Posting this to fulfil a promise to my grand-children.....

It began a couple of weeks ago when as we were locking
up before bed for the night, we saw a hedgehog bumbling
up the garden path and rootling about the garden. We are
totally enclosed by a wall here, so access could only have
been a tight squeeze under the garden gate. But no longer
- an appropriate hole (six and a half inches is the official
hedgehog diameter) has now been drilled through the wall
to create a sort of Route 66 for them. It seems already to
be working - for our slug population has fallen dramatically.
So, if you feel the same and want to help the hedgehogs, lose
the slugs, and fancy some brownie points from your grand
children, despite it being rather late in the year, you might
want to consider something similar....








Mike

That's pretty cool.


Steve

Well done, boyo, our little spiky friends have had a rough deal one way and another. Sadly, the only one I've seen in these parts ( West Suffolk) in recent times , was as flat as a witch's wotsit in a lane that's used as a run-through for mummies rushing to get their their kids to school. A couple of squirrels suffered the same fate, along with a young badger.

Alan

Nice work Mike. We have a smallish garden but I've made sure there are a couple of gaps under the fencing to let our pointy friends access the shrubbery. We also made a hedgehog winter quarters from a very large disused flower pot, with entrance cut in and filled with wood wool and dead leaves. It got used a couple of winters, but not last time. Maybe this year?
Mirofsoft - that looks like a top pedigree show hedgehog to me - bless 'im!

Phil

You've made me realise, Alan, just how lucky we are
down this end. Wildlife abounds here - it's common for
us to see hedgehogs, rabbits , foxes, badgers, even
a couple of roe deer one morning ( although I've no
idea where they came from ). It's all too easy to take
these things for granted. Time for us to turn back the
clock and become activists against the developers
who build million pound luxury homes for those city
bandits with a bonus to spend...eh? But perhaps my
prejudices are showing..............

Good luck with the hedgehog house Phil - patience will
make it happen.

Mike

Oh, we have deer, Mike, roe and muntjac,( Those little buggers get everywhere here ) The roes live well away from everyone, in an isolated wooded area.....saw a bunch of young does the other day. The Border Terrorist didn't quite know what to make of them, to chase or not to chase. "Sod that", he thought, "I'm twelve years old ". And with that he carried on sniffing for rabbits

Alan

Even here in the "home counties" (called thus no doubt because there are more homes than people!) we get a lot of Roe and Muntjac but the poor buggers, along with a lot of birds, and the hedgerows they live in, are being squeezed by Messrs Persimmon, Bryant, Westbury et al in their desperate crusade to cover the UK in concrete, ably supported by this half-arsed shower that profess to govern this sad island. "Airstrip 1" anyone?

Phil (aka grumpy old geezer)

Too right Phil . Don't know about your part of the world but we need more
affordable homes for locals here - certainly not the things they're building
just now.
----------------------------

My Springers are the same, Alan, they dash off in pursuit full of wind and
vinegar, but always make sure they're an hour late and a mile short.

Mike

On the NW edge of Abingdon, once home of MG cars, and my home town for quite a few years, they are in process of "building" THREE new housing developments on what was farmland. The total number of units across the three sites is a tad short of 2,000. Reading the fancy notice boards outside the sites, all 3/4/5/6 bed homes -nothing for FTBs. No extra infrastructure of course. Every little paddock, allotment or green space in all the local villages is being converted into a "stunning development of character dwellings for the more discerning buyer" (aka MP's property portfolio). Sad? Yes, and angry too, that we have let it happen without a whimper.

My Vallhund wouldn't chase a critter even if he could see one - he'll huff and snort at the local moggies but chase them? - nah, too strenuous

Phil

Don't feel like you're all the lone ranger. Things are changing everywhere. Used to be country when my wife and I moved where we're at 30 yrs. ago. Now it's all getting built up by "yuppidy uppitys"...... Animals are better than people.

Wayne

We have hedgepigs but have to check the garden before letting the dog out..........

Mike

no offence, but your home was once build, probably against the locals wishes... but our ancesters children needed somewhere to live, as do our children , and theirs...