After such a beautiful weekend, the weather has turned much fresher and colder this week, with lots of showers. As I write, it is raining and the birds are still appreciating all the food we put out for them. Our landlord has been around in the garden this week, laying the hedge at the front, and doing some general tidying up of some of the shrubs. When I was talking to him yesterday, we had a superb aerial display from a red kite, shortly followed by a pair of buzzards, who flap around the hillside here. It was nice to talk to a fellow bird enthusiast.

Decided to post a couple of domestic pics. First, I made a leek tray pie last night - a receipe I've been meaning to try for some time. Using the bread maker, you make a small quantit of savoury dough, which is then rolled out very roughly to cover a swiss roll tin. Then filled with sauted leeks and mushrooms, and topped with a savoury custard made from a mix of creme fraiche and beaten eggs. I like the half fat organic creme fraiche from Yeo Valley - it tastes gorgeous. The recipe worked really well - the dough was light and fluffy. Endless variations are possible, the recipe suggested adding some Parma ham, and you could vary the vegetables almost infinitely. I quite fancy a thin layer of pesto on the dough before scattering the vegetables and custard mix. Will report back on future experiments.

This morning, made some bread and have just made some muffins. These are oat and yoghurt muffins with fresh blueberries - they weren't quite as perkily topped as some I've made but look and smell delicious. Will be sampling one shortly, to fortify me in time for the ironing!