them in the house, and you owe it to the wildlife to do that."

So ... I love Ace and simply won't declaw him and I also love wildlife and don't want him marauding on it. This is a dilemma, no matter how you slice it. I mention it here because I know from lots of reader mail that plenty of The Herb Companion's readers also love cats and critters.  

What now presents itself is a potential solution. I have just asked for a sample of a product by Cat Goods, Inc, that I think might actually solve the problem. I never in my life thought I'd be considering what color bib would work with Ace's stripes, but ... I'm getting him a bib. You can check out the photos on Cat Goods' website. The bibs are just placed on the cat when s/he goes outside and are taken off when s/he comes back in. I will resist the urge -- maybe -- to write "Naughty Kitty, No BIRDS!" on it before I send him out.

Stay tuned, and I'll let you know how it works. I'll also try to take a photo of Ace in his new attire, but don't hold your breath. I bet we haven't SEEN illusive until we've seen a cat in a bib.