Monday 7 November 2011

Hedgehogs garden hoggitat

   Hedgehogs are at risk of becoming extinct in the UK so we were very blessed this summer to have a mum and baby visit our garden every night. They became very tame and came to our back door every evening to wait for a meal of catfood and milk.



Nino our cat was more than happy to share with them and they became really good friends who shared and played nicely. I wish it was that easy to get a toddler to learn the same skill as this is a real issue for E at the moment !!!




   October and November is the time for hedgehogs to hibernate for the winter and many it seems don't make it through to spring either getting run over in search of a safe haven or not finding good enough accommodation.

   We therefore decided to build them a hedgehog house in our garden to keep them safe and snug and out of harms way. Planning permission not needed for this particular type of extension however as usual a reliable builder was hard to find!!  Realising that my other half was not going to build in time we went for a mid range shop bought one called hoggitat from the garden center.

   I managed to get a general labourer in the form of a willing toddler to collect up the needed leaves and twigs to furnish the hoggitat to a high specification. This was a great way to teach E about wildlife and seasons and he loves the outdoors and as an added bonus we got the garden ready for winter.



 The hedgehog extension is complete and carefully situated in a quiet sheltered spot in our garden. Hopefully somewhere snug inside their new home is two warm cosy hedgehogs, I really want to peak in and check but don't want to disturb them. So i will have to wait till the the spring when hopefully one evening they will once again wait at my back door with the cat looking for dinner.


Thought of the day...............  Even in the smallest garden magic happens

  

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