WOW I love it ! And your porch decor.When I visit my inlaws on the shores of Lake Erie we garage sale in PA and Ohio. You are making me wish I had a trip planned!

A strap from the inside face of the fence to the outside end of the gatepost. A couple of self tapping screws into the gatepost to secure the strap would be hardly noticeable if you paint it to match. You could also extend the fence enough to attach the gatepost in the same way the other one is attached to the house.

That is most likely a Blacksmith Brand Large Weldable Barrel Hinge. You can get them from Triple-S Steel at 800-231-1034

We aren't in an exceptionally windy place, just ordinary winds. We did use really large, strong hinges, but I know over time even those will start to give. A drop bar at the top could work with a shorter gate, but ours is pretty tall - hard for us short people to reach - and also, the top is rounded. But it sounds like having some kind of stop both at the top and bottom is a good idea. Having one go the whole length would kind of spoil the beautiful design of the gate, though. We need to be able to open (and close) it from both the inside and the outside at different times. I'm mainly wondering if people tend to bump into the protruding piece, since it's not really in the center of the visual field.