Finial

Some people have gargoyles. We have squirrels.

R and I spent a really lovely few hours with his sister and brother-in-law. It was great fun to have their company, and though it was a shame that they weren't able to get to us when the monsoon hit Worcestershire yesterday, it was lucky that they were able to delay their return home by a day, and join us for lunch today.

After the downpours of the last couple of days, last night was clear, and we woke this morning to a sunny but frosty morning, and ice in the bird bath. As soon as I was dressed I went out into the garden to fill up the bird feeders, and shortly afterwards five squirrels came to take advantage of the eat-your-fill buffet. R noticed this one on the ridge of the garage roof, from which it had an excellent view of four of the feeders - though in this shot it was peering down the drive as if looking out for the arrival of our visitors. A few minutes later R went down the garden to put something on the compost heap, and it threw itself sideways and turned into a secret squirrel.

In other news, the polenta cake was a big success. I served it with summer fruit compote and cream - and now I'm feeling snackish again, just thinking about it. The recipe I used is here, if you're interested.