Thanks Nic – Sweetpea was the first thing I thought about when I woke up – when I do that, that’s when I know I’m in love. But I’m more relieved than missing her if you get what I mean. I really don’t want to rescue another one this year – I’m glad the hogs left are over 450g –
However, I’m really looking forward to volunteering and doing the morning clean once a week eventually, and I’ll learn lots there, and become more calmer about things, and I’ll thoroughly enjoy it. But it’s different looking after a hedgehog yourself, than just doing a morning clean each week, being supervised by experienced volunteers and the owner.
It’s been a really busy night tonight hog wise – it’s been really quiet lately, so I bet – tonight, or sometime this week, could be their last feed perhaps?
But regardless, I’m gonna top up with food every day and fresh water every day – it’s part of my routine now, like brushing my teeth.
There’s been 4 within the hour – which is really busy for me at the moment – I’m lucky if I see one or two per night.
I don’t need to worry about linking gardens in my area at the moment – because I live in a council maisonette – It’s like a house, split into four – one above me, one next to me. And I have a front garden which is my own garden which I’m responsible for, and also the side garden. I should have a fence but it had all been broken off when I moved in, so I dug out the remains of it and chucked it. Then the back garden is massive – and that’s communal, and the communal garden stretches along the street for all the maisonettes, theres no fences. It’s not just wide it’s very long too.
And there are trees and loads of bushes along the sides of it, where some of the hedgies probably have nests, and then there is a school with massive grounds, it has a fence but all the hedgies, and the fox can fit underneath it as it’s not flush to the ground, then there is an older fence, you know those old school fences that are bars, well the hedgies come in between the bars easily, as each bar is about a cd width apart, and then further along the bars stop and then there’s just a line of trees instead, and that’s where some of the hedgies have made nests as there’s plenty of brash that was already there when I moved in.
What the issue is, I could do with informing my neighbours about the hedgehogs and getting them to help with looking after them too, cos It would be really good if the population increases, because if I die, who’s gonna feed them.? And if there are others that do already feed them? are they feeding them the right stuff.
The neigbours that I know, have seen the hedgehogs but they don’t want to spend their time and enjoy getting involved with them, which is fine, but the ones that do, they could do with knowing about what to feed them with.
And then I’ve got a strimmer issue which I’m most bothered about – as the council comes round with the strimmer every two weeks from april til sept – and they’ve damaged all my potted plants – I did tell the council, and I also let someone know who came round with a strimmer, and he was really careful cos he also had hedgehogs, feeding station and house, but he isn’t the usual guy that comes round – so anyway, a friend of mine, her daughter made me a lovely sign to say careful strimming, so that needs to go into the ground in time for spring, and if I see them strim, I’ll just have to keep telling them.
That’s the main issue at the moment. But for linking the gardens, I think this is a good spot due to the communal gardens, so that might be the reason why there is an existing hedgehog population here.
