Don't get your hopes up but spring may have sprung

After the snow over the Easter weekend, I was beginning to fear that spring would never arrive. Day after day of bitterly cold winds, flurries of snow and ice that didn't settle but didn't stop and unrelenting grey skies had me feeling that this year we were just going to have twelve months of winter.

Then on Saturday, the sun came out.

Of course, we were terrified that it would be the only day of sun for the whole year, so we determined to make the most of it. We jumped in the car and went for a country drive, followed by a walk at Ashridge Estate. Paul was particularly keen on the idea, because there was a stand of Scots pines that he wanted to photograph.

As we pulled up to the pines, we spotted these lovely creatures wandering through the trees.

There have been fallow deer at Ashridge since the 13th Century, and while the stags kept an eye on us, they weren't particularly bothered. It makes the "deer crossing" signs on the roads around here quite pertinent. They put the hert in Hertfordshire.

After our walk, we skipped the delights of the National Trust tearoom and went home to barbecue some burgers. Paul thought venison burgers, but I felt that would be a bit rude. And anyway, we had some very nice beef burgers in the freezer that have been waiting for a fine day.

East London Steak Co Blue Label burgers

While the burgers thawed, I made Dan Lepard's slider buns and a quick celeriac slaw.

We melted slices of pepper cheese over the patties. Because we trust our meat supplier, we were able to leave the burgers deliciously pink in the middle. No additional sauces, just a few thin slices of raw onion.

It's grey and wet again today, but at least we had a taste of spring.