Hedgehog News

We have a lodger in the shed!

I am so thrilled. I know for sure that we have at least three hedgehogs in the garden, one of which we nurtured back to health this summer. I could hear them huffing and puffing during their weird romantic adventures and one cannot avoid to overhear them eating. All year round I leave my shed open in the hope that one moves in. It happened once, some years ago, and it is so wonderful to hear a bit of snuffling in the box once in a while.

So this year I left two boxes, a lot of dry plant material and newspapers in the shed. I wasn't entirely sure when they go to sleep so I left it in August and added a few nuts and seeds. The food was gone quickly but nothing else was touched - so somebody at least knew that there was possible accommodation.

And then I completely forgot about it until I needed a garden tool - and the place was raided. Not a single piece of newspaper lying there anymore and all the straw and leaves gone. However, I tend to not believe myself in things like those. I always am wondering whether or not I did leave the paper in this particular place, or if it actually was THAT much straw.

So I provided a few more seeds and some water and this morning it was gone. Dried mushrooms don't seem to go well, though. And, most importantly: The entrance to the cardboard box looks differently. Yesterday paper was sticking out, today it's gone!

We definitely have a hedgehog as a lodger!