I am admittedly a little shame-faced at the paucity of my blog posts in 2011. I started out well, with a great fervour, but then work commitments at home and abroad brought it all to a grinding halt. Sadly the lack of blogging was also elected in a lack time spent down on the Church Lane Plot. :-(
Hey ho - now is not a time to dwell on past mistakes I think, so onwards and upwards!
Having said all the above I didn't manage to get down to the allotment today, but shall do tomorrow - honest! I was however busy here on the Church Lane patch setting up a little hotel for one of my in-frequent visitors...
Having asked family and friends for a random and wide-ranging selection of gifts for Christmas, my Dad came up trumps with his gift - combining something I'd asked for along with a request for second hand or handmade innings whee possible ... he made me a Hedgehog Home! And here it is...
There are a number of commercially available designs that can be bought online, but he had taken things into his own hands, visited the
British Hedgehog Preservation Society and built one to their design. I'm pleased he opted for the one he did, as it's the "recommended" design and is a sturdy, long-lasting house that should hopefully keep some lucky hedgehogs happy for years to come.
The BHPS suggests placing the house in a quiet part of the garden, against a wall or fence, and with the entrance of the hedgehog house facing other than North. I found an area at the end of the patch which seemed to fit the bill, and cleared away some leaves, weeds and the like to make space.
Again, following the advice of the BHPS, I covered the inside with some torn up newspaper and sawdust (as hedgehogs have soft feet!), covered with some old tarpaulin, and heaped up earth, leaves and sticks to give it a bit of camouflage. Now only time will tell whether some passing hedgehog - and I know we do get them - sees fit to take up residence in the future for a bit of a sleep.
I'll keep you posted!
What a lovely hedgehog house I hope you get some visitors. We don't have any hedgehogs round here as there are too many badgers and they are rather fond of eating hedgehogs - I would be thrilled to see one in my garden
ReplyDeleteHi Elaine. I hope they visit too! Sorry to hear about your Badger "situation"! I have seen Hedgehogs in the garden a few times. Well, when I say 'see' I mean HEAR as it's always the amorous snuffling that I notice before I see them :-) The end of the Church Lane patch is developing into a wildlife area anyway, so I feel confident that someone will make use of the shelter in good time,
ReplyDeleteSadly it's been years since I last saw a hedgehog!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with that home. Flighty.
Great gift! We found a nest of hedgehogs with their mum last year and took them to a neighbour who had been given a hedgehog house, so settled them in a quiet corner. Went back to check a few days later and they had moved on, so maybe it takes a while for the house to become part of the landscape.
ReplyDeleteI think I was the same Flighty, until moving here. I am not convinced I had actually seen a hedgehog "in the wild" at all - it is nice to have them around :-) I did come across a hedgehog nesting down at the end of the patch before Jan, so hopefully the new abode will be used in time, if they find it and think it's worth trying out. But only time will tell!
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