Dogs and doughnuts ...

I took the dogs up to Blackdown Rings today. These are the remants of an old Iron Age fort, topped a thousand years ago with a Norman motte and bailey caste. The bailey has long since disappeared, but the views from the summit of the ramparts are amazing, you can see for miles and miles in every direction. Up to the tors of Dartmoor in the north, over the sea to Kingsbridge and Start Point south and south west and just over miles of rolling countryside in every other direction. No signs of any spring lambs today though.

The newfies love it there too. In wet weather the old ditches fill with rainwater, crystal clear and sparkling, just right for splashing and swimming in. Ben loves to retrieve sticks, but sadly they don't float well in this water and he hasn't yet mastered diving. But it's great fun watching him blow water out of his nose when he resurfaces. Amy thinks he's just plain silly and prefers to float lazily on the surface, wobbling gently like a giant furry jellyfish.

I've been working hard lately on a chilli picture, so on the way home decided I deserved a reward and stopped at the local bakery for one of their wonderful doughnuts. Yes, it's true, in Devon you can purchase a little piece of heaven for only 50p! Crisp and sugary on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside and just the right amount of gloopy raspberry jam in the centre. (Has to be raspberry, nothing else will do)

Wonderful, particularly when enjoyed on the sofa in the kitchen (had to remove slightly soggy dog biscuits, half-chewed teddy and other canine treasures first) with the new issue of Country Living (finally arrived) and a cup of coffee.