Hello everyone, it’s Nick here again. As Frances said yesterday, she’s off for a jaunt to Norway with Daisy so has, in her wisdom (or folly) left me in charge while she is away.

It’s nearly three years since I last posted, commenting on the emergence of spring here in Watford. I believe I’ve introduced you to our menagerie, including the star of the show, Danny (seen here in August, on a trip to Dartmoor):

He is three years old now and has matured into a wonderful companion; friendly, playful, intelligent, and affectionate. He gets on well with (most) other dogs, though he has issues with the short-snouted varieties such as French Bulldogs and Pugs, and loves children, who almost invariably want to stroke him when they see him.

In his current state (he hasn’t had a haircut for a few months now) he is barely recognisable as a dog beneath all that hair, but we brush him regularly and I’m really tempted to keep the fuzz that clings to the brush as it’s as soft as cashmere wool and would make a lovely jumper!

You might also recall Rosie and Cinnamon, our two chickens, from my previous posts. Sadly we have had to say goodbye to Rosie this past week, who developed a tumour on her liver. Cinnamon however is a picture of health, and we are looking into getting another chicken to keep her company. She doesn’t seem too distressed by the loss of her friend but I think it would be fair to give her some more company so we are in contact with someone local who is downsizing their flock. She is still laying on an almost daily basis – there is nothing to compare with a fresh poached egg for lunch.

Then there are the guinea pigs – 10 of them, no less. We brought them inside recently for the cold weather, but as it’s much milder now they will be returned to their outdoor hutches very soon. Archie, on the left, is the patriarch and father to most of the others, and Fergus, on the right, lives with him.

That’s all for now! Tomorrow I’ll tell you about a recent photography trip to the isle of Lewis and Harris, in the Outer Hebrides. This will contain proper photos, not iPhone snaps, as I know Frances has been building me up considerably!

Hello everyone – Nick here, again, as Frances has been hit by an internet outage so is unable to post here. She has asked me to cover for her while they wait for it to return, and as you can imagine she feels like she has lost a limb as we all rely on the internet far too much these days (myself included)!

Anyway, with no new photos of horses or ponies to show you, I’d just like to quickly mention my calendar for 2014 – it’s called ‘Ísland úr lofti / Iceland from above’ and consists of 12 aerial photos of Iceland that I took on my last few visits to that amazing country. You can see the photos featured at this page on Facebook – if you want a copy for £15 just get in touch; here, on Facebook or Twitter.

Now that’s out of the way, things have been pretty mental in our house lately. My other half has decided to turn our house into a menagerie by stealth, so we currently have three guinea pigs, Archie:

Lumi and Cosmo:

Two hamsters (a Robo and a Russian Dwarf), two chickens (seen here a few months ago, before they started laying):

And our latest addition, the incorrigble Danny:

Danny arrived about a month ago from a breeder in Sheffield and is half Border Collie, half Bichon Frisé. Still a puppy, not fully house-trained, he can be trying at times, but when he’s chilling in his bed or on the stairs he’s a little angel. How looks can deceive!

(Archie is the only one who’d sit still enough for a proper photo – the rest have all been caught on iPhone camera)