The finishing touches to the Hen House.

In England in the 1950's every house had a garden shed and the man of the house was often to be found pottering in his shed.

Obviously in the DR the Hen House takes the place of the shed, as every day Danilo is in there adding more new features. Yesterday it was a drinking system for them. An upside down Presidente bottle with a little cup at the bottom.

The chickens are a little fatter - not a lot - and still lack feathers in some places.

And new additions arrived. Guinea fowl. Apparently their eggs taste the same as chicken eggs and they should start laying sooner. I must admit they look lovely - all fat and black with white spots.

However,they roost on their stick most of the day and night and gossip. They don't shut up. Am trying to think of names but without much success so far.

The puppies are getting bigger and we now have homes for all of them. We are going to keep 2, so far called Panda (male) and his sister Pandita. They are getting to know the other dogs - here is Pandita with Belinda.

On February 9th at 2 pm there will be a discussion about my book "What about your saucepans?" at the Meeting Place in Puerto Plata on the north coast. I will be there to answer questions and to sign books. Any of you in the area please do come along and say hello. Full details will be posted on their website shortly but in the meantime you can read about the Meeting Place with directions on how to get there here.